Pick up your local newspaper and scan the community stories. Read about the plumber who made a midnight repair call to the homeless shelter for free. Or the physician who volunteers in the local clinic twice a week. Or the graphic-design company that donated its services and designed all the posters for the city's annual AIDS benefit.

Now scan the pages of advertisements. Which operations would you be more likely to patronize? Those with two inches of ad copy or those with a deeper story and a commitment to the community? Most likely, you would choose those companies with the deeper stories to their credit — those with the good publicity.

Publicity opportunities aren't limited to plumbers, physicians and graphic designers. Restaurateurs can make the most of this powerful medium as well. Getting your restaurant mentioned favorably in the local press can work wonders for sales. And, best of all, getting written up in a newspaper column or being featured on radio or television is free.

Why is publicity so powerful? First of all, mentions in the media "echo" your regular advertising message. When consumers hear publicity about your restaurant, they remember your regular advertising — and vice versa. Because of the reinforcement, the business with good publicity often comes first to consumers' minds when they are deciding which purveyor to patronize.

The public is also impressed when a news organization pays special attention to your business. Public-relations professionals call this a "third-party endorsement." "While advertising is important, it cannot give you the credibility that publicity can," says Marcia Yudkin, a Boston-based public relations consultant who works with retailers and the author of Six Steps to Free Publicity. "If people encounter your business message in an ad, they know you are saying something in a self-interested way," she notes. "But if you can get the media to say the same thing in their voice in an editorial column — or in a news setting — the public more readily believes it."

But how do you get news organizations to notice you? That is a two-part process. First, you must establish programs in your community that are worthy of press coverage, and then you must make sure that the right people know about your efforts.

Community contributions pay off

When your staff goes beyond the normal bounds of business to help your town, it can spark interest from the local media. Public-relations experts call that "cause-related marketing." "Anytime you can tie your store to a local community-service organization, you are sure to get favorable publicity," says Preston Kirk, president of Kirk Public Relations in Richardson, Texas.

The community activities don't need to be costly or elaborate. "A lot of people assume you have to do something earthshaking to earn publicity," says Yudkin. "That's not true. You just have to do something unusual. And it helps to have a human-interest angle."

Simple community-service efforts that involve a minimal investment but can get maximum exposure include working with a local charity for the homeless; organizing an ongoing drive to donate used clothing, computer equipment or other items to local charities; walking in walk-a-thons sponsored by charitable organizations; organizing a team to keep the local park clean; donating your restaurant space for a local charity's fundraiser; contributing a tray of hors d'oeuvres to a tasting to raise money for the homeless; answering phones during the local public-television station's pledge drive; and training your staff members to serve as English as a Second Language (ESL) volunteers to teach new immigrants in your area. The possibilities are virtually endless. The two things those activities all have in common is that they help the community and they promote the name of your restaurant in that community.

Take your time deciding which organizations to help. Talk to a few of them to find out what kind of time commitment and other efforts they ask of volunteers. To find community groups that you might want to support, look around your town, keeping your ears and eyes open. Start with the phone book, looking under "Volunteer Services" or "Social and Human Services."

It's vitally important to get your employees on board early and to keep them enthusiastic about your community activities, so ask them to help you choose the groups that you support. Perhaps some of your employees are already volunteering for a local charity. If so, that can be a great way to spark interest among their colleagues. Above all, your community efforts should be considered an expansion of your overall concept.

To get the best ongoing publicity, you should be prepared for long-term involvement, so you don't want to pick a cause that your employees will lose interest in. You can spark enthusiasm among employees by rewarding them for their extra charitable efforts. For example, after employees put in a certain number of volunteer hours over several months, offer them an afternoon or evening off.

To maximize your restaurant's exposure during your community crusades and pull in good publicity for what you do, you must make sure your restaurant is identified with the activity. Imprint T-shirts with your restaurant's name and logo for your staff to wear while doing their volunteer work. Distribute a bumper sticker that urges the public to support your chosen organization. (The sticker should also include your restaurant's name and logo, of course.) Hang up a bulletin board in your restaurant where you can post news about your chosen cause and photos of your staff in action. Be sure to include reports about your staff's activities in fliers and newsletters that you send to customers.

"Use all of your networking skills to get your store identified with your cause," says Kirk. Your network may include your chamber of commerce, church, alumni organization, country club or other civic groups. Many of those organizations have newsletters that will mention your restaurant and its community work. And they all have members who can help spread the word about your contributions.

And don't forget your regular customers. Use Family Day or other special in-house events to publicize the community work your restaurant is doing, and invite customers to get involved. For example, have each employee wear a button that prompts patrons to ask about your community program. Not only will those types of promotions encourage customers to get involved in the community and spread the word about your community-service program, they will also boost repeat business.

Cash in on consumer information

Consumers are looking for top value. Your restaurant offers it. Why not put those two factors together and write a helpful consumer-oriented pamphlet? For example, you might want to focus on nutrition information or food-safety facts, with tips on cooking healthfully and safely at home.

Consumer booklets have great staying power; you can offer the same book for years, which limits printing costs. By emphasizing consumer information (rather than simply pumping up your restaurant), you can also get media attention for your booklet and thus, your restaurant.

If your restaurant finds success with a helpful book, consider expanding your offerings to include an audiotape that covers similar ground. Public-service tapes have become more popular as an increasing number of people listen to them while driving to and from work. You can make 100 copies of an audiotape for as little as $1 apiece.

A videotape takes a little more investment upfront in both time and money, but the payback can be great. On video, you can show employees interacting with customers right in your restaurant. The food-safety section could serve to underscore how safe your establishment is, since your employees will be demonstrating safety procedures. Videotapes can be duplicated for as little as $5 each in quantities of 100. You might even want to set up a consumer-information phone line. "Offer a 900 number with consumer tips," suggests Yudkin. Local media is often anxious to report on helpful services such as information hotlines.

Capitalize on community events

Is your town or region renowned for a sports event, fair or cultural event? Or does it attract tourists during a certain season? If so, tie in a promotion with the annual event. Serve food samples at a booth at a fair; offer free desserts to diners with a ticket stub from the big game; put an ad in the program for the local music festival. Contributing to these events can often get your restaurant mentioned in any promotional literature about the event and is likely to attract media attention.

You can also take center stage yourself at local events by giving a speech. "Speeches are one of the top ways that people get information today," says Terri Horvath, president of Publishing Resources in Indianapolis. Your chamber of commerce or other civic groups are likely to host a speaker's program headlined by prominent community business leaders.

Remember that you do not want to commercialize your speech — and turn off your audience — by mentioning your restaurant's name. However, you might produce a helpful handout that happens to list your restaurant on the last page as that evening's program sponsor.

After your speech ends, you can still get exposure from the event. "The organization [hosting the program] may be willing to give you their mailing list," says Horvath. "Follow up with a mailing of something that is newsy or helpful. Don't push the sales angle too much." Don't overlook getting a mention in the newsletter of the organization sponsoring the speech as well. And, of course, you may be able to land press coverage of your speech.

Don't hide your light

Once your community programs are under way, it's time to spread the word about your good works to your local media.

Your first step is to identify which newspapers, radio stations and television stations cover local human-interest stories in your area. "Become a news junkie," says Jan Ford, who runs her own public-relations agency in Palo Alto, California. "Read every newspaper you can get your hands on and listen to news radio. From that you will get a feel for what reporters cover and how they cover it, then you can come through with a story that will work for your particular media."

Local media are always seeking human-interest news, so present your community-service story as a newsworthy event. "As long as it isn't blatantly advertising, your story can get a hearing," says Ford. She suggests that you think of yourself as tracking down news for the newspaper or the station, not as promoting your restaurant. "You function best when you operate as an unpaid reporter," she says. "You have to be objective. Reporters will see through any attempt to self-promote."

"Remember that the media is looking for something new and different," says Yudkin. "They don't do you a favor by publicizing your restaurant-they do their readers a favor."

News treatments often vary not only by media outlet but also by reporter. "I've never met two reporters who like exactly the same thing," says Jason Reynolds, owner of Creative Factory in Portland, Oregon. "By listening carefully, you get an idea of what each reporter likes."

Don't neglect the small newspapers or magazines in your area just because they have limited circulation. Although the larger newspapers and TV stations are well-known and will spread your message far and wide, they are not the only news outlets people pay attention to, and they may not be the best place to place a locally based story. Small weekly papers are often hungrier for local news. "Small newspapers are always looking for copy," says Kirk. "And they are often distributed to up to 20,000 people. So get your photos and news stories in there."

After you've determined which news outlets to approach with your community-service news, prepare a simple but exciting press release about your work. The release should be short and to the point — and make sure it has a hook. "Make sure you have a story — that's first," says Reynolds. "If you are convinced you have one of interest to the public, then tell it as briefly as you can. Most stories, if they are not complicated, can be told in a single page."

As you write the release, place the most important information at the beginning and work down toward less important facts. That way, reporters with limited space in their columns can cut your release easily and still get the most important information to their readers. Top the release with a headline that sums up the key story in a catchy way. Take lots of photographs of your staff wearing their imprinted T-shirts while doing their community work, and send the best shots to the press to accompany your press release.

Having trouble getting the words to flow? "Take a copy of your morning newspaper and literally copy out several of the short news stories by longhand," suggests Reynolds. "This will give you a sense of what newswriting feels like. Then write your press release the same way."

Promote your restaurant with reprints

Coverage in all sizes of publications can be turned into valuable reprints. "The point of the article often is not so much the initial readership as the chance to get a quality reprint," notes Kirk. Some publications will make reprints for you (often for a fee). To make reprints yourself, get the publication's approval and copy the published piece along with the publication's masthead and the line "reprinted with permission." You can then send the copies to current or potential customers along with a note that says something like, "Hope you saw this article. Drop by the restaurant for more details."

Barbara A. Besteni, president of Special Efx Productions in Miramar, Florida, suggests that you rent the active subscriber list of the publication where the article appeared and send a special mailing to those readers. "You can include a copy of the clip, or save some money by just sending a postcard referring to the article, and inviting the recipient to visit your store," she says. You can also compile many reprints into a press kit to send to other reporters when pitching a new story idea.

Audio or video reprints — although more expensive to produce — can be valuable, too, especially if the radio or television station did an in-depth story on your business.

Publicity pays off in profits

Is your mind pumping with potential publicity ideas? Then it's time to get started. Remember, though, that publicity is not a one-shot deal. Be sure to design a program that revolves around a theme that you, your employees and the public can all get excited about for a long time to come. Plan activities that build on that theme throughout the year. The effort will be well worth it. "Get your business name mentioned often enough," says Marcia Yudkin, "and people will think of you every time they are in the mood to buy."

Back to top