Create the Buzz!
May 13, 2008 - Festival Pavilion - Fort Mason
4:30pm – 6:00pm
Click here to download the Insider tips from the Panelists
THE BROADCAST PANEL
THE NEW MEDIA PANEL
THE PRINT PANEL
This afternoon session from 4-6 p.m. will provide inside tips to create, boost and maintain a restaurant’s awareness through print, broadcast and new media.
Create the Buzz brings together PR restaurant industry pros and members of the media. Diana
Gil-Osorio (Ellipses Public Relations), Jared Rivera (Rivera Public Relations) and Susie Biehler (Susie Biehler & CO) serve as moderators of three panels with representation from broadcast, print, and new media. Restaurateurs Doug Washington from Town Hall, Salt House and Anchor and Hope and Eric Rubin from Tres Agaves will share entertaining experiences developing relationships and working with the media.
The panel sessions are sponsored by 7x7 Magazine and Lotus Vodka.
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The Broadcast Panel
features a “who’s-who” of Bay Area radio and television hosts and producers. They will share what it takes to grab and hold the attention of their respective audiences, examples of successful food and restaurant stories, and preferences regarding how to best pitch and work with their shows.
*Moderator:
Diana Gil-Osorio (Ellipses Public Relations)
Diana brought 15 years of communication experience to the 2007 launch of Ellipses Public Relations. Formerly Director of Public Relations at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay for four years, Diana successfully launched Inside the Kitchen, a successful food and wine weekend benefiting Meals on Wheels. Her experience includes three years as a senior booking manager and producer at TechTV and account associate at Antenna Group Public Relations with clients such as David Bowie’s ISP, Bowie Net.
*Panelists:
Joey Altman - Chef and Host (“Bay Café.” KRON 4)
Joey Altman began his culinary training at the age of 16. Joey graduated and received the Chef de Cuisine Award from Sullivan County Community College in the "Borscht-Belt" of the Catskills, where he grew up. He later traveled to Lyon, France, to train under his mentor, Chef Bernard Constantin of the Hotel Larivoire, before relocating to Boston, where he worked for Chef Bob Kincaide at the Harvest restaurant in Cambridge. In 1985 Altman moved to New Orleans and worked with Emeril Lagasse at Commander’s Palace. In 1989, at the age of 25 he opened Miss Pearl’s Jam House in San Francisco and from 1998 to September 2002 he was owner and executive chef of Wild Hare in Menlo Park. Joey has created a dedicated Bay Area following with the viewers of his two-time James Beard Foundation award winning local cooking show Bay Café on KRON Channel 4. Nationally, he made a splash with Food Network’s series "Appetite for Adventure" an outdoor sport and adventure show. Altman is now launching a new series called “What’s Cooking with Joey Altman” on Shop at Home TV, Scripps’ latest addition to television networks which include Food Network, Home and Garden, DIY, and Fine Living. Joey is a guitarist in an all-chef band called the Back Burner Blues that plays charity events and monthly gigs at clubs for local food charities.
Liam Mayclem - Host (KPIX’s Eye on the Bay)
Born in London to Irish parents, Liam Mayclem has made a living as an entertainment reporter, wearing out red carpets from LA to London, hobnobbing at The Oscars and The Grammys, and rubbing shoulders with wrinkled rockers and royalty. A resident of Noe Valley in San Francisco for 14 years, Liam considers San Francisco home. TV is not the only place you'll find Liam. He can be heard weeky on Alice@97.3 at 11:10AM promoting his “Liam's List.” He is also a regular guest on Energy92.7FM with Fernando and Greg. Liam is the host and producer for CBS5 TV's Eye on The Bay, which airs nightly at 7PM. For more information check out his online homes: www.cbs5.com/liamslist and www.7x7sf.com/people/liam.
Barb Moffatt - Producer (“In Wine Country,” NBC 11)
In her role as producer, Barb generates story ideas, fields pitches, shoots and assembles feature stories about California's wine country. She also manages the show's web site and podcasting. Barb's work on "In Wine Country" has been recognized with three Emmy nominations, a James Beard nomination, a Mark Twain Award nomination, an award for feature reporting from the Radio and Television News Directors Association and a second place finish in the Peninsula Press Club. Previously Barb worked for TechTV, KQED-TV, Women.com (now iVillage) and Fox News Online. She also produced a cooking show pilot for the Food Network.
Michelle McCulloch - Sr. Marketing Manager (Comcast Spotlight the Ad Sales Division of Comcast Communications, Inc.)
After spending over 20 years at broadcast affiliate TV stations as a Sales Promotion Director and Executive Producer, Michelle tackled Cable Ad Sales. Changing from one TV network to over 50 cable networks and adding New Media tools such as the Comcast.net portal and Video On Demand has been an exciting challenge and brings such a wealth of tools to use when developing customer-focused marketing solutions. Michelle is also a certified brainstorming and Marketing Strategy Model facilitator.
Joel Riddell - Producer (“Dining Around with Gene Burns,” KGO Radio)
Growing up in the Niagara Wine Country Joel Riddell was introduced at an early age to agriculture, viticulture and their role in providing the finer things in life. Harvesting for the farmer's market, visits to the High Arctic and participating in the Royal Winter Fair all further expanded Joel’s interest in and appreciation for the good life. Joel attended the University of Western Ontario in London. He worked at a local historic restaurant the Latin Quarter. Soon he was in House Management at the Grand Theatre; a position as Café Manager at the London Art and Historical Museum; and, a role as principal in Thames Artist Management. Work at Crackers Bed and Breakfast in nearby Stratford soon followed. Graduating with a BA in English and Visual Arts Joel served as Front of House Manager of the London Symphony Orchestra and Event Manager of Chameleon Models and Production. Serendipity played a large role in deciding post-university life. With the Ivory Tower of academia at his back, Joel entered the Dot Com world. This experience in internet publishing and the hospitality industry led Joel to San Francisco and KGO Radio. As Producer of the Gene Burns Programs such destinations as Israel, Cyprus, Tuscany, Vatican City, and French Polynesia became a reality.
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The New Media Panel
New Media has advanced the dissemination of information through the digitalization of media. No longer needing to rely on analog processes and the printed form of information, New Media uses computers, the Internet, and mobile communication to immediately spread information to users around the globe. Websites, bloggers, RSS feeds, and email newsletters are only a few forms of New Media that distribute information quickly and directly to an audience of captive readers. Unlike flat, one-sided media transmissions that used to exist with Old Media, New Media also allows the user to become interactive with the media source - either by responding via email or chatting over Instant Message or posting comments on blogs.
*Moderator:
Jared Rivera (Rivera Public Relations)
“The only way to get your feet wet in this industry is to have spilled a tray of drinks on them!” says Jared Rivera. From bussing tables to managing restaurants and now a restaurant consultant, Jared has over a decade of serving in the hospitality industry. “The future of PR is not pitching, it’s participating in an ongoing dialog with your customers,” says Jared Rivera, founder of Rivera Public Relations. “With social networking sites and new media, there are more ways than ever to go straight to the source to reach your audience.” Seamlessly integrating PR, marketing, and promotions with constructive operations consulting, Rivera explains, “the best way to keep up on trends is to create them yourself.” Rivera stresses fundamentals, not formulas to develop unique, innovative, and efficient solutions to help connect you with your customers — and to transform that connection into a lasting relationship.
*Panelists:
Nish Nadaraja - Editor and Chief (Yelp)
Nish Nadaraja started at Yelp in 2005 as their Director of Marketing, having created the highly successful Yelp Elite Squad Program that presently runs in 15 cities throughout the U.S. In 2007, he took on the role of Managing Editor of the Weekly Yelp newsletter. When not “yelping,” find him eating out at a restaurant near you, with wife and new baby boy in tow. www.yelp.com/weekly.
Marcia Gagliardi - Editor (tablehopper.com)
A freelance food writer in San Francisco, Marcia is known by many as the “concierge” and “the enthusiastic reviewer” because she simply adores the experience of dining and going out, and for the past twelve years has been adventuring throughout San Francisco far and wide like a culinary swashbuckler. She writes a weekly column, Foodie 411 for the SFCVB on their “Taste” site; a monthly gossip column, “The Tablehopper” for The Northside; and features for Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s, San Francisco magazine, Travel Weekly, Where Magazine, DiningOut Magazine and Edible San Francisco. She was the Regional Managing Editor for Northern California for Gayot.com (2006–2008), and continues to write the weekly news and events for Gayot. tablehopper.com is not a blog; it’s a web site, with content provided by her free weekly newsletter, "the tablehopper." "The tablehopper” features primarily San Francisco restaurant reviews (new or established, high and low) and some bar reviews too, along with industry gossip, weekend getaway ideas, and other places and things Marcia has discovered. www.tablehopper.com.
Liz Johannesen - Senior Marketing Manager (OpenTable)
Liz has more than 14 years of marketing experience in technology and the fine dining sectors. As the Senior Manager of Restaurant Marketing for OpenTable, Inc., she helps restaurants understand and leverage the tremendous potential of online marketing for their operations. During her 5+ years with OpenTable, she has helped its 8,000 restaurant partners seat more than 2 million diners every month via online channels. She is an expert in both online & email marketing, as well as the day-to-day marketing challenges unique to restaurateurs. As a key player at OpenTable, Liz will share examples of some innovative email & viral promotions and examples of what they have seen with their own email promotions--including kinds of offers that receive the most opens and clicks. Prior to OpenTable, Liz managed marketing efforts for Navis LLC, the world’s largest provider of transportation software. Prior to Navis, she oversaw marketing and finance for Stanford University Dining Enterprises, supporting more than 12 separate dining operations for varied events. She is a member of the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, the Marketing Executives Study Group of the National Restaurant Association, and is on the San Francisco Committee for Share our Strength's Taste of the Nation. In addition to training at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, she holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University.
Eric Rubin - Operating Partner (Tres Agaves)
Eric moved to San Francisco in 1993 to work for the Vietnam Investment Fund, researching various food & beverage investments in Vietnam. He was the 'Voice of Odwalla' for the recovery period following that company's devastating e-coli outbreak, widely considered to be a model for crisis recovery. After accomplishing close to nothing for two tech companies during the dot.com boom, he quit to travel to Jalisco, tour distilleries, restaurants and food markets, and work on the Tres Agaves business plan. Tres Agaves sells more 100% agave Tequila than any single restaurant in the United States, and possibly the world. All staff are eligible to go on their bi-monthly trips to Jalisco, and collectively they have visited the distillery of every single brand of Tequila that they carry. www.Tresagave.com.
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the Print Panel
This panel will bring together editors and writers from print publications to
share news concepts and ways to garner exposure in their publications along with one restaurateur citing inside tips on scoring favorable media hits.
*Moderator:
Susie Biehler - (Susie Biehler & CO)
Susie Biehler created her agency in 1984 with a clear focus on representing select restaurant, food and hospitality clients. Now, with more than 25 years of experience in communications, she has achieved outstanding recognition both for her clients and for her agency’s work. www.biehler.com.
*Panelists:
Jan Newberry - Food & Wine Editor (SF Magazine)
San Francisco's food and wine editor since 2000, Jan Newberry received a blue ribbon diploma from Peter Kump's New York Cooking School and has been writing about food for close to 20 years. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Bon Appétit, and Self and she has appeared on KRON 4's Bay Area Backroads, CBS5's Eye on the Bay, KQED's Forum with Michael Krasny, and is featured on TasteTV's Lesson's from the Food Critics.
Jessica Battilana - Associate Eat + Drink Editor (7x7 Magazine)
Jessica Battilana is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, where she earned a Grand Diplome. A food writer and recipe developer, her work has appeared in Sunset, Yankee Magazine, Gastronomica, among other publications. She lives in San Francisco, and is the Associate Eat + Drink editor at 7x7 Magazine.
Stacy Finz - Food and Wine writer (San Francisco Chronicle)
Stacy Finz is a veteran award-winning journalist who joined The Chronicle news staff in 1997 and has covered such stories as the Cary Stayner Yosemite murders, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Scott Peterson case. She grew up on a goat farm, where her family raised their own meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fruit and nuts. As of early 2006, she brings her life-long interest in agriculture, cooking and entertaining to The Chronicle's Food and Wine sections.
Amy Machnak - Recipe Editor (Sunset Magazine)
Amy Machnak is the Recipe Editor at Sunset, where she develops original recipes, writes food stories, and tests recipes sent in by freelancers and readers. Before joining the magazine last year, she freelanced for The Onion and Chow and was the executive pastry chef at San Francisco’s Boulevard restaurant from 2001 to 2003. Amy was also the pastry chef at Mako Restaurant in Beverly Hills and worked in garde manger at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Doug Washington - Owner (Town Hall, Salt House, Anchor and Hope)
Originally form Vancouver, Canada, Doug moved to San Francisco in 1986 where he worked with Joyce Goldstein’s Square One Restaurant. He partnered and opened Vertigo in San Francisco and later worked with Traci Des Jardins at Jardinière restaurant, Wolfgang Puck and Douglas Keane. Known for his magnetic personality and always making guests feel welcome, Doug opened Town Hall, followed by Salt House and his most recent restaurant, Anchor and Hope. A long time and well-respected restaurateur in the industry, Doug is currently working on a documentary on the food industry. www.salthousesf.com.
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