The Social Table. Ep1: Beyond The Menu with New Realm Brewing Co.

Introducing The Social Table, a new interview series where we speak to hospitality experts about social media, brand building and what it really takes to create stronger guest relationships.

For our first episode, we spoke with Cassidy Marshall from New Realm Brewing Co., a brewery and restaurant group with six locations across the Southeast of the United States. Cassidy is based at the Virginia Beach location, which has become known for its live music, concerts, beer garden atmosphere and family-friendly events.

https://youtu.be/VJfhcNtDqzQ

The Virginia Beach location, where Cassidy is based, has become known for its live music, concerts, beer garden atmosphere and family friendly events - this balance between a shared brand identity and individual venue personality was one of the strongest themes from the conversation.

For New Realm, brand building is not limited to promoting food, beer or opening hours - the brand places a clear focus on the full guest experience. New Realm is a brewery and restaurant that is open to everyone, with each location shaped around the people, events and culture of its local area, giving the brand more depth than a standard hospitality offer.

With New Realm being highly event led, particularly at the Virginia Beach location, Cassidy mentions the need for their social media to do more than share a static graphic with a date and time. The team instead uses content to create interest around the experience itself, including a fairy festival, where a bartender dressed as a fairy to help promote the event on social media. Another of our favorite examples included a Bridgerton themed market, which featured a string quartet and a high tea style experience. Activations like these show how hospitality brands can use social content to make events feel more distinctive before guests arrive - the content gives people a sense of the atmosphere, the personality of the team and the reason the event is worth attending.

In the episode, Cassidy also spoke about the importance of adapting content for different platforms. New Realm uses Instagram for more visual, trend led content that suits younger audiences, while Facebook is treated as a more practical space for clear event information, family details and guest questions. This approach reflects a wider point that many hospitality brands need to consider. The same message can be shared across several channels, but the format, tone and purpose should be shaped by how guests actually use each platform.

Local partnerships are another important part of New Realm’s marketing approach. Cassidy discussed the brand’s work with local charities, community partners and destination marketing organisations, including Visit Virginia Beach. These relationships help the brand stay connected to its local market while creating new opportunities for awareness, content and guest engagement. For a multi location hospitality business, this is especially important. Growth can quickly make a brand feel less personal, so local relevance has to be actively protected.

When discussing what content helps convert engagement into footfall, Cassidy pointed to active content, carousel posts with music and regular event updates. New Realm’s weekly content series, This Week at New Realm, brings together upcoming events in a simple and useful format. It works alongside email marketing, helping guests understand what is happening at the venue and giving them a reason to plan a visit.

The conversation also covered the role of user generated content. New Realm uses real guest content to show people enjoying the space, attending events and spending time at the bar. This helps the brand feel more genuine, because the experience is being shown through the people who are actually there. Cassidy also highlighted micro influencer activity as an area still underused by many hospitality brands. For New Realm, inviting local creators to launches and events can create useful content, reach relevant audiences and bring more attention to the venue in a way that feels natural.

A final point from the interview was the value of showing the real craft behind the brand. Cassidy explained that New Realm is working on more brewing focused content, including behind the scenes filming with the brewers, product stories and footage that shows how beer is made at the Virginia Beach site. This is important because social media can sometimes flatten a hospitality brand into food, drinks and event posts. Showing the process, people and production behind the offer gives the audience a stronger understanding of what makes the brand credible.

At Double Up Social, we work with hospitality brands across social media strategy, content creation, paid advertising, influencer marketing and community led campaigns.

If you're a hospitality brand with a story to share, or looking to improve their social media presence, get in touch with us here!