How to Get Publicity for Your Greek Business in Australia
Updated August 2026
Every Greek business owner in Australia has the same problem: the mainstream press won’t cover you unless you’re Chris Lucas or George Calombaris, and even the Greek-Australian press won’t cover you if you pitch it wrong. This is the guide we wish existed when we started. What to pitch, who to pitch, when to pitch, and the mistakes that get every second Greek pitch binned before it’s read.
Written for the people we speak to every week: bakery owners in Findon, event organisers in Oakleigh, PR juniors handling their first Greek client, artists booking a Sydney tour, and the diaspora entrepreneur trying to get one story landed.
Why Greek businesses struggle to get coverage
Three reasons.
First, the pool of Greek-Australian outlets is small. Fewer than ten publications regularly cover community news at the national or state level. See our directory of Greek-Australian media outlets for the complete list. That means competition for column inches is genuine, especially around big cultural moments (Greek Easter, National Day, Panagia).
Second, most pitches are formatted for mainstream general-interest press, which is not what Greek editors are looking for. A pitch that would work at The Age reads flat at Neos Kosmos, and vice versa.
Third, Greek stories are often over-explained (the pitcher assumes the editor needs a lesson in Greek culture) or under-explained (the pitcher assumes everyone knows what a panigiri is). The right pitch pitches to a Greek editor as a Greek reader would want to read the piece.
What makes a pitchable Greek story
The Greek-Australian media covers, in rough order of enthusiasm:
New Greek business openings. Restaurants, bakeries, delis, cafés, wine bars, retail. Especially independent, especially family-run, especially with a strong founder story.
Greek artists touring or performing in Australia. Music, film, theatre, comedy. The bigger the name, the wider the coverage.
Greek-Australian creators achieving nationally. Chefs on MasterChef, designers at Melbourne Fashion Week, athletes making national teams, authors winning prizes.
Community events open to non-community members. Festivals, panigiria, food weekends, art exhibitions.
Milestones for iconic community institutions. A parish’s hundredth anniversary. A restaurant’s fiftieth. A community organisation’s major fundraiser.
News from Greece that touches the Australian diaspora. Airline routes, visa changes, cultural repatriation stories, political developments affecting Australians with Greek passports.
The stories that don’t land:
A rebrand of an existing business (unless there’s a genuine new offering).
A menu change (unless it’s a full seasonal launch or ties to Greek Easter or a feast day).
Generic Mediterranean businesses adding one Greek dish.
Personal milestones (weddings, engagements) without a community angle.
Political opinions about domestic Greek politics.
Anniversary posts about a business that’s been open for less than five years.
The subject line formula
Editors decide whether to open your email in three seconds based on the subject line. The formula that works:
PITCH, [the story in six words or fewer]
Examples that get opened:
PITCH, New Greek bakery opening Marrickville September
PITCH, Anastasios Rammos three-city tour November
PITCH, Greek Easter feast Adelaide, 90 covers
PITCH, Aussie Greek chef wins Michelin star
PITCH, Antipodes Festival 2027 dates announced
Examples that get skipped:
Story idea for your consideration
Media release, please see attached
Hi hoping to chat about a story
Interesting story you’ll love
FYI
What to put in the body of the email
Five things. In this order.
The story in one paragraph. Who is doing what, where, when, and why it matters to Greek-Australians. Three to four sentences maximum.
The details. Dates, address, ticket price, contact number, business name. Bullet-pointed underneath the paragraph.
The founder or key person in one line. “Anna is a Greek-Australian who lived in Thessaloniki for 18 years before returning to Australia in 2013.” That’s enough. The editor will ask if they want more.
The images. Two or three, high resolution, landscape, credited. Attach or link (Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer).
Your contact. Direct phone and email. Say when you’re available.
Do not attach a PDF media release and consider that the pitch. Editors skim inboxes on their phones and cannot open your PDF at the traffic lights.
Timing the pitch to the Greek calendar
The Greek-Australian calendar has predictable news windows. Pitch into the window that matches your story.
25 March, Greek Independence Day. Coverage spikes in mid-March. Pitch pre-Independence Day features and community events by early March.
Greek Orthodox Easter (April 12 in 2026, April 11 in 2027). The biggest coverage window of the year. Read our Greek Easter Holy Week guide for the full timing. Pitch food, event and cultural stories a month ahead.
Late June to early July, Greek Festival Melbourne (Antipodes). Big cultural news window. Anything Melbourne-Greek gets extra oxygen.
15 August, Feast of the Dormition (Panagia). Religious and community festival window, especially strong for Adelaide and Tinos-connected stories. See our 2026 Greek festivals calendar.
28 October, Oxi Day. National holiday commemorating the Greek WWII response. Coverage skews political and community.
Panigiria season (July to September). Rolling festival window. Regional and community-based.
December, Christmas + Adelaide/Melbourne end-of-year events. Festive window. Pitch Greek Christmas food, family events, community gatherings.
Photos matter more than you think
The Greek-Australian outlets are visually driven. A pitch with strong images gets published faster and with better placement than a text-only pitch. Rules of thumb:
Landscape orientation preferred. Portrait is fine as a secondary.
High resolution (300 dpi, or web-native at 2000+ pixels wide).
Show people, not just product. A photo of Anna Kyrtzaliotis-Morakis inside her shop will beat a shot of empty shelves every time.
Credit each image. Photographer name and any usage restrictions.
If you have professional food photography, use it. Phone photos of finished plates are fine if well lit. Phone photos of the raw ingredients on your kitchen bench are not.
Which outlets to prioritise
Depends on the story. In rough order:
National impact story: Neos Kosmos, The Greek Herald, SBS Greek, Cycladic Spaces, Greek City Times.
Melbourne-specific: Neos Kosmos, 3XY Radio Hellas, plus mainstream Melbourne press (The Age, Broadsheet Melbourne, Concrete Playground).
Sydney-specific: The Greek Herald, Greek City Times, SBS Greek, Cycladic Spaces, plus mainstream Sydney press.
Adelaide-specific: Ethnos, Cycladic Spaces, plus mainstream Adelaide press (Glam Adelaide, InDaily, The Advertiser).
Travel or destination content: Cycladic Spaces first, then mainstream travel press (Traveller, Escape).
See the full directory of Greek-Australian media outlets for contact details for each.
How to handle the follow-up
The rules:
One nudge, seven days after the initial pitch. Not before.
Nudge text: three sentences. “Following up on the pitch below. Story is still live if you’re interested. Happy to send more information or arrange an interview.”
No second nudge. If you’ve been silent for two weeks, the story didn’t land. Move on.
Never CC the editor and their boss simultaneously. Never publicly complain on social media. The Greek-Australian media community is small. They remember.
Exclusives, embargoes and etiquette
The rules editors want you to know:
An exclusive means one outlet only, agreed in advance. If you offer an exclusive and it appears on three other outlets first, that editor won’t take your pitches again.
An embargo is a firm commitment. If you say “embargoed until 6am Friday,” publish nowhere before 6am Friday. Not on your own Instagram. Not on your website. Nowhere.
First rights matter. If The Greek Herald publishes your business opening first, Neos Kosmos may still run a follow-up. But if you send both a fresh exclusive claim, both will pass.
Say if you’ve pitched elsewhere. Editors respect transparency. “I’ve also pitched Neos Kosmos, happy to hold if you want first look” is a fair line.
Common mistakes we see every week
PDF-only pitches. Attach the PDF as a secondary reference. Never as the primary.
ChatGPT-written pitches. Editors clock these in the first sentence. Write it yourself. It doesn’t need to be beautiful, it needs to be real.
Story sent the day of the event. Editors need lead time. Two weeks is the floor.
Sending on a Friday afternoon. Nobody reads Friday-afternoon pitches. Send Monday or Tuesday morning.
Overly promotional language. “The best Greek bakery in Melbourne” is not news. “A new Greek bakery opens on Lygon Street this Thursday, run by a fourth-generation family from Kalamata” is news.
No dates. If the pitch doesn’t say when things happen, it doesn’t land.
Sending twelve links to your Instagram grid. Two or three strong images beat twelve mediocre ones.
Overselling the founder. “Anna is a visionary entrepreneur” reads worse than “Anna spent 18 years in Thessaloniki before returning to Adelaide.”
Common questions from Greek business owners
How much lead time should I give?
Two weeks minimum for news. Four weeks for features. Six weeks for events. Three months for magazine long-form.
Do I have to hire a PR agency?
No. Most Greek-Australian outlets prefer a direct pitch from the founder. Agencies help with national multi-city launches or complex embargo strategies. For a single opening or event, DIY is fine.
What’s the best day to send a pitch?
Tuesday morning, 9 to 10am. Wednesday second. Avoid Friday afternoons, Monday mornings, and school holidays.
Should I follow up by phone?
Only if the editor has given you their number or accepts phone pitches (rare). Otherwise email nudges only.
What if I get a “no”?
Ask what would have made it a yes. Editors will sometimes tell you. Their answer helps every future pitch.
What if the coverage runs and it’s wrong?
Email the editor immediately, politely, with the correction and the source. Most outlets will fix factual errors within a day. Don’t argue about tone or interpretation.
Can I offer the editor a free product or meal?
Case-by-case, and it never buys coverage. Most Greek-Australian outlets have an ethics policy that limits accepting hospitality. Assume they’ll cover you fairly regardless of whether they accept an invitation.
Where to read next
The full directory of Greek-Australian media outlets, with contact details for every publication mentioned above.
How to submit a story to Cycladic Spaces, our editorial brief and pitch email.
The Greek Warehouse opens in Findon, a worked example of what a well-pitched Greek business story looks like when published.
