William Lopez working at one of his client’s venues, Barleymash (Courtesy photo)
PR, Marketing, North Park
Public Relations Maven, William Lopez, Discusses the ‘Alternative Strategies’ Used at His Popular Namesake Agency
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
To the average business or individual seeking publicity, the road to obtaining media coverage can seem mystifying. Is it best to wait until an ambitious reporter discovers you? Can you effectively approach the media on your own? Or do you turn to a public relations firm for help?
Many choose the latter.
William Lopez of Alternative Strategies has introduced numerous businesses to the media since launching his agency 24 years ago. He first operated in Mission Valley before moving offices to Hillcrest, Downtown San Diego, and then to his current headquarters in North Park. Most recently, he expanded the business to Chicago.
But as Lopez points out, some clients are ripe for the limelight while others may not be ready for prime time. Throughout our discussion, this accomplished publicist gave us some useful insights into the elusive world of PR while explaining how he operates.
Downtown Condo Guys: What prompted you to start Alternative Strategies in 2000?
Lopez: I was handling PR and marketing for Thrifty Car Rental, and for Enterprise prior to that. I had seen a big shift in the industry and wanted to look into something different. I was encouraged by a mentor and friends to look for a job at a PR agency. But in my quest to do that, I realized there weren’t that many major PR agencies in San Diego back then. I really didn’t have the entrepreneurial spirit of owning and running a business at the time. But with the encouragement I kept receiving, I started the agency.
Downtown Condo Guys: Did you initially operate as a one-man show?
Lopez: I started with one employee in a Mission Valley office. It was very important to me to start with a physical space and an employee so that I could spend time doing the PR and marketing instead of the administrative tasks. I was really starting from scratch on the PR side based on the industry I began to serve, which was mostly hospitality – restaurants and bars, plus some medical clients. I had no media contacts specific to those industries in the very beginning.
Downtown Condo Guys: Who was your first client?
Lopez: It was The Center for Health and Wellbeing. It’s a medical practice geared toward women patients. Back in 2000, it was a cutting-edge practice due to their Eastern and Western medical approach. We attracted a lot of TV and print media attention to them, which resulted in us procuring eight to 10 more clients who were female doctors looking for the same type of media exposure.
Downtown Condo Guys: At what point did the business really start to take off?
Lopez: I had to move my office four times into larger spaces within the first five years because we saw growth. By 2005, I had an agency of seven people, including myself. Today we are a team of 14 people who provide services in media relations, marketing, social media, and graphic and web design.
Downtown Condo Guys: Who are some of your current clients?
Lopez: [Responding by email to this question, Lopez’s list includes the following:]
The Rise & Shine Hospitality Group, which operates Breakfast Republic, Fig Tree Cafe, Eggies, and Breakfast Company; Barleymash, Ginger’s, and The Smoking Gun, all in the Gaslamp Quarter; Spill the Beans (Gaslamp, Seaport Village and Mission Valley); City Tacos, Bottlecraft, and Black Radish, all in North Park; Barrio Star in Bankers Hill; Cloak & Petal and Fisher’s in Little Italy; RustiCucina in Hillcrest, and more. Lopez added that his agency also represents The Village at Pacific Highland Ranch shopping center and some local legal cannabis businesses.
Downtown Condo Guys: How do you handle prospective clients who don’t necessarily have a meaty story hook for the media?
Lopez: It is our job to come up with one, or be realistic by recognizing that not every client is newsworthy. We have to turn away business and be honest that not everyone is a fit for media coverage.
Downtown Condo Guys: Who is your ideal client?
Lopez: It is one who utilizes us for all of the services we offer, so that we become their offsite marketing partner. In doing so, we move forward together in spreading the word about their offerings while expanding their brand.
Downtown Condo Guys: What is your worst, most challenging kind of client?
Lopez: They are clients who lack communication across the board—from not being able to respond to media opportunities to failing to share with us initiatives they are carrying out.
Downtown Condo Guys: What type of media is the most difficult for securing editorial coverage?
Lopez: I would say national print media is the hardest to secure due to its long lead time, which can be 4 to 6 months in advance. Unfortunately, the hospitality industry in general doesn’t typically work that far in advance when scheduling their events and new initiatives.
Downtown Condo Guys: The name of your agency, Alternative Strategies, suggests you’re doing something different compared to other PR firms. True?
Lopez: We don’t send out press releases to the masses; they’re more customized. It’s because we use a think-tank approach by initially bringing to the table a team that each has a specific skill in PR, advertising, social media and graphic design. They provide their areas of expertise and input for coming up with a marketing strategy. The second part of the process includes all members of our agency. Once the entire team agrees on the excellence of the creative product, the client is then invited to review the concepts and presentation.
Once that creative product goes public, we analyze the response to determine which channels were most effective.
Also, one day a week we all work together at the establishments of our various clients. We usually utilize their private dining spaces because nobody is using them during the day. Some of those client establishments include The Smoking Gun, Barleymash, and The Whiskey House, all located downtown. If we want to go outside of downtown, our client Feast & Fareway in Coronado is another great space—and we have several brewery clients that provide good spaces to work from as well.
Our clients love it because we’re all there and it ensures that everyone on our team is experiencing their business and brand. And…they often receive social media exposure from our visits, which usually include sharing a meal together.
Downtown Condo Guys: In terms of value and results, what is the difference between paid advertising and editorial media placement?
Lopez: Advertising is something anyone with a budget can do. Secured PR is based on an angle, a value that would otherwise not secure them that exposure. It is more of a reputation builder.
Downtown Condo Guys: What kind of fee structure do you use?
Lopez: We start clients with a six-month retainer. Once that retainer ends, we work on a month-by-month basis. We do charge clients on a per-project basis for website design and other creative services.
Downtown Condo Guys: Which clients have been among your greatest successes in regards to striking big media coverage for them?
Lopez: From a local standpoint, Breakfast Republic. We started with them before their first location opened in North Park. Also Barleymash. They’ve received more than 20 pieces of national coverage, which includes placement in Esquire Magazine, and exposure from competing on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay; Chopped; and Chopped Champions.
Downtown Condo Guys: And you are now in Chicago as well?
Lopez: Yes. As of last year we expanded our agency there, and we ended 2023 with seven restaurant clients in the city. I spend eight to 10 days there per month.
Downtown Condo Guys: What is the most important thing a person or business should consider before hiring a PR agency?
Lopez: They must be willing to contribute the necessary time required for optimal success while also understanding the deadlines that media work under.
Downtown Condo Guys: How do you see media and public relations changing in the coming decade?
Lopez: We have to be prepared for change because if this question were asked of me five years ago, I would not have been able to forecast the changes that have continued to take place over the course of my career–just as I can’t see those changes ahead. But I do know that change is on the horizon.
