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The Blagger’s Blog 14th June 2013

Friday, June 14th, 2013

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the week

“Simply making exams harder does not guarantee higher standards nor mean that students will be prepared for a job… …Harking back to a bygone era by replicating O-levels, which were designed for a very narrow cohort in a completely different economic context, is certainly not the way to a world-class education service.“ Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, criticising Government proposals to reform GCSEs, scrap the letter grading system, and place more emphasis on end of year exams, as oppose to course work.

 

Weekly high

Giff Gaff- ‘the mobile network run by you’- certainly has its work cut out convincing customers with the major providers to jump ship. As such this advert featuring roaming hordes of misunderstood, undead flesh eaters, who just want to help if someone gives them the chance, makes perfect sense. It’s also pretty funny, too.

Weekly low

U.S. subscription TV provider DirecTV turned a tragedy into a public relations catastrophe this week when a customer was told they would have to pay $400 for a new satellite dish and two receivers, despite the fact the original equipment had been destroyed in a home fire that resulted in the loss of everything, other than the lives of those inside. Apparently this isn’t the first time requests for payment following a blaze have been made by the company, and again the public’s reaction has been understandably outraged.

 

Things that might happen in the next week…

The U.N. Human Rights Council concludes its 12th session on the Syrian situation, with a resolution due to be adopted by the end of today (Friday 14th June). The United States military will begin arming Syrian rebels following evidence the Assad regime has been using chemical weapons against opposition forces. And the new president of Iran will be voted in by the country’s public, with results due this weekend.

Just in case you missed it…

Barb, the official body responsible for collecting and reporting UK TV ratings, is set to make major changes to the way in which figures are collected. As of August, catch up and on demand services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, and 4OD will also be taken into account when measuring the overall popularity of a programme, giving a truer reading of viewing figures across televisions, tablets, PCs, laptops, and smartphones.  Read more on the story here.

 

If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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How to sell people flying food with war machines

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

London, Present Day. Lunch Time.

The atmosphere is calm, for now at least. Workers in the UK capital sit down at a table outside one of the city’s innumerable eateries, order their food and wait, oblivious to the fact that within minutes their order will be on the floor, dropped for the pigeons by a poorly trained novice piloting an airborne waitress-drone.

Far from a daydream (as if we’d ever have time), this actually happens in a video that’s currently streaming on Guardian.co.uk, showing Yo Sushi! customers being troubled by a flying machine carrying a tray full of food. As anyone that read our Blagger’s Blog last Friday will understand, it got us thinking about the Domicopter Domino’s used to deliver pizza as the crow flies, the first time a drone has brought edibles to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Whilst The Guardian video pokes fun at the idea, giving a suitably British interpretation of the worst case scenario- many spillages- Yo Sushi! intends on rolling out flying trays next year, apparently. And, if the Huffington Post is anything to believe, that pizza prototype “is currently undergoing further testing” at Dominos U.K. HQ, presumably to see if the stunt can become an everyday occurrence. Either way, the two projects are great examples of engaging PR. We’re writing about them here, and half the English-speaking world has been doing a similar thing.

These are not the only organisations with similar intentions, either. Burrito Bomber, billed as ‘the world’s first airborne Mexican food delivery service’, is also waiting in the wings. It might remind some of the Tacocopter, unveiled a few years back, but the latter was a hoax, albeit still a great example of how to get the public talking.

Although it’s not a viable business, yet, the Burrito Bomber system takes orders through a mobile app, along with the customer’s location, and launches a drone to deliver the wraps and other rations. Unfortunately, though, it has one fatal flaw. Whilst Domino’s didn’t need a permit for its chopper, which flew at 126 metres above England, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority’s current regulations won’t allow this to get off the ground.

However, a Reform Act passed last year means by 2015 America must have legislation in place for commercial drones, a move that could be a potential game changer, in the most sci-fi way of looking at the very near future. Which, according to many tech and gadget experts, might not be far off the mark, with widespread predictions suggesting we’re set to witness the start of an unmanned food delivery revolution soon-ish.

Of course not all companies in this industry want to be part of such high altitude manoeuvres, but nevertheless there’s a lot to be taken from these examples. Irrespective of whether the flying tray etcetera actually become a reality, the brands behind the headlines have won attention by considering how the marketplace could develop in years to come, and incorporated that with modern technology to develop campaigns that have resulted in serious exposure. By interpreting those cornerstones in a way to suit your business, there’s no end to the benefits that can be reaped.

 

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The Blagger’s Blog 7th June 2013

Friday, June 7th, 2013

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the week

“We have never heard of PRISM… …We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order.” Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling, responding to a Washington Post report that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has been accessing the systems of tech giants like Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and MSN as part of a top secret operation codenamed PRISM, in order to monitor the live chat, email, and search histories of the American public.

 

Weekly high

Pointless, impractical, and probably just a PR stunt, although Dominos isn’t our favourite pizza provider in the world, or even Manchester, we do like this YouTube clip of the firm’s newfangled Domicopter. Introduced presumably to escape Britain’s increasingly bottlenecked roads, we’re not sure whether customers want to stand outside waiting for their 12″ to touch down, but it still made us smile. RIP the Delivery Boy then.

Weekly low

In Singapore, apparently 20% of McDonalds’ sales come from its delivery service. A major campaign was launched two weeks ago, offering reduced price Hello Kitty toys with every order made in this way; if you’re unaware, she’s a colourful cat character who has copious cuddly animal friends, and in the Asia-Pacific region they are all of celebrity status. Seemingly underestimating how much demand there would be, McDonalds ran out of promotional stock immediately, and when customers took to Facebook with complaints, failed to respond. Read the full story here. 

 

 

Things that might happen in the next week…

The trial of Coronation Street star Bill Roache, arrested and charged with numerous sexual assaults that date back to the 1960s, will begin in Preston Crown Court today. The notorious Bilderberg Group, who may or may not control the world in secret (if you believe Guardian journalist Jon Ronson’s book, Them: Adventures With Extremists) will continue to meet in Watford this weekend. Meanwhile, Barrack Obama will carry on talking at the California Sunnylands Estate as part of the US-China summit.

Just in case you missed it…

Facebook intends to halve its advertising product range over the next six months in a bid to ‘make marketing simpler’. Read more on the story here. 

 

If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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(Some of) the best food publications in Britain, right now

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Continuing on the current epicurean theme of our public relations agency blog- with that recent guide to fabulous food blogs, and Wednesday’s cheesy infographic- we’ve been hard at work analysing the finest print titles in this area of the media. And, as you might have expected, there are plenty of big fish in this saturated end of the magazine and supplement market, so this was no small task.

We shouldn’t need to say, but will do anyway, that almost all national papers offer some supplementary food content at least once a month in their Sunday editions, if not more regularly via the weekday copy. Of these, The Observer Food Monthly is without question top of the pile in terms of prestige, and not just because it was awarded overall Supplement of the Year at the Press Awards back in March.

Published every third Sunday, opportunities are obviously highly sought after but nevertheless available for restaurant reviews, product inclusion, launch news and more. The Times and Financial Times each have offerings along the same lines, with far higher readerships, albeit their online reach is much more limited thanks to paywalls and compulsory accounts, meaning The Independent,  The Telegraph, and Daily Mail may win out in terms of overall exposure.

On a regional level, again the big guns are dominant. Birmingham’s Sunday Mercury and Birmingham Mail cover edibles (and drinkables) in much the same way as the countrywide titles, won Best Midlands Newspaper five times in ten years, and claimed the title of ‘Britain’s Best Regional Read’ not so long ago. Similarly, London’s Evening Standard and the Manchester Evening News (the latter being the largest circulation regional in the country) also have dedicated sections in ES Magazine and City Life respectively, including reviews, recipes, and columnists.

Although often less widely read than those newsprint giants, magazines are particularly fertile when it comes to food and drink at the moment. Trade stalwarts such as The Grocer (for retail), Food & Drink Network UK, FMCG News, and Food & Drink News are all majors B2Bs boasting influential readerships with plenty of buying power. The more upmarket, fine food and drink industry title Speciality Food Magazine is the biggest currently being targeted at gourmet producers, wholesalers and retailers.

In terms of consumer outlets, BBC Good Food is the most bought, and holds a place in the top 30 paid-for magazines of any kind in the country. Or at least it did when The Guardian put together this Top 100 list last year. It’s recipe focussed, so anyone not involved in the domestic cuisine market may find Olive more useful, also published by Auntie, which scraped the same list (coming in at number 100), but nevertheless is well respected amongst “food lovers who enjoy cooking, eating out and foodie travel”. Today it boasts a circulation of 70,596 per issue.

The award winning Food & Travel Magazine is beautiful and very highly regarded too. It also runs its own Reader Awards, with categories ranging from Long Haul Airline of the Year to Rural Restaurant of the Year, and has a heavy emphasis on reader competitions and offers, which are well worth considering for marketing purposes. And all this is before we come to the so-called ‘new generation’ of sleek, niche food titles that have emerged in recent years.

Our favourite of which must be The Gourmand, pegged as a ‘journal’, it offers space to everything from features on musicians to travel and commentary, the only caveat being there must be some association with food and drink. Presented more like a design magazine (expensive matte paper etc.)- the layout and photography are stunning, and whilst it’s far smaller in terms of audience, the affluent, youthful (though not necessarily young) professional types that read care enough about clean lines and tasty menus to pay for a premium product, which is the kind of community brands often want to tap into. Plenty worth considering before the next campaign then, if you have any other suggestions for our list please don’t hesitate to add them via the comments form below.

 

 

 

 

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Clubcard TV- not just another streaming service?

Monday, June 3rd, 2013

Last Friday our latest newsletter went out containing MD Rick Guttridge’s article on the importance of open-mindedness when it comes to securing media exposure. The point being that ‘audience, not medium, is the key to PR success‘.

As such it’s interesting to see retail trade publication The Grocer opening it’s own monthly digest with related sentiments. Referencing Tesco’s Clubcard TV, food and drink editor Vince Bamford admits regretting being so critical of this still-fledgling offering, because despite the fact it’s dominated by throwaway trash like Two Pints of Lager & A Packet of Crisps, the idea is gradually taking off.

Originally only available to the supermarket giant’s own employees, now anyone with a loyalty card can make use of completely free access to archive television shows and films, without the need for a subscription. A limited selection of content is available when compared with the paid-for BlinkBox (also from Tesco), but whilst Bamford’s initial opinion was formed thanks to the lack of anything anyone would want to watch, in recent months deals have been struck with BBC Worldwide and ITV, improving the selection no end.

Of course the titles included are still pretty old. Goodness Gracious Me, Cold Feet, and Morse to name but three examples. However, in terms of the core Tesco shopper, it’s slowly becoming a very enticing proposition. These dramas and comedies have earned themselves a place in Britain’s broadcasting history through rave reviews when they first aired, and in some cases BAFTAs or other awards a little further down the line, proving the brains behind Clubcard TV know their market.

Kellogg’s, Danone, and Colgate, are all major brands referenced by Bamford as advertising on the platform. And it’s not hard to understand why those names are involved, either. By linking streaming accounts to the physical Clubcard, Tesco can use the viewer’s shopping list to sell specific commercial opportunities based on that individual’s product choices.

So, if you buy porridge regularly it will affect what you’re shown on Clubcard TV. Something of an ad department’s fantasy, as Tesco is the country’s biggest retailer there couldn’t be a larger potential audience to start with, and providing the standard of movies and programmes continues to improve this seeming ugly duckling of the on demand world could end up being one of the most valuable out there.

Again, as referenced here last week, Netflix scored major points over everyone else involved in broadcasting and TV by securing the rights to show Kevin Spacey’s political series House of Cards in the UK, meaning if you wanted to see the acclaimed first season you needed to sign up for the service. For Clubcard TV, modelling reality show Elite New Face may not be such a huge selling point, however it is an exclusive nonetheless, and is another warning sign for traditional broadcasters (albeit a pretty small one). Putting it simply, unique content is one very strong reason why streaming services could eventually usurp networks as we know them today.

Taking all that into account, it won’t be much of a surprise if a rival supermarket partners up with one of the established players in the on demand game. Love Film already uses the same Nectar loyalty system as Sainsbury’s, for example, and that’s just one example to leap off the top of our heads. As we’ve said so many times before, the world is changing rapidly, and few areas of the media are experiencing the same level of revolution as TV is right now- from watching programmes on a mobile to Samsung’s voice controlled flatscreen. As such keeping an eye on the latest developments has never been a more lucrative way to spend a few of those valuable research hours.

 

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Updates and amends- a guide to social media changes

Friday, May 31st, 2013


With all things digital progressing at an alarming rate,  keeping abreast with the latest developments in online networking isn’t easy. Consider this your essential briefing on recent alterations to Flickr, Pinterest, and Google+.

Flickr

Flickr has had a huge overhaul after being bought out by Yahoo!, part of the latter’s spending spree which also includes the new acquisition of the popular blogging site, Tumblr.

Advantages

Users are now being offered a staggering 1TB of free storage for photos and videos, equating to 500,000 six-mega pixel images. Pictures can now be up to 200MB each, and videos three minutes (previously the limits were 30MB and 90-seconds respectively, unless you paid a subscription fee).

A new Android app has been launched too, improving on the network’s mobile offering. Meanwhile, we’d say the clean looking re-design, making use of the increasingly common ‘panel’ based layout, works rather well with this network.

Disadvantages

If you need anything in addition to what’s provided with a free account, the costs add up significantly. To remove adverts from the interface it’s £33 per year, to increase storage to 2TB the charges reach a wince-worthy £329, or thereabouts. In the past an unlimited account rang in at around £17. Aside from that, the lack of information on how many followers an account holder has is unhelpful from a PR perspective. Without this information it’s much harder to identify key influencers and globally significant users, albeit it does mean quality content has more chance of being noticed, as it draws eyes to good pictures, not popular account holders.

Google+

The second most used social network as of January this year still divides opinion, with many people logging in simply because of the additional functions (i.e. Docs, or Gmail). Nevertheless, it’s going nowhere, and has just been given its first ever facelift, with controversial changes also made to the real time communication tool, Hangouts.

Advantages

The new look Google+ is definitely a simpler beast, with three columns on the account home screen, and a no frills aesthetic that makes it easier than ever to observe and interact with others on the network. Hangouts are also now available via a stand alone app that works on any operating system, apparently accentuating the company’s focus on ‘people, not gadgets’.

Disadvantages

The new Hangouts will rank contacts in terms of how often you’re in touch with them. All conversations conducted in this way- either through messaging or a voice call- will be stored, meaning you can go back over them in the future. The problem being it all sounds a little Orwellian and surveillance state-like, and given the ongoing dialogue on privacy it’s no surprise this move has caused a stir.

Pinterest

Still a relative new kid on the block, everyone has been guessing how Pinterest could develop more business friendly functions since its inception. Recent changes including better e-commerce links, along with improved presentation of products are certainly major improvements.

Advantages

The recent re-design means pinned items are now larger on the page, offering more space for lovely images, more room for text, and more chances of catching people’s eye as more information is presented. The navigation has also been overhauled, meaning the site remembers your position on the previous page when clicking through to another- saving time if there’s a need to check on something.

We’re also happy the powers that be have re-introduced the ‘Pinned from’ feature, which shows you the original source of any content on the network- so if that’s your business users will be able to find your page easily. Communications have also been given a Twitter style @ option, to tag specific users in a pin.

There’s a new Facebook-esque Pinterest Analytics tool available too, and it’s well worth knowing about ‘info-rich’ pins, whereby the platform becomes an online catalogue for your products. The new look version makes it far easier to display up to date details, ranging from prices and availability to review scores and recipes, realising more of the platform’s sales potential.

Disadvantages

‘Info rich’ pins are only visible to people using the re-designed site, which isn’t compulsory at the moment and, at the time of writing, isn’t as widely known about as it should be. It also seems pointless to remove the hashtag search feature when it could easily have been left in, and seamless sharing with Twitter and Facebook has been lost too, reducing compatibility between the networks.

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The media, this month May ’13

Friday, May 31st, 2013

DIGITAL- Women’s magazine Easy Living is set to turn off the printing presses and go all-digital due to falling circulation figures, despite the title- owned by high end publishing giant Conde Naste- being amongst the most successful in its sector.

DIGITAL- Microsoft has unveiled its new XBox, christened ‘One’. It can show live TV and on demand services, respond to voice commands, ‘trend’ programmes Twitter-style, and link to Skype in a major attempt to create an all in one device.

DIGITAL- The Guardian is amalgamating its UK, U.S., and soon-to-be-launched Australian web editions into one core domain as international browsing of its combined sites reaches 80million.

PRINT- Lancashire Evening Telegraph is undergoing a re-model next week, increasing local coverage, and expanding some supplements including Amateur Sport and Entertainment, with Homes moving to Fridays. Full details here.

PRINT- iLove will launch in July, a brand new female lifestyle magazine delivered for free to 700,000 subscribers, with online editions also available. The beauty and fashion director has worked at The Sunday Times, Elle, Grazia, and The Guardian.

PRINT- Trade travel association ABTA is relaunching its magazine in a new multi-platform strategy. Industry news, in depth tourist destination information and blogs are all set to feature, with online content available at countrybycountry.com

SOCIAL- LinkedIn Today, the social network’s news reading service, has undergone a major re-design, dividing opinion in the process. In case you haven’t noticed, and don’t know what this useful tool does, take a look at this article.

SOCIAL- Flickr, Google+, Pinterest have all changed the way they work and look, with some interesting developments taking place. In all cases, content is displayed bigger, allowing for more information to be included. Read our summary here.

SOCIAL- According to research, one in around 179 words on Twitter is now spelt incorrectly, accentuating the importance of checking things twice, and the prevalence of negligence. One in 400 now begins with a #hashtag too.

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The Blagger’s Blog 24th May 2013

Friday, May 24th, 2013

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the week

“The political climate is very much worse than 2005. We are living in a climate of very nasty and angry politics on issues like immigration and welfare at the moment, and it is building. We have to be very careful to make sure this does not tip over into something much more dangerous.“ Former Home Secretary David Blunkett, discussing the current atmosphere on Britain’s streets and in the corridors of Westminster following the recent atrocity in Woolwich.

Weekly high

This week’s successful public relations move is a bit different to the usual highlights we select. Capcom, the developer behind the successful Resident Evil video game franchise, had announced it would fill a swimming pool with fake blood and human limbs, before inviting people to swim in it as a stunt to promote the new instalment. Following events in Woolwich the company has cancelled the event, which is a good example of respect and sensitivity taking precedent over business, something many of our weekly fails could do with taking onboard.

Weekly low

You may not know it, but in 2007 a lady called Sara Rosso set up a fake international holiday, World Nutella Day. Dedicated to the spreading recipes and ideas for the chocolate and hazelnut stuff, it grew from a few hundred people to thousands, and had followers everywhere from Facebook to Pinterest. That is until this now, as the company behind the brand has issued her with a cease and desist order, rather than taking advantage of the sizeable fan base she has established, begging the question: “sorry, they did what?”

 

 

Things that might happen in the next week…

The UEFA Champions League final will take place in London tomorrow, with Dortmund taking on Bayern. More company’s could pull adverts from Facebook amid the ‘revelations’ that sponsored links are appearing on some decidedly dodgy groups and pages. The Queen will make a King’s Troop visit to Woolwich barracks.

Just in case you missed it…

The Guardian has announced a brand new digital platform, guardian.com. In the news giant’s own words, it will involve “amalgamating the main entry point Guardian.co.uk, mobile site m.guardian.co.uk, US homepage guardiannews.com and the soon-to-launch Australian digital edition – into one core web destination.” Read more on the story here.

 

If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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The Blagger’s Blog 17th May 2013

Friday, May 17th, 2013

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the week

“It is high time that the banks took their social responsibilities seriously. Since the start of the year RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds have announced plans to slash about 6,900 jobs. The industry almost caused the economy to implode in 2008 and now it is contributing to a jobs crisis.“ Unite national officer Dominic Hook, commenting after RBS announced 1,400 job losses over the next two years.

Weekly high

There’s nothing we like more than a socially responsible PR stunt, and as such this week Brazilian beer manufacturer Antarctica wins our top spot. In a bid to reduce the number of drink driving incidents, revellers attending the Rio de Janeiro carnival (which the drink brand sponsors) were allowed to use their empties as tickets on the city’s metro system, making public transport preferable to a boozy car journey.

Weekly low

It wasn’t that long ago when the news was filled with horrific reports following a mass shooting inside an American cinema. As such, when a mastermind at Capital 8 Theatres decided to employ fake gunmen to storm its screens in Missouri as a promotion for Iron Man 3, it’s understandable people were outraged. Despite the obvious issue, amazingly manager Bob Wilkins doesn’t seem to think there’s a problem.

 

Things that might happen in the next week…

The Castlefield Hotel hosts the Manchester Internet Meeting tonight, open for anyone even remotely interested in Internet marketing. Tuesday sees the Liverpool Dot-Art: Design Your Own Marketing Materials event take place at The Bluecoat, showing attendees how to create flyers, posters and more with free software (and their own laptops). On Wednesday the Leeds Enterprise Network meets at the city’s Metropolitan University, where graduate Anna Moss will discuss opening her own marketing company.

Just in case you missed it…

The Sun is to introduce a paywall from August 1st. Users signing up to the new service, dubbed Sun+, will receive seven day per week access to the website via any device they own, in addition to extras including Premier League football highlights. Read more on the story here, or watch this space for the Smoking Gun analysis next week.

 

If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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The Smoking Gun guide to the fabulous world of food blogging

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

If you’re looking for brand exposure then prominent enthusiasts, busily running their own weblogs, cannot be ignored. As such, understanding which are the most read, and held in highest regard, can be invaluable.

The problem is, like most things online, this realm moves and changes fast. Very few blogs provide a full day-to-day living for the people responsible, meaning everything from a job change or relocation, to simply running out of energy, can lead to popular domains dropping off the radar altogether. Add to this how fickle the public’s wandering eye is- not least in terms of digital- and you start to realise how important it is to keep abreast with what’s hot (and what’s not).

To evidence this point, the Huffington Post’s Taste section has a regular-ish roundup of the latest rising stars and ones to watch (or read), because of the steady influx of new contenders ready to replace those that fall by the wayside. The fact this feature isn’t monthly, but seems to be designed as such, supports the notion that regular, reliable content isn’t an easy thing to come by- even for one of the world’s most popular English-speaking websites- hence the constant state of flux any list of ‘top blogs’ will be in.

The Foodies 100 is probably a more reliable source, and takes the form of 100 links to 100 blogs, each ranked in terms of Google, MozRank, Inlinks, Klout, Kred, and traffic, every 30 days. As such you’re not only being presented with the most visited, but also the most influential and engaging, which count for just as much. Currently, April’s top offering is the excellent Tinned Tomatoes, run by Jacqueline Meldrum (who also has two other outlets, Little Tums and The Food Blog Diary- the latter of which is more news focused, and billed as “the place to find up-to-date foodie challenges, giveaways and competitions”).

As a writer, this self-trained baker and cook (who’s also a mother, hence Little Tums), has become something of a go-to woman for recipes, opinions, and other epicurean things. However, she didn’t make it onto the aforementioned Huffington roundup in May (or November, or October last year for that matter), wherein the number one spot is held by Yammie’s Noshery, which focuses largely on Japanese and Asian cuisine, compiled by 20-something Yammie (who was just 18 when she started the blog).

It’s worth noting that whilst Foodies uses a technical scoring system, the Huff is opinion based, and therefore although it’s worth keeping an eye on, from a PR perspective the top 100 list is far more valuable in terms of gauging targets for client coverage. And there’s no shortage of other websites compiling similarly subjective run downs of ‘the best’, either, from Woman & Home to a Suffolk pub called The British Larder. Depending on how niche you’re willing to go, none or all can offer some helpful insights.

Of course this is on top of the ‘majors’. The biggest blog dedicated to food in the UK right now is actually The Guardian Word of Mouth, with the likes of luxury concierge service Bon Vivant, and BBC Good Food also rated very highly. None of these appear on the Foodies list, presumably because they are parts of larger websites. They all offer a range of opportunities from a public relations perspective, though. As you can see then, there are as many ways to track down the best in the business as there are good quality blogs run by respected bloggers. Here are five of our personal favourites right now, feel free to let us know any we should have included…

Hale & Hearty 

Not just because it’s based down the road in Hale, this website, run by the eponymous Hale & Hearty food company, hosts great recipes and health tips alongside its own catalogue and in-house news. There are also opportunities for restaurant reviews.

NeverSeconds

Winning The Observer Food Monthly’s Best Blog of 2012 speaks for itself, and even if the same doesn’t happen this year, the combination of interviews, videos, opinions and news relating to school dinners (and more) is still well worth a bookmark.

Gin and Crumpets

As the name suggests, this is a celebration of all things British and edible/drinkable, and features a range of content from tasting session write ups to event reviews and longer features.

Food Blogger Connect

OK, so admittedly this isn’t really a blog as such, but it does contain a blog on food related things (including profiles of great indie bloggers). On top of this, Food Blogger Connect is also the world’s leading food blogger conference, which is well worth knowing about.

Cheese and Biscuits

Esquire rate the chap behind this one of the Top 5 food bloggers restaurants should fear, with the Evening Standard claiming he’s one of the ‘Most Influential Londoners’. As such it’s probably wise to check in from time to time.

 

 

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