The Creative Capitalist:

The whole subject of “getting press” seems to inspire a lot of questions, discussions and general bewilderment–not just on Entrepreneur.com, but everywhere in the business world.

Small business owners, in particular, see “press” as this mysterious, unapproachable, possibly malevolent entity. Which is soooo not true. If you’re a celebrity or a big business, press is dangerous. If you’re just a little guy, then they’re actually quite likely to be on your side. They’re just people, looking for good stories. And they’re more than willing to write about you–if you let them know you’re there.

Rather than write about the whole PR shuffle myself, I did a Q&A with Marcia Gagliardi of Tablehopper and got the journalist’s perspective on all things PR and marketing. I hope it’ll be helpful. (Note: yes, it’s from a restaurant-industry perspective, but a lot of the information can be applied to just about any retail business.)

How do you find restaurants to cover?
A combination of publicists, word of mouth, knowing people in the industry, reading food blogs. … Also, it’s a little unconventional, but I ride a bike to stay in shape, and I just look around a lot while I’m out and notice what’s going on. A lot of my column is finding out what’s new, so I’m always talking to people: restaurant owners, waiters, cooks, bartenders and so forth. I’ve lived in the city for 13 years, so I know folks from different walks of life, and that helps me keep up with what’s happening.

If someone doesn’t have a publicist, will it hurt them?

No, but I think they should familiarize themselves with local food writers. Write a press release, partner [or owner] bios and a fact sheet. That way if anyone inquires, you can send everything off to them so they have details. Enclose a menu, too. Or make the initial contact yourself. In a couple days you can figure out the writers of all your local magazines, newspapers and websites. I wouldn’t discount neighborhood papers either.

How can someone get all the writers’ contact information?

Usually on the company website, or on the masthead [for print publications]. A lot of magazine restaurant coverage is handled in-house. For freelance writers, run a search on their name.

How do you feel about receiving phone calls?

I feel it’s too pushy unless I’ve given someone my card, or unless it’s a friend of a friend. I prefer an email because I can answer it on my time. I’m a social person, but in this day and age writers get pitched so many things…

Is there anything you wouldn’t cover?

I don’t want to cover chains. There are nice restaurants that have multiple locations in multiple cities, but unless it’s something that stands out, I don’t feel a strong pull. I cover everything from taco trucks and small ethnic joints–even street food– all the way to high end dining. I think people love stories about family businesses. I love hearing stories about immigrant families who bring authentic food to a neighborhood. It’s something I seek all the time. Just ‘cause it’s not a big flashy restaurant with a full bar and valet doesn’t mean I don’t want it. I think most food writers feel the same way.

There are so many businesses. How/why would one stand out from the competition?

Writers are hungry for news. We’re looking all the time. But the restaurant business is really competitive—so yes, you have to do your part. Writers want stories. Is this an immigrant family? Are you making your own pasta? What is it about the ingredients that’s different? Really highlight your uniqueness. Or talk about how you’re providing something to a neighborhood that’s not being served. What makes you stand out?

I also think it’s smart to invite key media people in for dinner. Some press do accept comps. Offer to send a gift cert, or set them up. (Ed note: Even if they don’t accept, the gesture is always appreciated… and as any PR person will tell you, it’s standard procedure.)

Also—be nice to people in the industry. Sometimes, it’s something as small as calling back a writer who’s called your establishment. It drives me crazy when people don’t call me back. If I’m spending the time to hunt them down—especially if I stopped by—and they can’t call me back, I’m not going to be able to write about them. I know you’re busy, but I am too. Be respectful.

Pinpoint who the key communications person is. If your place is a mom-and-pop shop, just decide internally which person will answer questions. It keeps messaging consistent and gives the press a consistent contact.

When is the right time to talk to the press?

There are two phases. I think it’s good to have buzz before it’s finalized. People are hungry to know what’s moving in–it gets people talking. So even if you don’t have all the details ironed out yet, don’t be afraid to release prelim info. Pinpoint key people to release buzz to. Look at who writes buzz columns in newspapers, magazines and online

Start the second wave maybe a month before you open, to accommodate for print mags’ lead time. Make sure everyone knows when you’re opening. Let them know the concept, the chef, the hours, etc.

But if I promote things too soon, mightn’t it get me a negative review?

Reviews will start happening a month after you’ve been open—and that whole stage depends on whether you did your homework first. Do these publications even know you opened?

After the opening announcements, follow up with new info: menu changes, new features, staff changes, etc. Don’t inundate them every week, but I appreciate it when restaurants let me know they’ve changed things. Remind people you’re around, and give them reasons to write about you.

What can I do about bad press?

It’s a learning experience. The key thing is, the first month, get lots of feedback. Put your pride aside. Don’t just get friends who will say everything’s good. But maybe get them to write anonymous feedback. Your friends don’t want to say anything mean, but maybe it will save you from getting a negative magazine review that goes out to 250,000 people.

I think Yelp is a useful tool, though painful at times. There is some good info on there. Some people don’t have educated palates, and it’s easier to be negative than positive, but if you see consistent things in Yelp reviews, pay attention. Monitor constantly. The same goes for Citysearch, Zagat. etc. Also, I know some restaurateurs will contact posters from public forums directly. They’ll say, ‘Sorry you had a bad experience, come back and let us make up for it.’ It’s extra-mile stuff, but can go a long way in reversing negative feedback. People will sometimes revise what they’ve written online.

My brother-in-law asked for a marketing plan for Medici. I told him I’d write up a detailed email  outlining my PR plans, and CC the bar and kitchen managers.  A formal marketing plan would take too much time–plus everyone’s eyes would glaze over the minute they looked at it. They’re F & B (food and beverage) people, not cubicle drones.

 Here’s what I finally sent to everyone:

1.  First priority: Website. Crucial. Need it up and running ASP. Better if at least one page is CMS-maintained–we don’t want to depend on a Webmaster for updates. Maybe the news section? Probably I can get that as a feed on the homepage. Apart from that, we need an About Us/Bios page, a menu page, and a decor page w/pics. Since we won’t have pics for a while, we can just do a placeholder there. 
2.  I am okay to go forward with the color/graphics scheme Catherine has started. If you’d like her to play with it a bit more, that’s fine–and likewise, if you want her to begin by designing a logo or artwork, I can hold off on the Website for a week–but no more. It’s going to be the first place people go to learn more about you, and there needs to be something there.
3.  IF you have another designer in mind, please give me their contact info immediately so I can get proposals and initial ideas from all contenders. However, if you’re just kicking aorund the idea of considering other designers, I might caution you against it. Few of them are as efficient, reasonably priced and nice as Catherine is. I also think she has a good eye.
4. Once we’ve decided upon a designer, let me know whether you want them to elaborate on the existing design elements (my recommendation) or start from scratch.  Whatever your decision is, please let me know immediately, as I will need to manage the timeline and outline the deliverables.
5. Here’s my PR plan for the next few weeks:
6. Once you are *ready*, I can start feeding bits of info to the press. I am going to start by letting the restaurant industry trade pubs and the city blogs know that Medici is opening in the old Shadow Lounge space, and giving them Matty and Kevin’s names when/where applicable.
7. However. Before I do that, I’d like to at least get some temp signage in the window, and a tentative soft opening date.
8. I’ll write Matty and Kevin’s bios to coincide with the site buildout, since that’s the first place they’ll be posted. I also want to work with Kevin and Matty to come up with brief one-page backgrounders on the food and beverage menus.  Sample items, creative inspirations, spotlight products, etc. Greg, you can provide this for the wine.
9. Once we have a temp site, bios, backgrounders and menus in progress, it’ll be time to get Medici on the “Coming Soon” sections of various city sites and foodie newsletters. Probably this will be about 3 weeks to D-Day.
10. As Kevin and Matty solidify the basic menu parameters, I will start working with Kevin to reach out to liquor PRs, promo companies, etc.to see which liquors we will be featuring on the menu, and which products we want to align ourselves with at the outset.
11. Greg, I’m going to talk to people and find out what the process is for doing wine dinners, wine tastings, or any similar events. I’m not sure if you have to work through an importer/distributor or if you can go direct to winemakers. Do you know?
12. Based on what Matty comes up with, I’ll start coming up with different food-related angles. Signature items, signature samplers, organic/all natural product focus, food-and-wine pairings…all these things are potential hooks.
13. Once we have a solid opening date set, I’m going to reach out to journalists I know in the SF bay, and start the works in motion to get profiles of Matty and Kevin in the local papers, mags, etc.

It has been 10 days since I sent that email, and I haven’t heard a single word back from any of the boys, which pretty much confirms my suspicions about the futility of corporate communication tactics in the restaurant/bar business. At this point, I’m asking myself a variation on a classic question:

If a PR plan is outlined in the concrete jungle, and none of the management staff comment, has it really been outlined at all?

Have I mentioned that I’m helping to open a restaurant/lounge in the heart of San Francisco? I have not. A rather major oversight, you might say, but within the round-the-clock multi-tasking juggernaut that is my life, it’s really only one more ball to keep in the air.

 My brother-in-law owns the place–it’s a great space South of Market, nearby clubs, galleries, offices, studios… The previous owner under-utilized it for years, and still made a profit. Now we get to see whether a complete revamp, organic Mediterranean menu, super-premium bar and different demographic target will improve upon the old concept, or stagger under the weight of its own ambitions. I hope it’s not the latter, since a lot of the new ideas are mine.

We did a pre-opening party a couple weeks ago, and I was pleased to discover that the locals are definitely the Ketel One and Patron Silver crowd. They drank us out of top-shelf liquor within hours. Excellent. I began calling my contacts within the super-premium liquor niche almost immediately. “Tastings? Theme nights? Food pairings? Use your imagination,” I told them.

Now–with about a month to go until the soft opening and the construction workers representing in full force–it’s time to start setting meetings, I think. Except. Our bar manager has professed a sudden aversion to specialty cocktails: “I’m a meat-and-potatoes bartender…I don’t know how to do this stuff.”

This is a 180 degree reversal from his position three weeks ago–at that time, he told me that everything on the specialty cocktail menu would be made with real fruit and fresh-squeezed juices, and that he was putting a permanent ban on Cuervo Gold and Jaegermeister.

 I’m chalking it up to nerves. Tonight, we’re taking baby steps toward a cocktail menu. “Nothing needs to be set in stone right now,” I told him. We just need to have a basic concept. NOT one that has anything to do with potatoes. Leave potatoes to the chef. He’s a James Beard nominee, a Culinary Institute instructor and a diva, and though he can make me tear my hair out sometimes, his instincts with spuds are right on the money.