They will come to you

In PR techniques and PR media, we learnt how to create and assemble a media kit that would be sent off to various media outlets. We learnt that in order to get media coverage, we, as PR practitioners must go and seek for it. Surprisingly, this is not the case at my work placement. 

As mentioned in my previous blog post, What Restaurant PR brings to the table, I am currently interning at a restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia. Instead of delivering media kits to relevant media outlets, often writers, PR and/or marketing officers from different media outlets would contact the restaurant. It is therefore important for restaurants and other establishments in Jakarta to draw attention from the media in order to gain coverage. The greater the hype a restaurant receives, the more interested the media is and thus, the greater the media coverage.  

Recently, a writer from a website visited the restaurant with two others equipped with their cameras and photography accessories. My supervisor and I greeted them to a table where we briefly discussed the restaurant’s background and ordered them the specialties. They then freely took photos of the food, drinks and restaurant. 

However, they don’t always come to you. My supervisor said that for special events, he would personally invite people from the media, approximately 10 people, whom he has established a strong relationship with. He does not expect them to write about the event, however just to have a good time. The purpose of this is to create a stronger relationship between the restaurant and the media.  And as studied in this degree, developing strong and positive relations with the media is a key component to the success of a business.