A Powerful & Customizable Restaurant Marketing Strategy (FREE)

A comprehensive restaurant marketing strategy, covering the entire sales funnel and all digital marketing channels. Designed to you get more traffic and customers for your restaurant business.
Prepared by: Eduardo Yi
Created on: March 5, 2025
Your Strategy
Primary Item (H2)
Primary Item (H2)

The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a visual way to understand the journey your customers take, from first discovering your business to eventually making a purchase. Imagine it like a funnel shape: at the top, many people might learn about your business, but fewer move down to become actual buyers.

Optimizing your entire sales funnel, you're able to increase the number of people who move smoothly from interested browsers to loyal, paying customers.

It helps ensure every part of your business—from your website to your follow-up emails—is designed to guide people toward buying. The clearer this pathway, the easier it is to boost your sales and grow your business.

The marketing plan below includes dozens of marketing ideas and tactics to optimize your entire sales funnel.

Your Target Personas

A target persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, created by researching and understanding the behaviors, needs, and preferences of people most likely to buy your products or services.

Think of it as drawing a detailed portrait of your best customer, including details like their age, interests, job, daily habits, and the challenges they face.

By visualizing this customer, you're better able to understand what motivates them, how to communicate effectively, and how to reach them through your marketing efforts.

Rather than trying to appeal to everyone—which can lead to wasted resources and ineffective marketing—you can specifically tailor your messages to resonate deeply with the people most likely to become loyal customers.
😃
Your Target Persona #1: Healthy Hannah
Age: 32 | Education: Bachelor's in Communications | Occupation: Marketing Specialist at a tech startup
"I'm frustrated when I can't find places that cater to my healthy lifestyle. Many restaurants either lack suitable options or use low-quality ingredients that don’t support my dietary needs."
🥅
Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Find restaurants with healthy menu options
Enjoy meals that align with my dietary choices
Experience a social dining atmosphere
👀
True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to feel good about what I eat and nourish my body"
"Eating well helps me maintain my energy levels for work and play"
"I hope to connect with friends over tasty, healthy food"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I worry that healthier meals may not taste good or be satisfying"
"The prices seem a bit high compared to fast food places"
"I’m concerned about the ambiance if it’s too casual or noisy"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
Our menu offers bold flavors and creativity to ensure every meal is delightful
While prices are reasonable for quality ingredients, we also provide great value in terms of the experience
We create a warm, inviting setting, and live music adds to the enjoyable atmosphere
✨
Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"After dining at your restaurant, I feel excited and satisfied. I love sharing my experiences with friends and knowing I'm making smart choices for my health without sacrificing flavor or enjoyment."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.
😃
Your Target Persona #2: Family-Friendly Fiona
Age: 40 | Education: Master's in Human Resources | Occupation: HR Manager at a local non-profit
"It’s hard to find restaurants where my entire family can eat happily. Many places either ignore dietary restrictions or have limited menus for kids, which leads to unhappy diners."
🥅
Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Find dining options that accommodate all family members
Experience a comfortable atmosphere for kids and adults
Enjoy a meal made from fresh, local ingredients
👀
True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want my family to enjoy healthy meals without compromising on taste"
"Finding a place where we can all dine together makes weekends special"
"I hope to teach my children about the importance of fresh food"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I’m afraid the kids' options will be too limited or unappealing"
"The cost for a family meal seems higher than I’d like"
"I don’t want to deal with a crowded or noisy place with kids"
👍
Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
We have a dedicated kids’ menu that features organic ingredients kids love, ensuring everyone is happy
Our pricing offers families savings with fixed-price menus that make dining together affordable
We focus on creating a relaxed environment, perfect for families, with music that enhances rather than overwhelms
✨
Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"Dining at your restaurant has transformed our family outings. We now have a go-to place that everyone loves, where my kids learn to appreciate healthy food and I can relax knowing they’re getting quality meals."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.

Top of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Top of the Funnel: Awareness
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona isn't aware of your product and isn't even necessarily looking for a product. They just know they have a problem. Your objective at the top of the funnel is for them to be aware of your business by providing value (without trying to get them to buy right away.)
New visitors to website
Total views on Instagram
Engagement rate on blog posts
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Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating the assets you'll promote and optimize on through the different marketing channels (SEO, social media, email marketing, and ads.) At the top of the funnel, you're creating your mass-market content, aimed to attract as many people as possible.
Content ideas:
Blog post: 'Top 10 Healthiest Ingredients to Look for in Restaurants'
Infographic: 'The Benefits of Eating Locally Sourced Food'
Video: 'A Day in the Life of Our Chef: Sourcing Fresh, Organic Ingredients'
Podcast episode: 'How to Enjoy Dining Out While Sticking to Your Dietary Goals'
Interactive quiz: 'What's Your Healthy Eating Personality?'
Seasonal email campaign: 'Discover Our Winter Menu Featuring Local Ingredients'
What to measure:
Page views on blog content
Social shares of infographics
Video views
🔎
SEO
With SEO, you can get your content to rank on the top of search engines for the keywords that your marketing persona is typing into Google. At the top of the funnel, the keywords you'll target will likely have a higher search volume and will be harder to rank for.
Keyword ideas:
Healthy dining options near me
Benefits of organic restaurant ingredients
Family-friendly restaurants with healthy menus
Vegan dining options in [City]
Gluten-free dining experience
Local sourcing in restaurants
Nutritional benefits of locally sourced foods
Best casual dining experiences for families
Dining experiences with live music
Healthy dining solutions for busy professionals
What to measure:
Organic traffic growth
Keyword ranking for target phrases
Click-through rate (CTR) for SEO content
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Paid Advertising
When it comes to ads, targeting is probably the most important predictor of a winning campaign (closely followed by ad creatives.) At the top of the funnel, you'll be looking for brand new audiences who have never heard about your company — these are called "Prospecting" campaigns.
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook/Meta Ads: Individuals aged 30-45 located in [City] interested in healthy eating and dining experiences.
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Users searching for 'family-friendly restaurants' and 'gluten-free dining options'.
[Remarketing] Facebook/Meta Ads: Users who visited our restaurant's website in the past 30 days but did not make a reservation.
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: People watching health-oriented food channels or cooking shows.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Users engaged with posts related to organic foods and local dining.
What to measure:
Cost per click (CPC)
Ad impressions
Engagement rate on ads
📱
Social Media
The hardest part about doing social media as a brand/business, is that you should look to not behave like just another business on social media. Your social media content should be native to each channel in tone, format, and style. Because of its mass usage, social media is perfect for top of the funnel content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Weekly posts featuring behind-the-scenes stories about ingredient sourcing and menu items.
Monthly Instagram Live Q&A session with the chef to talk about healthy eating choices.
Creating user-generated content campaigns where diners share their meals at the restaurant.
Monitoring mentions of the restaurant across social platforms to engage with customers discussing their experiences.
Highlighting customer testimonials through stories and posts showcasing family dining experiences.
What to measure:
Engagement rate on social media posts
Growth in followers
Mentions and interactions across platforms
🧪
Marketing Experiments
For whatever campaign you launch, there will always be room for improvement. It's a good idea to pick a few experiments ideas and launch split tests designed to improve your most important metrics.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different headlines and images for blog posts to see which gets more traffic.
Experiment with posting times for social media to optimize engagement.
Conduct A/B tests on different ad creatives to identify what resonates best with the audience.
Monitor the flow of new visitors from social media and identify which platforms turn into longer site visits.
Analyze user paths on the website to see where visitors drop off after consuming initial content.
What to measure:
Bounce rate of landing pages
Time spent on page
Conversion rates for lead captures from blog content

Middle of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Middle of the Funnel: Consideration
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona is aware of your product but isn't ready to purchase. They are still doing research and comparing your solution against competitors. This is the time to build trust by giving them more information and provide answers to questions they might have. Your main objective at the middle of the funnel is to turn a stranger into a lead.
Returning visitor rate
Leads generated from website
Average time on site for visitors
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the middle of the funnel is typically called a "lead magnet." This is usually a free (or very cheap) piece of content that you'll offer to your marketing persona in exchange for their contact information (e.g. email address or phone number.)
Content ideas:
Webinar: 'The Importance of Eating Fresh and Local: A Culinary Journey' to educate about the benefits of local dining.
Blog post: 'How Our Menu Accommodates Dietary Restrictions with Flavorful Options' detailing the inclusive nature of the offerings.
Case study video: 'Family Dining Experience: Happy Kids, Happy Parents' featuring families enjoying meals at the restaurant.
Interactive guide: 'Navigating Our Menu: Delicious Choices for Your Dietary Needs' providing insights on vegan and gluten-free options.
Email series: 'Weekly Menu Highlights featuring Local Ingredients' showcasing dishes that tell the story of sourcing and sustainability.
Social media contest: 'Share Your Healthy Dining Moment' encouraging diners to post pictures for a chance to win a family meal.
What to measure:
Webinar registration numbers
Blog post shares and comments
Video watch time
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SEO
At the middle of the funnel, your marketing persona is likely specifically searching for information about the solutions to their problem (without looking into any specific product, yet.) These keywords are considered to have "higher intent" (aka, more valuable) than the ones at the top of the funnel, but they will have smaller search volumes.
Keyword ideas:
Healthy menu options for families
Dining experiences for dietary restrictions
Organic ingredients in family meals
kid-friendly healthy restaurant ideas
Best restaurants for vegan families
Affordable dining with organic choices
Local farm sourcing benefits for families
Healthy eating out tips
Restaurants with live music for family dining
Seasonal menus and local sourcing
What to measure:
Number of organic leads generated
Time spent on page for long-form content
Keyword ranking improvement for middle-of-funnel content
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Paid Advertising
At the middle of the funnel, your paid advertising campaigns will zoom into people who are already aware of your brand somehow, but haven't yet become leads. "Remarketing" campaigns are great for this (although, you might also sometimes experiment with prospecting campaigns that try to convert strangers to leads right away.)
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook/Meta Ads: Parents aged 35-50 in [City] looking for family-friendly dining experiences and healthy food options.
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Users searching for 'restaurant menus for family's dietary needs' or 'healthy restaurants with vegan options'.
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Users who have watched our introductory video about locally sourced food but haven’t visited yet.
[Remarketing] Facebook/Meta Ads: Past diners who interacted with posts but didn't make a reservation.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: People interested in organic foods and plant-based dining within the same demographic as our current customer base.
What to measure:
Cost per lead
Click-through rate (CTR) on retargeting ads
Engagement rate on prospecting ads
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Social Media
The social media campaigns at this stage of the funnel are designed to get your marketing persona off of the social media channel and into your own platform (e.g. your website), where you can actually capture their contact information.
Social media campaign ideas:
Running a weekly themed post series highlighting different menu items and their nutritional benefits.
Creating polls or questions on Instagram stories asking followers what healthy dishes they want to see next.
Encouraging diners to tag the restaurant in their photos for user-generated content that showcases families enjoying their time.
Hosting a live video event where the chef answers questions about sourcing ingredients and creating healthy meals.
Monitoring relevant hashtags to join conversations about healthy eating and responding with suggestions from the restaurant.
What to measure:
Social interaction on posts
Growth in comments and shares
User-generated content submissions
📧
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an often overlooked channel that's critical for the middle of the funnel. Email is a very effective way to reach your marketing persona directly. The most common mistake businesses make is underutilizing email in their marketing (you should think beyond just email newsletters.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Welcome email sequence introducing new subscribers to the restaurant's philosophy and offerings.
Monthly newsletter highlighting seasonal menu changes and upcoming events like live music nights.
Follow-up emails for those who registered for the webinar providing additional resources and an invitation to visit.
Special offers emailed to previous guests promoting a family-friendly day at the restaurant.
Survey emails after visits requesting feedback to improve and cater to both parents and kids' dining experiences.
What to measure:
Email open rates
Click-through rates on menu highlights
Response rates on surveys
🧪
Marketing Experiments
For this stage of the funnel, your experiments will be designed to maximize the number of leads you get from your campaigns.
Experiment ideas:
A/B testing different formats for the vehicle of educational content – static images versus videos on social media.
Experiment with different CTAs on the website to see which drives more conversions from visits into leads.
Run split tests for subject lines in email campaigns targeting health-conscious individuals.
Monitor landing page performance between those promoting specials versus the regular menu.
Conduct user experience tests on menu navigation and lead capture forms to streamline the process for visitors.
What to measure:
Lead conversion rates from different CTAs
Bounce rate on educational content pages
User engagement with A/B tested elements

Bottom of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Bottom of the Funnel: Purchase
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona already knows your product and is ready to make a purchase decision. They already have all the information they need. Your objective at this stage is to address purchasing objections and convince them to take that last step and become a paying customer.
Conversion rate of leads to customers
Average order value
Customer acquisition cost
📝
Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the bottom of the funnel is purposely design to get your marketing persona to purchase. You don't have to be afraid to be sales-y or about talking about your product directly.
Content ideas:
Customer testimonial video: 'Why Our Diners Choose Us for Healthy Family Meals' showcasing genuine experiences and satisfaction.
Detailed blog post: 'Exploring Our Family Bundle: Enjoy Great Value with Healthy Options' highlighting package deals.
Promotional email: 'Limited Time Offer: Enjoy 10% Off Your First Family Meal' motivating immediate action.
Interactive social media story: 'The Journey of Our Ingredients: From Farm to Table' reinforcing trust in quality sourcing.
Live chat on the website where potential customers can ask questions directly about menu options and pricing.
Instagram or Facebook Live event showcasing a meal prep, inviting customers to see how dishes are made from fresh ingredients.
What to measure:
Engagement on testimonial videos
Bounce rate on promotional landing pages
Conversion rate from content-driven campaigns
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona will be searching Google for information about your product (for example: reviews, pricing, features, etc), which is why you'll be optimizing for a lot of "branded" searches — these are searches that include your brand/product name.
Keyword ideas:
Best family-friendly restaurants near me
Healthy family dining restaurant reviews
Restaurant with affordable organic options in [City]
Vegan and gluten-free family meals restaurant
Discounts at casual dining spots for families
Healthy dining experience for family gatherings
Dining experience feedback for local restaurants
Restaurant menu prices and quality locally sourced
Farm-to-table experience for family meals
Family meal deals at [Restaurant Name]
What to measure:
Organic traffic to sales pages
Conversion rates on relevant keywords
Click-through rate on SERPs for bottom-of-funnel content
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you'll be running conversion campaigns to get purchases. These will be your highest revenue campaigns, where you will be keeping a close eye on your return on ad spend (ROAS.)
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook/Meta Ads: Users who visited the menu page but did not place an order in the past week.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Previously interested diners searching for 'healthy family meals near me'.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Users engaging with healthy cooking influencers and dining experiences in your area.
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Users watching health-focused dining vlogs or farm-to-table content.
[Remarketing] Google Display Ads: Previous site visitors shown ads with images of menu items and special promotions.
What to measure:
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Click-to-purchase conversion rate
🚀 Help me execute this paid ads strategy
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Social Media
The bottom of the funnel campaigns will usually only make up a small minority of your social media content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Weekly posts highlighting the benefits of menu options, addressing common objections.
Running polls asking followers what they think about the offers or menu items to engage them.
Celebrating customer stories through posts that showcase their experiences dining with family.
Engaging local influencers to visit and review meals, amplifying reach and credibility.
Hosting an Instagram challenge encouraging customers to post their dining experiences using a specific hashtag.
What to measure:
Engagement rates on offer posts
User-generated content linked to promotions
Reach and impressions of influencer posts
📧
Email Marketing
Email is perfectly tailored to run bottom of the funnel campaigns. After you've provided value to customers via your other email campaigns, you can run sales and promotional campaigns to get conversions.
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Reminder email for subscribers about limited-time menu offers, encouraging bookings.
Post-visit thank you emails with a discount code for their next visit incentivizing repeat business.
Exclusive subscriber-only family deals sent out monthly highlighting value menus.
Targeted email campaign for previous diners promoting upcoming events like live music nights.
Feedback solicitation email following a visit with incentives to encourage sharing experiences.
What to measure:
Conversion rates on promotional emails
Redemption rates for discount codes
Open rates on targeted campaigns
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Marketing Experiments
Your bottom-of-the-funnel experiments will have the objective of maximizing your profits. That could be by getting more first-time customers or increasing the amount of money you get from each customer on their first purchase.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test pricing strategies (e.g., fixed price vs. flexibility) to see which drives more diner interest.
Test different layouts and CTAs on the reservation page to enhance user engagement and conversions.
Use heatmaps to analyze user activity on the menu page and identify areas needing improvement.
Optimize checkout processes by experimenting with form fields and required information to streamline capture.
Run a survey on the site asking visitors why they are hesitating to book a table or make an order.
What to measure:
Booking conversion rates
Abandonment rates on the reservation page
User feedback scores on checkout experience

Retention

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Your Goal at the Retention Stage: Increase Lifetime Value
In the retention stage, your marketing persona is already a customer of your product. Your objective is to increase the value you can extract from them directly by generating repeat purchases, upsells, or reducing churn; or indirectly by improving brand image or promoting referrals.
Customer lifetime value
Repeat visit rate
Customer satisfaction score
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Content Marketing
The objective of the content you'll create at the retention stage is to keep your existing customers happy by providing ongoing value (even after purchasing.)
Content ideas:
Post-visit email series: 'Thank You for Dining with Us' featuring a personalized experience recap and inviting to share on social media.
Monthly spotlight on a new dish created from seasonal produce, highlighting local farmers and ingredients.
Loyalty program introduction video explaining benefits and rewards system for frequent diners.
Social media campaign celebrating customer anniversaries with special offers.
Cooking class promotion: 'Learn to Cook with Our Chef' inviting customers back for hands-on experiences.
What to measure:
Engagement rates on post-visit emails
Participation in loyalty program
Social media mentions from customer spotlights
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, you'll want to make sure your marketing persona can find all the information she needs to get the most of your product (e.g. knowledge base articles), or to solve any problems that may arise (e.g. support/contact page.)
Keyword ideas:
Best local restaurants for families who care about sustainability
Healthy meal prep ideas inspired by our restaurant menu
Healthy dining testimonials and feedback from regular diners
Kid-friendly meals that appeal to parents
Family dining experience reviews for [Restaurant Name]
What to measure:
Return visitor traffic
Keyword ranking for loyal customer content
User engagement on returning customer-oriented pages
🎯
Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you might choose to be run campaigns promoting of new features, upgrades, or promotions.
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook/Meta Ads: Visitors who made a reservation but haven’t returned in the last 30 days.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: People searching for family-friendly restaurants after visiting the website previously.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Health-conscious consumers looking for exciting dining experiences and local events.
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Previous guests receiving ads for cooking classes or exclusive tasting events.
[Prospecting] Google Display Ads: Targeting users interested in healthy eating alongside ads promoting family meals at the restaurant.
What to measure:
Cost per repeat visit
ROAS on retention campaigns
Engagement of remarketing ads
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Social Media
Retention campaigns on social media revolve around building a sense of community with your existing customers. You'll do a lot of monitoring of brand mentions on social media.
Social media campaign ideas:
Creating a hashtag for customers to share their dining experiences, promoting organic reach.
Highlighting behind-the-scenes chef stories that demonstrate staff commitment to quality and customer experience.
Running a monthly photo contest where customers can submit their best dining photos for a chance to win a meal voucher.
Monitoring and responding to brand mentions to thank customers for their support and address any concerns.
Posting weekly family dinner themes featuring specific menu items to encourage group dining.
What to measure:
Engagement on customer-generated content
Growth of followers participating in the photo contest
Mentions and interactions across social media
📧
Email Marketing
Retention email campaigns will be a mix of educational emails (onboarding, activation, etc), transactional emails (reports, receipts, reminders, etc), and promotional emails (upgrades, upsells, etc.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Monthly newsletter summarizing past events and sneak peeks of upcoming menu changes.
Exclusive event invitation emails for regular customers showcasing upcoming live music nights or cooking demonstrations.
Feedback incentivization email requesting reviews after visits with discounts for future meals based on sharing.
Personalized birthday emails offering special discounts to encourage a celebratory visit.
Re-engagement email targeting lapsed customers to bring them back with a limited-time offer.
What to measure:
Open rates on newsletters
Redemption rates for birthday offers
Follow-up survey response rates
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Marketing Experiments
Your retention experiments will have the objective of maximizing lifetime value of existing customers.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different loyalty program structures to determine what drives more sign-ups.
Test various email formats to enhance customer response rates on feedback requests.
Experiment with post-visit follow-ups timing to optimize engagement levels.
Monitor customer journey metrics to identify drop-off points where repeat visits decrease.
A/B test the effectiveness of using testimonials in emails versus plain text updates.
What to measure:
Conversion rates for loyalty program sign-ups
Engagement scoring from automated feedback forms
Customer retention rates over time

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