How to engage celebrity chefs for a killer food PR campaign

Celebrity chefs – these guys are the REAL influencers of our generation.

Our food PR agency has worked with Matt Moran, Adam Liaw, Colin Fassnidge, George Calombaris and more to generate high impact PR and social media marketing campaigns.

Why? Celebrity chefs can give your brand credibility, attract media, and a social media following that’s your target audience. Importantly, the right person can create stunning recipes and dishes that bring your product to life for a consumer and generate killer PR. BUT, get it wrong and you could lose a lot of money and end up with a shemozzle.

Well, hold on tight! We are giving you top six tips on working with celebrity chefs from the start to finish of a PR campaign:

Choose passion over profile when selecting a celebrity chef ambassador
Make a strong first impression when contacting chefs
Have a comprehensive contract for your marketing campaign
Have a thorough briefing
Leverage the celeb chef’s story for your PR campaign
Leverage your partnership on social media

Graphics from various Papaya PR Campaigns

#1. Choose passion over profile when selecting a celebrity chef ambassador

Our numero uno tip is to find a chef that’s passionate about your product or industry. A lower profile chef will deliver a much better return on your PR spend if they are genuinely personally invested. If you’re lucky, you can sometimes find both. Is your brand health conscience? Or perhaps uses sustainable practices?

You want to partner up with a chef that shares the same values. Not only this is the groundwork on building a genuine partnership, this will help ensure you’re reaching the right audience throughout your marketing campaign.

#2. Make a strong first impression

The first time you reach out to the celebrity chef or his/her management should be meaningful. In this correspondence, you must try your best to pull those heart strings. We suggest talking about the unique story behind the product and how your brand shares the same values as them. It’s also important to be clear on your budget and willingness to negotiate so that you don’t waste their time or yours.

#3. Have it ALL in the contract for your marketing campaign

Organise a contract that clearly articulates the following:

The number of media interviews expected, and whether that’s in person or over the phone
The number of social media posts and any handles or hash tags to be used
Photography shoot so you have all the assets for the campaign and where these photos will be used
A PR briefing – this is one that everyone forgets but sets you up for the campaign – this is best done in person
The recipes you need (top TIP – ask for those that have NOT been published by media before)
A staggered invoicing arrangement – this protects both the chef and the brand and incentivises a good relationship throughout your campaign
The budget. Obvs.

#4. A THOROUGH briefing

This person is representing your brand so do a thorough briefing so they can learn the ins, outs and what you want them to say about it. This also includes things NOT to say, especially to media and the public:

The purpose: why and who you wish to engage
The key message that you want your audience to hear and remember
Topics to avoid
Potential negative questions that they might receive from media and how to respond to them

#5. Leverage their story for your PR campaign

Let’s get deep here. Your ambassador has a story that resonates with your audience and your product.

ASK about their previous experience with your product, with their family, with the industry and in the kitchen. You may just hit GOLD for your PR and social campaign.

For National Barramundi Day, we worked with one of Sydney’s most iconic restaurateurs as well as fourth-generation farmer, Matt Moran and he has a deep respect and passion for our national fish. We leveraged Matt’s personal story and passion for barramundi throughout our PR campaign, such as sharing his heart felt experiences of barramundi fishing in the Northern Territory and why purchasing local produce is so important to him.

Matt Moran with fellow farmers for National Barramundi Day

#5. Leverage the partnership on social media

There are two big components to think of in your social media amplification strategy 1) Your owned platforms and 2) Your celebrity chef’s platforms.

Let’s start with your social media campaign:

Plan out your Insta and FB posts with a content calendar that leverages a variety of posts, recipes and videos. Take your audience on a journey that starts with announcing the ambassadorship and works its way through posts about tips for working with the product, recipes and valuable pieces of content they can use in their own kitchens
Take some professional photos of your celebrity chef using your product: think about a recipe shoot, how-to videos and more that you can capture in one sitting and schedule throughout your campaign
A paid social campaign will need to be a core part of your promotion to get that ROI – think about using this as an opportunity to reach fresh audiences and entice them to engage with your page or website. They can then become part of your remarketing funnel
When publishing content, TAG your ambassador to increase the reach

When leveraging your ambassador’s social media channels, don’t assume (then you make an ass out of ‘u’ and ‘me’) that they will post in the right way about your product or ingredient:

Specify the number of posts and stories that you expect as part of the campaign, and get agreement in writing
Use both branded and campaign based hash tags and make sure your chef has these easily to hand, of course @mentioning your social channels
Don’t expect them to be mind readers – share your key messages or draft post copy for them to personalise so it is authentic

If you’re looking to accomplish an EPIC PR and social media campaign by working with a celebrity chef, contact us to chat to get hooked up with our network of chefs and talk about how we can leverage them for your campaign