It is not a science – but it takes certain skills, talent, and hard work to attract the attention of international media to your restaurant. It also takes a bit of luck – but remember that fortune favors the well-prepared.

Here are six pieces of advice on how to attract international media to your restaurant:

1. Identify your stories

Journalists are only interested in telling compelling stories. They don’t want a sales pitch. That is why it is important for you to look at your restaurant a little bit from above. What makes your restaurant unique? How does it stand out? Try to do a test and tell some of those stories to the person next to you at a dinner party. If she is fascinated and asks questions about it the journalists probably will too. If she is bored, you can be sure that the journalists will be bored as well.

2. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the journalists

The journalists from international media have so many restaurants in Copenhagen to write about. Why should they pick your restaurant? Journalists are always looking for headlines and angles. Do you as the restaurant owner have an interesting story to share about your background, dreams, or gastronomic inspiration? Do you have an extraordinary story to tell about your work with local farmers, food waste, biodiversity, or anything that sets you apart?

3. Have somebody responsible for PR at your restaurant

PR is not something that is easy to do or something a waiter can take care of before service. PR is serious business and there is so much to gain if you take it seriously and respect what it can lead to. Either hire a freelance PR professional or train someone at your restaurant to work with PR in a professional way.

4. Be easy to work with

Some journalists are a bit spoiled and complacent. They expect you to be easy to work with otherwise they will have hundreds of other restaurants to feature in their stories. If a journalist wants photos of your restaurant and different dishes you better have great photos to share with him or her, and they seldom have days to wait for you to answer their e-mails.

5. Contact the International Press Team at Wonderful Copenhagen

Wonderful Copenhagen takes care of ground handling for appx. 250-300 international journalists who come to Copenhagen each year. A lot of them visit Copenhagen because of the outstanding restaurants. The press team at Wonderful Copenhagen is working hard to have the journalists write articles about different kinds of food trends, the top bakeries, craft beer, natural wine, great coffee, and all that the city has to offer. The press team is always looking for new angles and new stories to tell, so get in touch - but don’t spam. Remember to share your news with the press team in both Danish and English.

6. Have realistic expectations

It takes time, effort, and patience to have success with international PR. It doesn´t happen overnight but when you succeed it will most likely be worth the effort.