PR is a multifaceted profession, as even within a region, there are big differences in the way the press is structured and perceived, depending on media regulations in each country, the situation of funding and the attitude of the readers. The Hungarian press is challenging, but PR professionals are always looking for opportunities in these challenges.
While Enterie operates across six continents – primarily in the Americas and EMEA – its roots are in Europe, especially the CEE region, where our hearts still beat.
In this blog series, we explore each country to uncover the best PR practices from local experts. So far, we’ve covered Poland (you can also download our free eBook on entering the Polish market), Germany’s best PR practices, specifics of the UK, entering Spain & Portugal, and comms in France, based on the beloved “Emily in Paris”.
Now, let’s take a closer look at another key CEE market: Hungary.
1. Fractured media
The media landscape in Hungary is quite divided, with the government having a great deal of influence over a large percentage of press products. It makes it challenging to shape sentiment on the more divisive issues, so it is important to be aware of where journalists are coming from, what issues they are working on and what they might be interested in.
It is crucial to find topics that are as non-politicised, and to remain completely neutral.
Interesting content and activities can be of interest to both sides, as they have a vested interest in maintaining readership regardless of the side.
After all, the real and good journalists are not the main decision-makers of the current system, but rather, in the best case, professionals looking for good topics, who want information or even an experience to report on their platforms.
2. Rethinking press events
As in other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the media/PR industry in Hungary, fundamentally transforming the editorial landscape in terms of both staffing and approach. Due to the temporary absence of public press events, journalists have since become less interested in similar occasions. This is often due to a lack of capacity, as newsrooms are often understaffed, and everyone is as busy as a bee. This has led to the usual feedback: “Send us the press material and we’ll cover it on our site!” which reduces the possibility of personal contact and a collegial relationship based on trust.
If you want to attract journalists, you have to offer them extraordinary experiences. Traditional press conferences are less effective today – unless you’re sharing information of significant public interest.
To generate strong attendance and media coverage, it’s important to offer more than just a standard press release dispatch. What truly captures journalists’ attention are unique, high-value experiences that provide real incentives to engage. These opportunities also create space for building meaningful media relationships. Consider offering:
- A meeting with an interesting person – sparks curiosity and drives interest.
- An exclusive interview opportunity – encourages in-depth storytelling and personalized coverage.
- A chance to preview or try something first – gives journalists a reason to show up and report early.
These approaches not only increase your chances of standout coverage but also help you establish lasting connections with key media contacts.
Check our Hungarian and CEE case studies:
- for a Hungary-based EU pre-accelerator for startups
- for various technology, aviation, industry and MedTech brands
3. Topic is key
One of the characteristics of Hungarian media consumption is that negative news is big news.
Related article: How do you define your target group and why is it an absolute must for your company?
Hungarians are often sceptical people, so topics that undermine confidence and highlight problems get ahead. The scandal-hungry readership is served by clickbait material, which poses a threat to the client’s brand, as editorial freedom sometimes has to give way to a more thunderous headline. In any case, the journalist needs strong sentences, news value, while the brand-centric communication can easily hit a wall: and this wall is called the sales department. 🙂
Since the pandemic, sales have become a much stronger determinant of a newspaper’s performance than before. This is not surprising, as during the COVID crisis, individual publishers’ revenues were particularly important, and they achieved this by focusing on the paid media. Advertisements cannot appear for free, so the brand name can in some cases explicitly inhibit coverage.
Only the news value can overcome this barrier. If you offer the journalist content that is basically worth writing, because it is likely to get read, the brand name should not be a major problem. In other cases, however, you can get stuck as a PR manager at the gate of the sales department and only have access to top-tier media by purchasing media separately.
Contact us to scale your brand in Hungary or learn more about expanding to other CEE countries.
