Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, owners of world-famous Los Angeles Spago restaurant and a line of gourmet frozen foods, are no strangers to the importance of a grand opening. To ensure the success of the 11th Wolfgang Puck Cafe opening, in San Diego on January 14, 1997, Puck and Lazaroff hired Californian PR firm, Stoorza, Ziegaus and Metzger, Inc. (SZM), to drum up local excitement and media coverage for the chic new eatery.
The San Diego cafe, a chain located in other cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was the first inthe chain to use a PR firm that would, ultimately, serve as a template program for other future openings of the cafe.
Leading into Main Event
Wolfgang Puck hired SZM in the middle of December 1996, which left about three weeks for planning. With a budget of under $20,000, SZM did all of the PR work for the campaign, for which no advertising dollars were allotted.
Goals of the Launch:
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SZM's objectives were to build awareness of the cafe in San Diego, attract customers to the restaurant, despite its location in an older, unexciting shopping center, get local media attention and coverage and create a good impression of the cafe among San Diego influencers and restaurant-goers.
Sara Muller, vice president of PR at SZM, said that, "Even though San Diego is the sixth-largest city in the U.S., it operates like a small town. We needed to get elected officials, presidents of chambers, CEO's and top management of major companies to know about Wolfgang Puck...when Puck asked why there were no celebrities at the launch, we said, `these are the celebrities of San Diego.'"
SZM aimed for a creative, high-profile launch event, since the restaurant itself was a stylish, upscale place to dine. They sent out a teaser about three weeks before the launch, that featured Wolfgang Puck calendars with Puck's catchphrase, "Live, Love, Eat," and a vague message that a "main course" was on the way. The teaser was sent to all local media, and included a message to "watch your mail for more information."
In addition, a selection of menu items were hand-delivered to all major broadcast media, radio and TV to be sampled on-air to tease viewers and listeners.
About a week later, SZM sent out 600 four-panel, fold-out VIP invitations for the launch, which were created to match the decor of the restaurant.
The day after the mailing, 52 RSVPs had already come in, and the event was at maximum capacity, 200 people, within five days.
A few days later, SZM created and delivered the main course - a news release packaged in colorful takeout pizza boxes, complete with pictures of the restaurant's interior and exterior.
Strategy Before Execution
"The strategy was to make ourselves stand out in a pretty tough media town and to get people to come to an event, in a big recreational town like San Diego," said Muller. "Here, people would rather run 10 miles than go to a restaurant opening."
Rather than sending out press releases first, SZM tried to get the media to feel like they'd be missing out if they didn't come.
"Then, once they're there, they feel bonded to doing a story on it," said Muller.
On the night of the event, SZM's team of four people worked from their "hot sheet" list of guests and made sure that Puck and Lazaroff met certain VIPs.
All television media outlets covered the opening. SZM, when pitching the media, addressed all angles of the story: the event, the food, the decor of the restaurant, and the business success story possibilities.
Coverage included: The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Magazine and KUSI-TV, which covered more than one story on the cafe. Other media coverage included: The San Diego Business Journal, San Diego Home/Garden and local TV stations KFMB-TV (CBS), KGTV-TV (ABC) and KNSD-TV (NBC).
Muller's advice: "Always use strategy before execution. You have to look at the client's expectations, then look at the problems, and outsmart the problems." (Wolfgang Puck Cafe, San Diego, 619/295-9653; Stoorza, Ziegaus & Metzger, Inc., 619/236-1332)