Restaurant Press Trips - A key ingredient to the QMG Restaurant Public Relations Campaign

At QMG, our approach is to develop a plan that explores all possible stories and then invite those journalists who have a track record for getting published.

Restaurant press parties are more geared for local and regional media. This involves inviting reporters of newspapers, magazines, TV stations and radio stations in your area to experience your restaurant first-hand. You can use the event to introduce the media to your restaurant (if you are just opening). If you are an existing restaurant, you can use a restaurant press party to promote new entrees and/or wines and drinks, or just to reacquaint the media with your menu and ambiance. You can even have special themed press parties, such as a Valentine’s Day event, or a mass proposal event (where you invite numerous men to propose to their girlfriend in your restaurant on the same night).

Restaurant press trips – which are also called “fam” or familiarization trips - are more comprehensive than restaurant press parties. The idea of a restaurant press trip is to invite travel, lifestyle and food journalists from around the country to write about the area or city where you are located. Most travel features are centered on a destination and include an ideal place to stay and an ideal place to eat.

Restaurant press trips generally fall into two categories: organized group trips and individual trips. Organized trips typically consist of anywhere from 2 to 10 people. The itinerary will include visits to attractions, a stay at the participating hotel and meals at your restaurant. Targeted media can include, but is not limited to, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, books, television, and radio. Journalists may be on staff, but there are also many freelance journalists who will pursue assignments for a wide variety of outlets. We can help you with restaurant press trips in two ways.

We can contact your local convention and visitors bureau, and hotels in your area, to make sure that your restaurant is included in press trips organized by the convention and visitors bureau itself and public relations firms that represent hotels in your area.

We can also arrange a restaurant press trip ourselves, including a hotel in your area and working with the local convention and visitors bureau to include attractions.

Whether you are interested in a restaurant press party, a restaurant press trip or both, QMG can coordinate the event from start to finish.