Free publicity for A Beautiful Mess at the Bijlmerbajes
Socially responsible initiatives? That’s what we’re all about. A Beautiful Mess is a textbook example. This extraordinary restaurant opened some time ago in the old Bijlmer Laundromat and we were asked by initiator Refugee Company to provide publicity for it. Apart from the delicious meals inspired by Middle Eastern and African cuisine, the restaurant’s philosophy is particularly appealing: to train residents of the neighbouring asylum seekers’ centre to become experienced catering staff, and to help as many of them as possible find paid jobs.
Many of Amsterdam’s hospitality entrepreneurs contributed. By delivering products, giving training but also by offering newcomers workplaces. Because A Beautiful Mess can use all the support they can get, we decided to do the PR pro bono.
Approach: the power of personal contact
With two different approaches and press releases we focused on the one hand on the Amsterdam press and national news media, and on the other hand on food bloggers and hospitality media. We approached the most important media personally and tried to get them excited about an item on this great initiative or to come and taste the cozy atmosphere ourselves.
Result: full terrace and permanent jobs
News media, trade media and bloggers, such as NRC, Het Parool, AT5, Barts Boekje, Entree Magazine and Elle, all wrote enthusiastically about A Beautiful Mess.
The courtyard garden was crowded in the summer
Many of the restaurant’s catering staff have been given permanent jobs.
Joost Morel, public relations consultant
“A sympathetic project like A Beautiful Mess we like to help. And the passion of the initiators to support newcomers with their integration was inspiring. The basis of our work for the Refugee Company restaurant was a public relations project with different target groups. Of course we wanted to draw the attention of the public to the cozy and special place for a meal or drink, and we tried to encourage entrepreneurs to work together. Personal contacts with media and bloggers resulted in a flood of attention.”
