PR-Guidelines

1. Why should you become active yourself?

By reporting in the media …

• … you are informing your target audience about your team/work and are placing your topics about food trends, right up to your planned menu. You position yourself as an expert in the industry and influence the public perception of your team.
• … you can enhance media attention regarding your profession as a chef, inspire others about your work and the culinary profession and raise awareness about the IKA/Culinary Olympics (held in Germany).

2. Find the right print media

• To specifically launch the information and reach your target audiences (e.g. restaurateurs, fans), you should select the media content that your target audience consumes:
  • (nationwide) trade or consumer magazines and online media, whose readers are interested in, inter alia: gastronomy, cooking, kitchen technology, nutrition, the culinary profession, recipes, food trends.

• Research these media platforms via a keyword search on the Internet. Possible search terms: specialist or consumer magazines focusing on gastronomy / cooking / kitchen technology.

3. Use the digital media platforms

• Use your topics to communicate regularly on your Facebook and Instagram accounts, on your homepage or in your newsletter.

• • Post information, tips and news there to get in touch with your target audience.

4. Tips for Facebook:

• • Manage the Facebook page by answering messages and comments quickly.
  • Tag your partners to increase reach.
  • Share other posts or videos, for example from the German Chefs’ Association, the Verband der Köche Deutschlands e. V. (VKD) (https://www.facebook.com/IKAOlympics/).

5. Create a press mailing list

• If you have found the right media, find the right people to contact for your topics. Who releases posts on this? Check the contact details / masthead or call the editorial offices of the media company and get the contact details (full name, e-mail address and telephone number) of the relevant editors.
• Write down names, addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers in an Excel file.
• You can send your press release to the complete mailing list via e-mail. Choose the title “Dear Editor”. In case of a bulk e-mail, be sure to set the contacts’ addresses in “bcc”.
• Include the German Chefs’ Association (VKD) or IKA/Culinary Olympics in your press mailing list koeche@vkd.com, ika@vkd.com, as your topic can possibly be communicated via the newsletter or the content can be added to a planned report.

6. We have information that you can already send to the press

• Heading
  • COUNTRY national culinary team will attend the 26^th IKA/Culinary Olympics
• Text modules
  • The COUNTRY national culinary team is taking part in the 26^th IKA/Culinary Olympics. On the XX (Restaurant of Nations) and XX February (Chef’s Table/IKA Buffet), the team will participate in the competition kitchen under team manager, first and last name. These competition days were determined in a draw held on 16^th May 2023 in Stuttgart (Germany).
  • The biggest and oldest international culinary art exhibition will take place in Stuttgart from 2^nd to 7^th February 2024 in conjunction with INTERGASTRA, the leading trade fair for hotels and restaurants. True to the Olympic motto #dabeiseinistalles (your participation is key), around 2,000 chefs and pastry chefs from more than 60 nations will compete against each other at the 26th IKA/Culinary Olympics.

• Text modules about the most important organisations

About the IKA/Culinary Olympics

Around 1800 participants, including 110 teams and roughly 800 Individual Exhibitors, from 67 countries were responsible for creating a magical Olympic atmosphere in the Stuttgart exhibition halls in February 2020. For the first time ever, the IKA/Culinary Olympics were held here, parallel to the Intergastra and Gelatissimo – thus attracting more than 100,000 visitors to the halls of the capital city of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The next IKA/Culinary Olympics will take place from February 2 to 7, 2024. www.culinary-olympics.com.

About the Verband der Köche Deutschlands e. V. (VKD), the German Chefs’ Association

The german Chefs’ Association, Verband der Köche Deutschlands e. V. (VKD), is the organiser of the IKA/Culinary olympics and coordinates the competition. With around 7,200 members, the VKD is the largest association of chefs in Germany. True to the motto ‘Many kitchens one association’, the VKD unites the most diverse sectors of the hospitality industry under one roof and sees itself as the voice of the chefs. The variety of the ‘VKD family’ is the foundation for the professional development of its members and for the future of the profession.

About INTERGASTRA

The INTERGASTRA in Stuttgart is the leading trade fair for the hotel and gastronomy business. The event presents itself on a surface of 115.000 m² in all the 10 halls of Messe Stuttgart, and with around 1,500 exhibitors it is the largest meeting point for the sector in Germany. Every two years, almost 100,000 trade visitors collect information on the main areas of food/kitchens, furnishing & tableware, service & IT, beverages, coffee and ice cream. The must-attend event for the hospitality sector presents innovations and provides many opportunities for the exchange of ideas between specialists.

• For Facebook
  • On the XX and XX February 2024 we are in the competition kitchen. Book your trip to Stuttgart now and support us from 2^nd to 7^th February 2024 on the way to victory. Let’s bring the Olympic victory to our COUNTRY together!
  • Our recommendation for anyone who can hardly wait for the oldest and largest international culinary art exhibition: become a fan of the IKA/Chefs’ Olympics on Facebook or Instagram and stay up to date!

7. Which messages are relevant to your press release?

• Basically, a message is useful when it reveals something
  • New
  • Newsworthy
  • Exceptional
  • Original
  • or something of general use or interest;
  • for example: food trends, professional image of the chef, menu ingredients, your menu for the IKA/Culinary Olympics, dress rehearsal, etc.

The theme should add value to both the journalist and potential readers, and make you curious. This includes:

• Upcoming events and activities: for example, use the visit of a celebrity, the upcoming training camp or the next competition for your press work.
  • Invite journalists to events in your country.
  • Inform the press about your planned event well in advance.
  • Send a report after the event in order to also inform those journalists who were not there.
• Special news: as an example, communicate a change in the team, awards, special kitchen tips or your ranking at the IKA/Culinary Olympics.
  • To do this, write a press release and send it to the appropriate journalists.

8. What does a good press release look like?

The press release is the most widely used tool in public relations. It provides journalists with information (text and image) on a specific topic and asks them for an editorial contribution.

How to proceed:

• Short, snappy headline which immediately portrays the topic.
• Short introduction in which the most important aspects are summarised.
• Answer the “Key Questions”:
  • Who? (Company or person)
  • What? (Event, occurrences)
  • How? (Procedure, schedule)
  • Where? (Place)
  • When? (Time)
• Do not arrange your text chronologically, but: List the most important thing first, then add details and more background information.
• Why (Reason)
• Reader-friendly: Use short, clear and understandable words. Avoid or explain foreign words, abbreviations and technical terms.
• To remain objective: Do not write from the ego or we perspective.
• No Ads: Avoid text with promotional character and self-praise. You should refrain from using phrases like “unique” or “great”.
• Names and Quotes: Name the first and last name and the position (without prefixing Mrs / Ms or Mr). In the second entry, the surname and last name of the person will suffice.
• Entertainment & Incentives: Use examples, pictures and comparisons, questions, quotes, anecdotes.
• You are the sender: Place your logo in the header of the file and put your contact details (contact person, telephone number, address and e-mail address) under the press release.
• Proof the text for completeness and spelling.
• Give the text file a meaningful name (“Theme.doc”)

Note: Your text is usually not printed word for word. The journalist has the right to rewrite, shorten or add details to the communication.

9. Include pictures

• Pictures arouse interest. Use pictures that portray the subject of your coverage (at a competition, at an awards ceremony, in the kitchen, from the quote maker).
• Name the photo files and pay attention to the resolution and dimensions: 300 dpi, 10×15 cm. The files should not be too large if you send them by e-mail. A tip for sending large files: https://wetransfer.com/

Important: Find out about copyright laws in your country and, if necessary, provide the image source (who created the image and who holds the copyrights to it?), or make sure that the people depicted have agreed to a publication.

10. Send the press release:

• Design a short e-mail cover letter to the editors by reviewing your topic.
• Include the press release as a doc in the attachment to your e-mail. Instruct the recipients to refer to the attached message for more information. Indicate that you are available for inquiries.
• Put the receivers in Bcc.
• Insert the headline of your press release as the subject.
• Send the press release in due time (before the event) so that there is a chance to publish it. The lead time depends on how often the medium appears e.g. 7 to 10 days in advance for daily newspapers.
• A follow-up report should be sent as soon as possible after the event – preferably the day after.
• In case of publication, ask the editors for a specimen copy.

11. What else you can do for your press work

The press request

• If the editors contact you with a request, then you answer them promptly.

• If it concerns overarching, global topics about the IKA/Culinary Olympics, please contact the German Chefs Association koeche@vkd.com, +49 69 630006-0.

12. The press briefing

• Invite the journalists on site to give them a better idea of your work or upcoming events.
  • You get to know media representatives better with a personal interview and can thus establish and maintain contacts.
  • Position yourself as an expert on the topic of cooking / kitchen / gastronomy with the respective journalist. At best, they will contact you if they are looking for information.
  • During the interview, you should therefore also provide the journalist with background information and answer their questions.

13. Link list

#IKA2024 #takingpartiseverything