Press trips usually guarantee long-lasting memories and great outcome. In this blog post we offer a glimpse into this exciting part of PR agency’s work.
Social advertising, online content or cross marketing are omnipresent these days. In the process of handling different marketing activities, the actual focus sometimes gets pushed into the background: the product itself. Because we love F&B communication, there is nothing better than seeing where a product originally comes from. One thing is certain: organizing press trips is the food & beverage PR agency’s supreme discipline.
A press trip can be organized in different ways. Here are three examples:
- A press trip to a winery’s vineyards
- Visiting a cookware manufacturer’s factory
- Scheduling a specially arranged press meeting with a chicken farmer in the middle of the pine forest where his animals grow up
The challenge of organizing a press trip: inspiring your participants
As an experienced agency for food and beverage PR, we know how to delight our guests. Press trips have to be well-structured in order to get journalists, bloggers and photographers away from their daily editorial routine for a few days. And they must be willing to concentrate entirely on the press trip’s theme.
Nine questions journalists or influencers ask themselves before making a commitment to join:
- Does the press trip’s topic excite me?
- Does the topic match my medium’s or blog’s usual content?
- Is it relevant for my social media channels like Facebook or Instagram?
- Will my editorial team allow me to go?
- How long will the press trip last in total?
- As an editor, do I have to take private leave for the trip, or as a blogger, do I have to take time off from my main job?
- How long will it take me to get to the departure location?
- Can I cover different topics for even more content development?
- Does the press trip offer me a “money can’t buy” experience?
Offer an exciting program
Depending on the destination and the press trip’s theme, the focus is either on a product, a hotel or a particular manufacturer or producer. However, to ensure that the topic is not exhausted too quickly, it makes sense to involve other protagonists. For example, visit a local chef or restaurateur. He pours the wine, prepares the chicken or cooks passionately with the client’s pots and pans. This way, the actual content will be illuminated in different ways and bloggers and journalists can set their individual content priorities.
How to prepare a press trip as a F&B PR agency
Coordinating the group is a challenge that shouldn’t be underestimated – from arrival until departure!
- Journalists and bloggers travel from different cities by train or plane
- All participants should arrive at the departure location approximately at the same time
- The program parts should be approached one after the other
- Short breaks and delays must be taken into account, for example when the participants want to take photos for social media
- If the press trip includes a visit to a fisherman, for example, you have to get up early
- Participants can relax during a group dinner and discuss their experiences
- Avoid long transfer times or stopovers
Unforgettable press trip experiences
Press releases, campaigns, sponsorings, social media targeting and press events are a PR agency’s daily business, but a press trip always has its own special charm. It allows a journalist or blogger to experience the content directly from the winemaker, producer, grower or manufacturer. “With our many years of experience as a communications agency for F&B clients, we have successfully organized many press and blogger trips, whether it was about wine, seafood, premium meat, furniture or hotels. Even years later, clients, protagonists and media representatives still talk about the wonderful times we had together. This shows that we have mastered our profession perfectly and stand for successful content creation,” says Susanne Drexler, owner of the food, beverage and lifestyle PR agencies Gourmet Connection and Prime Connection.