Local, Regional and National Restaurant PR is Beneficial in Every Outlet

Landing a story in a national publication or a prominent television or radio show is certainly reason to cheer – and it will provide valuable publicity that an advertisement could never achieve – but an effective restaurant public relations campaign starts closer to home. There are a variety of accessible, well-targeted media opportunities eager for good story ideas.

Chains of small weekly and daily newspapers, major metropolitan newspapers, city magazines, state magazines, local and regional women’s newspapers, local and regional senior lifestyle magazines, local and regional family publications and local and regional dining and entertainment newspapers are among the media outlets that are ideal targets for stories on your restaurant.

A copy of the publication containing your article can be passed around, mailed or generally distributed to clients and prospects. This is another way to "touch" customers and prospects; they typically like to be informed about special accomplishments and kept up-to-date on both you and your company.

If the newspaper or magazine is noteworthy in your area, you can cite "as seen in" on all printed advertising, e-mail signatures and point-of-purchase marketing. "As seen in Palm Beach Ilustrates" or even “The Orlando Sentinel” can give you tremendous credibility and set you apart from your competition in a significant way.

One of the key objectives of a restaurant public relations campaign is to get yourself known as an expert in your field. What better way to accomplish this than to be quoted as a source or be profiled in a story in a newspaper or magazine in your region.

Of course, one restaurant PR opportunity often leads to another. For example, assignment editors and reporters at TV and radio stations read the local and regional newspapers and magazines, and sometimes get story ideas from published articles they read. In addition, editors and reporters at newspapers and magazines sometimes get ideas from stories they hear on the radio or see on TV.

The ultimate goal of a restaurant public relations campaign is to get your restaurant noticed, and to attract guests into your location. A flattering article in the local newspaper or regional magazine creates a celebrity status for the person or place profiles. This truly separates you from your competition.

Remember, local media outlets consistently run “Special Features,” “People and Places,” and “Events” articles. Community newspapers and other local media want to hear about Grand Openings, seasonal and feature stories, employee and customer recognition, event promotion, seminars and more. The story ideas are endless.