Restaurant Media Relations

Interacting with the media can be tricky – Unless the message and timing coincide almost perfectly, the information you distribute can be easily overlooked and forgotten. Next time you want to get an important message across, keep these tips in mind, and your story will receive the response it deserves.

Know Your Purpose

Before you even think about contacting the media about a story idea, you should first evaluate the purpose. What is the message you are trying to get across, and why is it important or useful to the public? Once you have a clear understanding of your purpose, the next steps should fall right in line.

Also, keep in mind that media outlets are not interested in “sales” information about your company. Your story must always have a newsworthy angle – something that impacts the public or generates interest in some way.

For example, the focus of the R.J. Gator’s public relations campaign has been to grow the company through franchising. No journalists, however, would be interested in a story about franchising opportunities, so other angles were created: one focusing on the company’s recent growth and projected expansions and other profiling the high-profile franchisees that have recently joined the company. Both of these stories were picked up in daily publications and weekly business journals throughout the Southeast, which is where R.J. Gator’s is based.

Know the Publication

Once you have established a clear message, do some research to target the media outlets that would benefit the most from the information you are providing. Find out each media outlet’s demographics, as well as the major topics it covers. Does it cover news that is of interest locally, regionally or nationally? Does it cover features, hard news, in-depth issues or all of the above?

The best way to find out these details of a media outlet is to read it or watch it yourself. Take note of special sections, features or segments, and make suggestions of where your story might fit in. Look at the outlet’s website, and research the publication’s Editorial Calendars, if applicable.


Once you’ve done some research, it will become obvious which publications are interested in chef profiles and recipes (Gourmet, Sante, Plate Magazine, etc.) and which are more prone to writing business/industry-focused stories (Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, etc.).

Know Who to Contact

Which reporters would be interested in your story? If you are sending out a profile about the history of your restaurant and its founder, there might be several story angles and therefore several reporters who may be interested – business reporters, feature reporters, restaurant/foodservice industry reporters, etc. However, if the same information is sent to multiple journalists at one media outlet, and more than one of those reporters contacts you, be sure that they are both aware of this cross-pollination in media interest.

On the other hand, make sure that information is sent to only the appropriate people; contacting those who would obviously never cover your story (i.e. the business reporter who covers the technology sector) may be offensive. After all, most reporters receive hundreds press releases and media pitches on a daily basis, and your credibility will be quickly lost if you continually send useless information to the wrong people.

Keep it Simple

Hands down, journalists prefer clear, concise, even bulleted information over long, drawn-out press releases. Unless the publication is short-staffed, it will not use a press release verbatim. Rather, a reporter will contact you for more information. The faster they can see and understand the important facts, the quicker they will be able to make a decision as to whether they are interested or not. If the information cannot be easily found, they will more than likely give up on trying to find it.

Although press kits are extremely useful tools for gathering and providing information in one document, do not send them to journalists unless they are requested. A reporter will never take the time to read through one unless he/she already has a story in mind and is looking for additional information.

How Should the Information be Sent?

Most reporters prefer information to be sent via email; however, this is mainly an issue of personal preference. Email is by far the most effective method of quickly distributing information to a large number of contacts, and many reporters can keep information better organized when it is sent digitally. However, email is not always the most reliable tool, with technological issues arising on a daily basis, including spam and virus protection programs that prevent mass emailing.

Faxing is also an appropriate way to distribute information. Although it is more difficult for a journalist to respond to a fax, it may be easier for the information to be passed to the appropriate person and for a number of people to see it. This can also prevent the issue of a message being deleted when emailed to the wrong person, or sent to someone who is not available via email at the time (i.e. a reporter who is out of town).

When sending media pitches or press releases via fax or email, always include a clear subject. Some journalists even prefer that the subject be the same as the title/headline of the press release. Do not ever state “Press Release” as the subject, as you can imagine how many emails and faxes a reporter might get on a daily basis with this heading!

What Information Should be Included?

Do not attach press releases to emails; many journalists will not open attachments and would rather see the pertinent information laid out in the body of an email. The only materials that should be attached are those that are supplemental (and non-essential) to the core of your message.

Keeping in mind that the information you send should be clear and concise, also remember that you need to make it as easy as possible for a reporter to run your story. Chances are, if they run into any roadblocks, they will move onto another source for their story.

Include anything that will make a reporter’s job easier, such as editable footage and high-resolution photographs. If these files are not included with the information you are sending, make a note that they are available upon request. Any visuals that can be provided make your story more compelling to reporters (i.e. charts, graphics, etc.) and it increases the attention it will receive when printed or aired.

Located in South Beach (Miami), afterglo is a restaurant featuring “Beauty Cuisine” – a concept that has attracted a lot of media attention, but one that has also required efforts to educate the media. In a case like this, it’s important to not overload the media with information, but to also provide enough to ensure they have a clear understanding of the restaurant, which can be illustrated through the use of photos, fact sheets and other educational materials.

Lastly, be sure to include all contact information for the person that will be available 24 hours a day to answer media questions and arrange interviews.

Timing is Everything

Reporters are constantly working on deadlines, often those that are extremely tight, so you must be cautious on multiple levels when contacting them. First of all, if new information is sent to a reporter who is working on an existing deadline, it will probably be overlooked, at least until he/she has time to review it. On the other hand, if a reporter would like to include your information in a story and cannot get in touch with you to meet a deadline, he/she will move onto the next available contact. Reporters spend a lot of time waiting for phone calls to be returned and information to be sent in order to complete stories, so the more conveniently and quickly you can make your information available, the more likely it is to be used.

On the broadcast side, be cautious of air times. It will become extremely obvious to a producer or assignment editor that you are not familiar with the program if you attempt to contact him or her just before or during the air time of the show. For example, if you want to speak to the producer of The View, which airs from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (ET), you would probably not want to place a call any time before 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

When distributing information about an event, be aware of other major events and newsworthy happenings taking place at the same time. If another major event is taking place, and your event does not tie into it, your chances of getting it covered by the media are slim.

Also pay close attention to the “lead times” of different print publications. For example, most daily newspapers have extremely short lead times, since the frequency is so high; however, many monthly trade publications plan stories up to four months in advance of when the issue will actually run.

Because Forbes Magazine features in-depth profile stories, the lead time is extremely long. For example, a reporter who was interested in featuring Grupo Anderson’s (parent company of Señor Frog’s) initially expressed interest in early April for a story that finally appeared in mid-September that year – more than five months later.

What are Reporters Interested In?

The easiest way to determine what a reporter is interested in is to think about what would intrigue the public or the publication’s audience. In general, people like to read and hear about stories that are unusual and stand out in some way. Business-focused publications tend to run stories that focus on industry trends, company growth and economic impacts, whereas local news outlets may be interested in issues that have a direct impact on the community, including philanthropy, history, entrepreneur profiles, and so on.

Reporters are also interested in anything that ties into a major current issue. As an example, Po’ Boys, a New Orleans-themed restaurant with locations throughout Florida, was extremely involved in raising funds for Hurricane Katrina. Because the restaurant’s theme was so strongly tied to the national news surrounding the tragic event, Po’ Boys received coverage on local, regional and national levels as a result.

Is Your Story Worthy of a Follow-up?

This question relates directly back to the newsworthiness of your story and how appropriate it is for media outlet you’ve sent it to. This can be determined by asking a few simple questions:

• Do you genuinely think that the media would benefit from your story?
• Would the publication’s demographic or target audience be interested in reading about your story?
• Is your information useful to the public?
• Would your information help the media in any way?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, journalists will be happy to hear from you. Otherwise, a follow-up call may be taken as an annoyance, and they will not be as happy to hear from you the next time you have a newsworthy story. Most of the time, you will not be able to talk a journalist into covering a story that is not newsworthy anyway.

By Aaron D. Allen

Quantified Marketing Group
300 International Parkway, Suite 104
Heathrow, Florida 32746
407-936-1010 office
407-936-1011 fax
407-928-3026 cell

www.quantifiedmarketing.com
www.restaurant-public-relations.com