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QSR operator's guide to netting free press

Earned media, free press, viral media -- whatever you call it, when it's positive and it sets local and/or national news reporters afoot and in the direction of your QSR, it can be a real windfall. What are journalists looking for and how do you get their attention for your brand? Here are six thoughts from the reporter's side of the fence.

April 22, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Free press: As long as mankind has worked to make a buck, mankind has also worked to get free publicity about that work ... at least when it's positive. After all, restaurateurs know as well as any other savvy businessperson the results can be invaluable to their brands.

So whether a brand figures out a way to inject itself into all the hubbub around a big story — like D.C.-based brand, &pizza did during the Michael Cohen hearings in that city, with its "Hallway Pizza Guy," — or manages the cool trick of ongoing positive press through an offbeat media campaign like KFC does regularly with its "Celebrity Colonels" -- the resulting free media attention can really help boost bottom line sales.  

At QSRweb, you might say we're intimately familiar with these "news media types" and how tough it can be just to gain their attention in the constant onslaught of pitches, emails, phone calls, social media messages and —oh yeah — the boss's directives — that all clamor for a part of the typical reporter's coverage day. But, it can be done. And, speaking solely from the view of one of those "media types" who has done "time" in online, TV and newspaper newsrooms, the following six ideas can help brands increase the chances your story will be covered.

Know who assigns the stories at the place you're pitching 

In TV and even some larger radio newsrooms, this is typically the assignment editor, although if you know or have the contact information for the news director or even station general manager, by all means, use it. Like most businesses, TV stations have a food chain that starts with the GM, followed by the news director, and then the assignment editor, so any three individuals along that line will work. 

In print news outlets, your best contact is probably the city editor or food or business beat reporter. Here again, if you have a contact or "in" with the publisher or managing editor, well, refer to the previous information for TV station food chains. Finally, at online entities, like QSRweb, the editor is your contact, unless it's a much larger online organization that has numerous beat reporters. Again, if you know somebody over the editor's head, go for it.

The bottom line then is just don't send your pitch or news release to a blind address, since that increases the chances it will fall into a spam folder or that infamous "circular file" or never even looked at in the first place. After all, your pitch has to be seen and/or heard to stand a chance of getting covered and this very basic initial step is one that far too many brands give no attention. 

Whether press release or one-on-one pitch: Think like the audience

When you make your pitch and/or send a news release, think like the audience that the media outlet you're pitching is trying to captivate. And make no mistake about it, they ARE, indeed, trying to captivate them because the news game is just about as competitive and cut-throat as the restaurant business.

So it behooves brands to know the audience for the media outlet or outlets they're pitching (for example, B2B, B2C or other) and then make sure the story being pitched is not only one that audience hasn't heard before, but also provides compelling content that is either useful, emotionally engaging or some combination thereof.

By way of example, if you're pitching for coverage on this site, calls for coverage around subjects like home recipes and direct product promotions that lack a practicable industry will mean little to our audience and will likely not be covered. 

Highlight what's newsworthy about the 'everyday' event, initiative or HR announcement

While most news organization want to get news out about the brands they cover regarding their LTOs, charitable initiatives and personnel appointments, they also want to present it in a way that outlet's particular audience thinks is worth reading. That means simply that your release or pitch must give a reason why the audience in question would care about the subject. Without this, the chances the story will be covered plummet ... unless perhaps it's a very slow news day. 

How does this look in the press release or pitch for coverage itself? Well, for example, brands pitching a story on new beverage LTOs to a B2B site can save those over-the-top adjective-laden beverage descriptions for the consumer audience pitch and instead explain why the brand sees playing up the beverage program as good business strategy ... at least what you can disclose about it publicly. 

Send phenomenal photos, but never of an empty restaurant

Great pictures, compelling concept renderings and even links to video or audio, increase the chances your brand's story will get positive coverage simply because, again, they make stories more interesting. So invest in a decent photographer, videographer or artist and make sure you capture images that relay your brand's identity. And please, include PEOPLE in the photos you send to media. 

For instance, at QSRweb, if we had a dime for every pristine, but completely empty restaurant photo we've received, well, we'd all be richer, for one thing. So make sure the photos you send with your pitch show people engaging with your brand, its food or events.

One added note: It's always a good idea to get signed photo releases from those pictured, and always include those correctly spelled names, titles and location specifics, as well as photo credit information with your pitch. 

Subject matter experts: A ticket to a reporter's heart

One innovative approach to free press and brand mentions that few QSRs seem to take advantage of involves offering members of your brand's team as subject matter experts. Reporters love this approach because a hefty file-full of sources on subject areas in a reporter's beat is the equivalent of on-the-job steroids — it beefs up a journalist's overall reporting and coverage expertise. 

Here's an example of how it might work: Let's say your brand's culinary director is specially trained in food fermentation processes or maybe even in menu development around emerging trends. Well, then determine whether they're open to taking questions around their specialty topic and which areas they feel most well-versed in discussing and build a pitch around that. 

When considering people on your team and their areas of expertise, broaden the pool of potentials to include everything from your supply chain manager who has in-depth knowledge about hydroponic food suppliers, to the person in HR who received education around initiating servant leadership programs. Then, pull together a list of the experts and their subject area that you already have in house, who can comment on related stories when they come up. Or pitch some ideas for coverage based off the experts you have in-house. The result could be the kind of coverage and brand "halo" that restaurant businesses pay plenty of marketing dollars to attain.

A word about timing

There is perhaps no better way to really make brand strategy get up and walk into your customers' hearts than to pitch and land a relatively in-depth feature story around your brand with a media outlet. These are the stories that lead that run on the newsletters and landing pages of online outlets, lead TV newscasts or generate full-page newspaper coverage. They are the equivalent of ad dollar gold. 

But — and you knew  there would be one of those — you really need to get your timing right, as well as way out in front of any event or launch you're seeking coverage for because this helps the media you're targeting arrange for quality coverage.

This means if you have a really unusual or high-dollar digital initiative you want to make a media splash with, get the reporter on the line early in the process so the story can be sold to newsroom management since it will warrant additional resources, like extra time from the photo staff or other outside interviews. 

Reporters, like everybody else, have more work to do than they can ever truly get around to doing. Knowing that, whether it be just some basic coverage of a store opening or full-scale feature development you're hoping to attract around your brand, remember to pitch it early, pitch it with impact and pitch it to the right person. Then, pray. 

Photos: iStock

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.