Best case press relations and events: MOB HOTEL PARIS

In May 2019, the MOB HOTEL PARIS launched its Summer Garden Parties, barbecue evenings in partnership with OFYR, the luxury brazier specialist. To get the word out about the Summer Garden Parties and fill its gardens all summer long, the hotel asked us to carry out a press relations mission. The result: all the most relevant media and influencers appreciated and promoted the Summer Garden Parties to their audiences, and the MOB gardens are packed 4 times a week. Recipe for success in this article.

With its Summer Garden Parties, the hotel aims to liven up the warm summer evenings and attract a new Parisian public for a convivial, almost family-style event. To achieve this, the MOB is offering a new experience in the capital: giant, participatory barbecues. The idea: the MOB manages the base - grilled meats and organic vegetables - while guests manage the embers on the braziers set out in the center of the sublime gardens of this venue in Saint-Ouen. Located at the gateway to Paris, the MOB HOTEL PARIS is blessed with a large, magnificent garden and sunny rooftops. So to make the experience as enjoyable as possible, the hotel decided to redesign its outdoor areas for the summer: ping-pong tables, sculptural braziers, petanque courts, parasols and deckchairs have all been installed in the heart of the gardens, to the delight of guests.While this ambitious project is sure to win over many Parisians looking for pleasant places to enjoy their evenings during the summer season, it had to be accompanied by successful communication. And the timing was perfect, because with the arrival of summer, the media are looking for the best places to promote to their audiences. But how do you make yourself known to journalists? Who to contact? How to stand out from the other ephemeral venues that flourish as they do every summer? We provided the answers to these questions for the MOB HOTEL PARIS in two stages: first, by organizing a press event, and then by deploying a well-thought-out press relations strategy. In this article, we take a closer look at the press relations strategy we put in place to ensure that the Summer Garden Parties were mentioned in all the relevant media, and to make this event an indispensable part of Parisians' summer.

1) In May: organization of a press evening to launch Summer Garden Parties

The MOB HOTEL PARIS has been open for over two years now. The wealth of cultural, festive, committed, sporting and even gourmet programming makes it possible to speak out regularly throughout the year - and not just once in a while (we support it on a daily basis). The venue now enjoys a solid reputation. It has established itself as a place to eat, a place to go out, a place to spend an afternoon, a place to sleep, a place to go out... But what's new is the way its gardens have been transformed into giant barbecues!No venue, even those with a strong reputation, can do without press activation for this type of launch. To ensure a sell-out and the success these summer evenings deserved, the MOB HOTEL PARIS had to get organized in advance and work on this strategy. Organizing a press evening seemed to us to be essential: it enables us to launch a large-scale press relations campaign, to make ourselves known to the most relevant media, and to get a lot of coverage in a very short space of time. But this type of event requires rigorous organization. A number of important steps must be taken to ensure the success of this inaugural event:

1. Define the scope of the event

But before even considering contacting the most relevant media professionals, it's vital to understand the identity of the event you're organizing. This phase of reflection is particularly important, as it sets the tone for the entire organization. In particular, it enables you to invite the right people and send them the right message, by highlighting the most relevant assets.

In the case of the MOB HOTEL PARIS, the most important information concerning this event was as follows:

• An event designed for Parisians who want to enjoy the sun as if on vacation: barbecues, deckchairs, petanque courts, parasols... are all available.
• A popular, participatory event in keeping with the values of the hotel (which defines itself as a place to live, not a place for holidaymakers to pass through).
• A new experience in Paris: guests control their own cooking on the barbecues provided.
• An organic event: the vegetable baskets and iced teas are organic, the beers are craft...

These points characterize the event, making it possible to understand what makes it unique and to identify the arguments to put forward when approaching guests.

2. Draw up a relevant guest list

But who to invite to the party? This is not a question to be taken lightly. There's no need to fill in the blanks: the most important aspect of the evening is the spin-off it will generate. It's therefore important to send the invitation to relevant media professionals, who will be able to praise it to their audiences! Be careful, however, to create relatively homogeneous lists. Not every event calls for the same guests. So - like any traditional press relations strategy - a gastronomic event will not necessarily appeal to the same journalists as the opening of a street-food establishment.Finally, it's important to ask yourself what type(s) of media player(s) to invite. Journalists aren't the only professionals who can help boost a place's popularity. Influencers too have the power to give high visibility to the places they value, via social content (stories or posts). Their audiences are often highly engaged, so their power of recommendation is particularly important. For the Summer Garden Parties, we drew up a list of relevant journalists and influencers, working on lifestyle themes or more specifically on gastronomy. As a result, we were honored to have the presence of players such as BFMtv, Paulette, Démotivateur, Sortiraparis, Stylist, GQ and influencers such as @lescogneurs, @sabrinaperquis, @parisabor, @unmalgacheaparis and @gaelleemma.

3. Write a differentiating invitation

Once this list has been drawn up, it's time to create the message, or rather messages, to be sent to journalists and influencers. These take the form of an email, the content and subject line of which are carefully crafted.Personalized emails for everyoneAt Malou, we attach particular importance to personalizing each invitation. Firstly, because we know that the message and tone used cannot be the same for everyone: journalists require a more sustained tone, while influencers, who are closer to their audiences, can be addressed in a more natural way. So we'll opt for "vous" for journalists and "tutoie" for influencers. But also because the people we invite are very much in demand. They receive dozens (if not hundreds) of suggestions of all kinds every day. To capture their attention, it's important to adapt to each of them and consider the arguments that will be most relevant. To this end, we at Malou have developed a tracking tool that enables us to find out which themes journalists and influencers are working on or have worked on, and what they liked or disliked about a tasting or event... The information we collect, store and update in this way enables us to understand the precise profile and tastes of each person we intend to invite, and thus to adapt our approach to the most relevant angle: a journalist listing the best terraces in Paris every summer will be more likely to be convinced if the terrace is highlighted in the message he receives. Conversely, a journalist with an interest in street-food will probably be more likely to come if the message he or she receives highlights barbecues and grilled meat.

For the MOB HOTEL PARIS, we opted for an eye-catching object, highlighting the date on which the event was taking place, and emphasizing its assets in a dynamic tone. We personalized each of our taglines: in this case, we knew that the journalist had already reserved space for the hotel in his media, so we emphasized the hotel's renewal aspect. Finally, we attached the press release dedicated to the event and the invitation to the evening.A carefully crafted invitation attachmentWhilethe emails we send are always personalized, we feel it's important to send a generic invitation to each person we contact. Why do we do this? Because it gives the event scale and underlines the exceptional nature of this evening: the guest is a privileged person (the evening is not open to everyone) and we underline this with this invitation.

This invitation should reflect the tone adopted by the venue in its its overall communication and graphic identity. Here, we've adopted a light but dynamic tone, opting for warm, colorful graphics. It must also make guests want to come and spend the evening with us. So it's important to include some enticing photos to get them thinking about the event.

4. Make contact with journalists at the right moment and then... follow them up.

Once these two messages (the PDF invitation and the e-mail) have been prepared, journalists and influencers can be contacted. Pay attention to the sending date! It's important to send the first e-mail on time. Ideally, it should be sent a month or so before the event. Neither too early: this gives guests an idea of their schedule and allows them to plan ahead; nor too late: they don't yet have any events planned and can reserve their evening.

But one mailing is not enough. It's essential to send out several reminders. One reminder per week at first, then a countdown to D-7 / D-3 / D-1 / D-Day as the event approaches. The very last mailings should also be sent to those who have confirmed their attendance: it would be a shame if some of the guests simply forgot to show up... By sending out these reminders, you can optimize the number of people present on the big day.

5. Keep the attendance list up to date.

The attendance list (guests and their +1) must be rigorously updated throughout the organization of the event. This makes it possible to estimate the number of food items needed on the big day, and also to anticipate the number of reminders required. If a large number of people have registered to attend, and the venue cannot accommodate too many people, there's no need to send out intensive reminders just a few days before the event: too many people could spoil the experience for the guests! Conversely, if responses are slow in coming, it may be advisable to increase the number of planned reminders.

6. Getting organized for the big day

On the big day, the organizational work isn't over yet! One of the most important points is to be able to talk to each guest: the launch party is also the time for restaurateurs to get in touch with journalists and influencers they have identified as relevant (and therefore invited!). Taking the time to chat with each guest, introducing the concept, the restaurant or the hotel, the event is always appreciated by guests. But it's not always easy to strike up a conversation. To do so, it is once again essential to know the work of each guest, which media they contribute to, what their favorite subjects are... Once again, our tool enables us to know precisely each of these points.

It can also be ingenious to think of little touches for guests. For the opening evening of the Summer Garden Parties, we opted for tote bags bearing the MOB HOTEL PARIS logo, into which we slipped the Summer Garden Parties press release.

7. Thank guests after the event

Once the evening is over, it's important to thank everyone who attended by e-mail. Sending a photo of the event to each of them is a gesture very well received by the guests, who will be touched that their host took the time for this little attention.

These thanks enable us to continue building relationships with these privileged contacts, as well as receiving valuable feedback from industry specialists.

2) UNTIL JULY: SUSTAINED PRESS RELATIONS

While these events are excellent levers for achieving large numbers of rapid results in a very short space of time, it's important to keep up your efforts over the long term! To maximize your chances of appearing in all all relevant mediaTo maximize your chances of appearing in all relevant media, your press relations strategy must be pursued over several weeks.

1. Reach out to media and influencers who didn't attend

Once the event is over, the first step is to contact all journalists who were unable to attend on the day. Many journalists wanted to discover the site in a more intimate atmosphere. So we followed up with each of these journalists, offering them the opportunity to attend the MOB HOTEL PARIS Summer Garden Party whenever they wished, accompanied by the person of their choice.

2. Use the dedicated press release and contact new journalists or relevant influencers

If a launch party requires a limited number of invitations, the weeks that follow are the time to broaden your contacts. At this stage, the same requirements apply: every e-mail sent must be personalized. While the invitation to the press evening is no longer de rigueur in post-event mailings, the press release dedicated to the event is indispensable and must be included as an attachment. Written before the event, it's a gold mine for journalists: some of them may decide, after the media and influencers have become enthusiastic, to write a few lines or an article dedicated to the venue in question. The press release gives them the information they need to write this content.

Once again, this document uses the hotel's graphic charter, adopting a light, dynamic tone and enticing photos.

3. Relaunch and adapt your approaches

Finally, follow-ups are a must! It's worth noting that it's a good idea to adapt your approach to these multiple contacts. If a journalist doesn't seem receptive to an e-mail, why not change the subject line and think up a new hook? This is sure to multiply open rates and increase the number of positive responses from journalists.

3) Results: rich and varied press coverage

The results were not long in coming. Extremely varied, they enabled the MOB HOTEL PARIS to sell out every session of the Summer Garden Parties (Thursday to Sunday evenings). Videos, dedicated articles, appearances in rankings of the best venues / terraces / parties in Paris... in a variety of media... The media were won over by MOB's proposition - and so were our customers!

She talks about Summer Garden Parties in her paper format

Do it in Paris presents the MOB HOTEL PARIS evenings in paper format

Le Fooding announces the MOB HOTEL PARIS BBQ Parties on its website

MOB HOTEL PARIS brazier evenings in Madame Figaro

Paulette dedicates an article to the Summer Garden Parties at the MOB HOTEL PARIS

Gala names MOB BBQ evenings as one of its favorite addresses in its paper format

Glamour organizes a contest for its readers in partnership with Summer Garden Parties

The competition was publicized on their website and in their newsletter

GQ organizes a competition for its readers and presents the MOB HOTEL PARIS as one of the best terraces in Paris

GQ organized a contest for its readers. The prize: an evening for two at the Summer Garden Party of the winner's choice. The competition was publicized on the magazine's website and in its newsletter. GQ, convinced by the MOB's proposal, also presented its terrace as one of the most pleasant in Paris!

Le Bonbon presents the MOB HOTEL PARIS rooftop as one of this summer's must-sees

Paris Zig Zag presents the "MOB HOTEL dream barbecues".

Vivre Paris organizes a contest for the MOB HOTEL's "trendy" evenings

Vivre Paris devoted an article to the MOB HOTEL PARIS evenings and organized a contest for its community. It also promoted the contest on its social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Sortiraparis three times convinced by MOB HOTEL PARIS Summer Garden Parties

The media devoted an article to the MOB HOTEL PARIS summer evenings and organized a competition for its community. It also featured them in several of its rankings.

Parisianavores ranks MOB HOTEL as one of the "best places to chill" in Paris

Demotivateur Food et A Table presents Summer Garden Parties on video

A Nous Paris presents Summer Garden Parties as one of its unmissable Parisian terraces

Influencers very active during the press evening: over 1M prospects potentially reached thanks to them

All the influencers invited to the inauguration party published social content on their accounts, reaching over 1 million potential prospects.

In short, a potential audience of over 25M people and hundreds of thousands of euros saved for the MOB HOTEL PARIS!

The result for the hotel is clear: its summer evenings are a success! The press evening and the support of press relations in the weeks following the inauguration enabled the hotel to win over a large number of media players. A potential audience of several million people heard about the summer garden parties. The media value of the press coverage obtained as a result of our work exceeds a hundred thousand euros. A warm, happy and profitable collaboration!