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28th January 2016

Big Birthday Celebrations

Foodservice PR Agency - Big Birthday Celebrations - Simpsons in the Strand A big birthday deserves a special celebration, which is why last weekend I spent the afternoon in London with my family to celebrate my step gran’s 80th.

The afternoon began as every afternoon should – with cocktails. We met in the 125 year old American Bar at The Savoy Hotel, where the cocktails are ranked among London’s finest. The retro-glamour style combined with an extensive list of cocktails, all organised by historical eras, made this a really special experience. I went for the ‘Punk Rock’ – a mix of Rum, grapefruit juice, sugar syrup and Peychaud’s bitters.

After a couple of drinks, we made our way to Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, just a short walk from The Savoy Hotel. The restaurant itself is beautiful and they really create the perfect atmosphere. Simpson’s is known for its Scottish beef which is carved in front of you from beautiful antique trolleys. The food was incredible and I would definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone looking for the perfect venue to celebrate a special occasion.

A snapshot of the dishes I enjoyed below…

Starters – Smooth chicken liver pate with grape chutney and toasted brioche.

Main – Stuffed pork tenderloin with parsley mash and confit garlic sauce.

Dessert – Sticky toffee pudding with Madagascan vanilla custard.

With full bellies, we finished off the day singing along to the hit musical Mamma Mia which was the perfect end to a great afternoon. As well as amazing food and drink, it was a really special day celebrating with family and one we will all remember.

jellybean is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

26th January 2016

Pub Aid World Record Attempt

Foodservice Marketing - Pub Aid World Record Attempt Free-house establishments are always looking for new ways to entice customers in and The Unicorn pub in my village of Cublington, Bucks, is no exception.

Despite being an award winning establishment with an AA two rosette restaurant, the peaks and troughs in demand mean extra ways are always sought to drum up extra custom. That’s where I come in. Being on the board and as a foodservice marketing expert, I always look for new and different ways to help promote fun themed evenings that appeal to customers. In the past we’ve promoted and I’ve taken part in ‘Come Dine With Us” chef challenges, Call my Bluff wine tastings all served with amazing food and this leap year I have suggested a Leap Year Lunch – with a special fun set menu. Yes you’ve guessed it – frog’s legs to start and kangaroo burgers on the menu. Sure to be another fun event.

Of course there are all the usual themed days. This month there was Burn’s Night, coming soon is Valentine’s Day, St Patricks Day and Mother’s Day on the horizon as well as the annual Six Nations Rugby – Pie and a Pint for £10 is always a magnet for thirsty fans.

So, early next month, on a quiet Sunday night, the Unicorn is joining in with Pub Aid to take part in a unique world record quiz attempt. So far over 1340 pubs have signed up to take part and at 7.30pm on Sunday 7 February 2016, thousands of quizzers will simultaneously answer the first in a series of questions in the World’s Biggest Quiz. I have my team of six organised and will enjoy a special quizzers meal before applying my mind to answering questions and raising money for the pub’s nominated charity, the Florence Nightingale Hospice, in memory of a departed colleague.

Organised by Pubaid, supported by JustGiving, the aim of the evening is to raise money for local causes and charities. Over 550 have already been nominated. The quiz also qualifies as an attempt at the Guinness World Record for the largest multi-venue quiz.

http://worldsbiggestquiz.pubaid.com/

http://www.theunicornpub.co.uk

http://fnhospice.org.uk/

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

26th January 2016

February 1st, the new January 1st

Foodservice Public Relations - February 1st, the new January 1st Has your dry January turned into “I only had a couple of glasses because it was my friend’s 30^th” and “I couldn’t not!”? Or is that shiny gym membership card in your new sports bag you got for Christmas gathering cobwebs? And as for the 5:2 diet, let me guess, it’s more 7:0 now…

Finally, what is perceived as the worst month of the year is coming to a close, and it seems our January health kicks came to an end very rapidly, with most people giving up on the 17^th January (it’s even marked National Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day!). But is it any wonder that the nation only lasts just over two weeks before indulging in the leftover Christmas Thornton’s, and splurging on a glass of red, we had been stuffing ourselves with mince pies and washing those down with prosecco for the past month after all…we deserve more than a lettuce leaf!

So, as it’s time to start dreaming of your summer holiday now that all festivities are FINALLY over, why not kick start your health regime in February?

Here are just a few reasons why February 1^st should be your January 1st:

You aren’t going to be queuing for the treadmill in the gym, let’s face it… nobody is in there anymore!
You’ve finally been paid after what has felt like a lifetime! So do a big food shop and start meal prepping for the weeks ahead and be sure to add any meals out into your diary in advance.
It’s a shorter month… less days to countdown until you break your dry spell and can have that drink on the 1^st of March!
The mornings aren’t as dark so exercising before work may be slightly more appealing than snoozing your alarm three times.

So as February 1^st quickly approaches, it’s time to don those lycra leggings, start that holiday countdown and prep your meals in advance…February is a shorter month after all.

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, foodservice public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

25th January 2016

The Big Event 2016

Foodservice Marketing Agency - jellybean - The Big Event 2016 Hotelympia will soon be upon us, and as the great and the good of the industry gather at Excel to see what’s hot for 2016 it’s also a great excuse for a party – or should I say ‘gala dinner’. And what better cause than industry charity Springboard, who’s excellent work helps young and under-privileged people into careers in hospitality, leisure and tourism across the UK. Of course, as the leading foodservice agency we will be there, at the St David’s Day themed, ‘Big Event’ on the 1st March, joined by some of our clients who are exhibiting at Hotelympia.

As the PR agency for Hotelympia it’s a busy time for us, but we’re always up for supporting such a good cause and if it means glamming up and enjoying a lovely meal washed down with fine wines, well, so be it – it’s a tough job but someone has to eh. If you haven’t booked your table already make sure you don’t miss out and get booking today.

Equally if you can offer any prizes or would like to get involved with sponsoring do get in contact with Springboard and offer your support. We look forward to seeing you there!

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

7th January 2016

72 hours in Rome

72 hours in Rome - Foodservice PR Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll agree on one thing – when it comes to Italy and all things Italian, I don’t know when to shut up. Whilst at university I was lucky enough to spend a year studying in Genoa, and so in early December it was with great anticipation that I returned to Italy for the first time in three years, this time heading further south to la città eterna: Rome.

Rome is renowned for the amount it has to offer and this was certainly the case, the three days we spent exploring seemed to disappear in a whirlwind of fountains, churches and ruins. But in between pounding the streets of the old city, dodging mopeds and saying a quick prayer at the Vatican, we managed to find some time to do what the Italians do best: eat.

After our first busy day sightseeing, we headed to Trastevere, a district known for its traditional trattorias and Roman specialties, to seek out ‘Dar Poeta’, a pizzeria recommended by our lovely Air BnB host, Rita. After walking round in circles for what felt like hours we eventually found it tucked away down a tiny side street and it was definitely worth the perseverance. Huge Italian pizzas and a large glass of vino bianco were a wonderfully guilt-free reward after the amount of walking we’d done! I had been thinking about gelato ever since we’d arrived and since it is never too cold or too late for an ice-cream in Italy, for dessert we set off to find a gelateria. Faced with an amazing choice of flavours and a difficult decision I went for an old favourite – caffè e nocciola (coffee and hazelnut) which definitely didn’t disappoint.

Pizza and ice-cream was just the beginning of three days’ indulgence and over the course of the weekend I managed to sample spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams), freshly baked focaccia, roasted chestnuts sold by street vendors and at the market at Campo di Fiori, Rome’s speciality, supplì, – deep fried rice balls with mozzarella.

Unfortunately it all came to an end far too quickly, and leaving Rome I promised myself it wouldn’t be another three years before I returned to Italy again.

http://darpoeta.com

jellybean is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

22nd December 2015

Get me to the slopes

Get Me to the Slopes - The Lodge Clapham - Foodservice Marketing Agency Ok, so maybe this year I am not able to get to the slopes, but what is the next best thing after that? Delicious mountain themed food, of course! And as a proud representative of the leading foodservice marketing agency, this seemed like my kind of research!

Having lived in the French Alps for two seasons and loving nothing more than to fill my time with friends, food and everything après, I could not wait to get myself to the ever so popular pop up restaurant The Lodge.

Having booked a month and a half in advance, my friends and I were expectant of a really great night. We wanted to feel as though we had just stepped into a typical resort restaurant. That sensational world of skiing – wood inspired interior design. Burning open log fires. Tonnes of mulled wine. And, an atmosphere which bursts with excitement. We can happily say it lived up to everything!

After taking an age to discover the discreet doorway hidden away opposite Clapham North station, we climbed the stairs to be welcomed by an enormous Christmas tree and hit with the smell of delicious cheesy fondues. The bar had a magical buzz with everyone in their best chunky knits sipping Thermos flasks of mulled wine and cider.

Once sat at our comfy table it was time to order. What were the two most popular starters? Pan fried wood pigeon and a classic chicken liver and foie gras parfait. And, for mains? It was a unanimous vote, easy decision – all for a comte and coolea cheese fondue! Served up with bread, meats, potatoes and salad, we were all in cheese dipping heaven!

So, I would hugely recommend sneaking off from reality for an evening. Pretend you have just hit the slopes hard and enjoy this great pop up whilst it is still there!

Find out more on their website.

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

21st December 2015

Cut-Out Christmas

Food Service Marketing - Cut-Out Christmas Every year jellybeancreates a magically-creative Christmas campaign to support our charity friends, Hospitality Action and Springboard UK. This year, as the leading foodservice agency, we showcased our creative, digital and social media talents with a digital take on the traditional Christmas card with our ‘Cut-Out Christmas’. Take a look here https://www.jellybeancreative.co.uk/christmas/ – for each unique view our campaigns receive, we donate £1 to the two charities.*

We wanted to share 2015’s festive joy with the masses so we took to Twitter to share our campaign. We encouraged Twitter users to follow a link and view our video-card – in turn raising funds for our deserving charities. To return the gesture of goodwill – it’s Christmas after all – we ran a free prize draw for those users who retweeted our campaign tweet, to win one of three luxury chocolate boxes, created by agency friend, UK World Chocolate Master Ruth Hinks!

Receiving 305 engagements including 94 retweets and making 7,797 impressions in just three days, we think it’s fair to say we spread the joy far and wide.

A big thanks to all who took part in the Twitter competition and those who’ve helped support our Christmas campaign to date by viewing our ‘Cut-Out Christmas’ card.

There’s still time to get involved, so if you’d like to help us raise some money, have a watch of Cut-Out Christmas and we’ll do the donating: https://www.jellybeancreative.co.uk/christmas/

Now I suppose all that’s left to say is, we wish you a very Jelly Christmas from all the beans!

*(50p to each, capped at £500)

jellybean is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Steve Skilton

17th December 2015

Should you be using A/B Testing?

Food Service Design Agency - A/B Testing When designing websites it’s all too easy to get bogged down producing seemingly well-written content, and beautiful design that we feel works best… but is it really working?

Should we be doing more to find out what actually works and what the user likes?

There are many different ways of testing if your users are reacting positively to your design, and in today’s fast moving market we should use what tools are available to us to find out what actually works and delivers results.

One way of doing this is by using a technique called A/B testing.

A/B testing (sometimes called Split Testing) is a method of comparing two versions of a web page (or content within that web page) against each other to work out and determine which version performs better and produces greater results.

How does A/B Testing work?

A/B testing is a way of taking your web page and creating two versions for your audience to see. Once you have worked out what you would like to test, you would have your original version of the webpage (A) and then create an alternative/modified version (B), where you would change a heading, an image, colours, positions of elements, etc. Then half of your traffic to your page would be shown the original version and the other half of your traffic would be shown the modified version of the page.

The user engagement for each version would then be measured and that data is collected into an analytics dashboard, giving you all the results as to how they performed. You can then determine whether changing the experience had a positive, negative, or no effect on the visitor’s behaviour. You don’t even need to stop here, as these results could give you more ideas to run further tests and modifications to how your page performs.

Almost everything on your website or web page that affects a visitor’s behaviour can be tested. Below is a list of the elements it is worth thinking about when deciding what to test:

1. Headings and subheadings
2. Colours
3. Content text
4. Call to actions
5. Buttons
6. Position of content on page
7. Images
8. Form positioning and content
9. Links
10. Promotions

Whatever the outcome of your testing, this should provide you with a lot of useful insight into the user’s engagement with your site or page.

If you would like to find out more about how A/B testing could help your website performance and give you greater results, give us a call.

jellybean is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Steve Skilton

15th December 2015

Branding and the Brain

There are two things that usually happen when I tell people I have a degree in neuroscience:

1) What on earth is that?!

And

2) How on earth did you get into marketing?!

Little do they know neuroscience and marketing have a lot more in common than they might think!

Neuroscience itself is the study of the brain and nervous system; in essence, the processes underlying how and why we do what we do. Using this knowledge and applying it to the world of marketing through the aptly named field of ‘neuromarketing’ can give rise to an abundance of benefits – benefits that many big brands are paying top dollar to explore!

Neuromarketing looks at how the consumer brain responds to various forms of advertising and other brand-related activities. It makes use of various brain imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), to monitor brain activity while consumers are exposed to different forms of marketing stimuli. One of the most famous studies, commonly known as the ‘Pepsi Paradox’, involved blinding participants and giving them samples of either Pepsi or Coca-Cola, whilst simultaneously being monitored using fMRI. Just over half of the participants were found to prefer Pepsi. However, when the participants were made aware of what they were drinking, these figures changed significantly, and three-quarters were now found to prefer Coca-Cola. Dr Montague, who led the study, found that the association of the Coca-Cola brand with the sample being consumed activated certain ‘reward centres’ in the brain that were not found to be active when the brand was unknown. The study provided some of the first evidence of a correlation between branding and neuroscience.

A brand’s visual identity (such as colour scheme, font style, and logo) is perhaps the most important part of ensuring that the brand is seen by – and has a positive effect on – their target audience. The human brain is able to identify, analyse, and make judgement on this identity in less than a second – clearly illustrating that the correct first-impression is essential!

So what happens in our brains when we see a logo? The image is initially detected by our eyes and relayed to the fusiform gyrus, an area of the brain that plays an essential role in the recognition of objects and words, and distinguishes whether an object is foreign or familiar. The information is then transferred to the primary visual cortex, where shape, outline, and edges come into play. Studies have found that many people are predisposed to prefer certain types of shape or font-style – statistically, more people prefer those with curved edges than sharp.

Colour is then processed in the secondary visual cortex, and, interestingly, it has been found that images shown in colour appear to be more memorable than those in black and white, as well as being more eye-catching. The final stage of image perception is association. Identifying an image with a positive, or ‘rewarding’ experience largely increases the likelihood of using the brand again.

There is clearly more to image perception than just meets the eye, and understanding what goes on in the brain during brand exposure can provide many advantages to a company when it comes to campaigning and visual identification. Many high-profile brands (Google, Microsoft and HP to name a few!) have already enlisted the help of neuromarketing agencies such as NeuroFocus to help them with various aspects of their campaigns (see http://www.fastcompany.com/1769238/neurofocus-uses-neuromarketing-hack-your-brain – a very interesting read!).

Getting to the bottom of why consumers buy what they buy is perhaps the ultimate goal in the advertising and marketing industry, and neuromarketing, while still in its infancy, is sure to play an essential part in the future of marketing.

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing agency and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Jess Clare

10th December 2015

Catering Insight Awards 2015

Foodservice PR Agency - Awards When it comes to awards our industry does pretty well, and as the leading foodservice pr agency we tend to get along to most, if not all of them. But as they say there’s always room for one more and to that end the latest addition to the foodservice awards calendar kicked-off last night at the Hurlingham Club with the inaugural Catering Insight Awards. Brought to us by Catering Insight Magazine, the awards set out to recognise the very best in the catering equipment sector, covering manufacturers, distributors and dealers. With categories voted by over 100 judges (manufacturers for dealers and dealers for manufacturers) the categories covered everything from the national regions to sustainability and light and heavy equipment – to name but a few.

The industry gathered in black tie to quaff champagne under the beautiful Christmas lights and of course to see who would walk away with these coveted awards. The atrium of the venue buzzed with chatter as friends and colleagues caught up and networked. Then it was on to enjoy an excellent meal prepared by the team at The Hurlingham Club and to find out which of the nominees would be celebrating later at Mahiki (the after party). As the wine flowed so did the conversation and I was lucky enough to be in good company on a table with Chris Brazier and the team from Diversity (who are behind the Casual Dining Show, Lunch! and the Commercial Kitchen Show). To add even more excitement to the evening there was a close-up magician to entertain us with tricks and even a bit of mind reading. We were also joined on the night by our clients Hobart and Fresh Montgomery (the team behind Hotelympia and Hospitality, to name but a few of their many shows!) who both sponsored categories and presented awards. The evening culminated with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ron Neville of CHR Equipment Ltd. for his contribution to the industry over his long and illustrious career. The night flew by and soon it was time to find our carriages and either head home or party on. Sadly I didn’t make it to celebrity hot spot Mahiki for the after party, but I will wait with baited breath to hear the gossip from later in the night!

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners, and of course well done to the team at Catering Insight, especially Andrew Seymour and Clare Nicholls who hosted the evening – not forgetting the sponsors and front and back of house teams who made the night possible. To see the full list of winners click here.

Keep reading! Why not read our blog on A guide to food and drink PR in Foodservice

jellybean is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

10th December 2015

Arena Christmas Event

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Arena Christmas Event The Arena Christmas Event is the official start to the Christmas festivities for the foodservice industry and as the leading foodservice agency we make a point of attending every year. This year there was a double bill, featuring a review of the year from Horizons and a key note speech from Wendy Bartlett of Bartlett Mitchell, not to mention a fabulous meal at the Mandarin Oriental. The day kicked-off with coffee and complimentary porridge, courtesy of our client Ferrero, who’s nutella hazelnut spread added a much needed sweet addition to the hand-held porridge pots, and was especially appreciated by those attendees who had an early start to make it into Knightsbridge for the Horizons briefing.

Then it was time for Peter Backman and his team to take us on a romp through 2015 and a look ahead at what might be in store for 2016. Taking each month at a time we enjoyed a summary of the highs and lows, winners (Costa, Byron, Leon, Wahacca) and losers (soft drinks companies) of the year. From the raft of acquisitions over the year to the somewhat disappointing Rugby World Cup, the review took in everything from ‘ones to watch’ high street brands on the up (Cau, Turtle Bay and WrapChic to name but a few), to examples of casual dining and QSR operators venturing outside their comfort zones in order to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive market place (Subway in a car showroom, McDonald’s table service, alcohol in Burger King and breakfast at Five Guys). With all day dining and ‘what you want when you want’ driving menus, hand-held options seems to be the future with ‘wellbeing’ rather than ‘healthy’ firmly established, along with American and Mexican influenced dishes still going strong. From Jamie’s sugar tax to the rise of technology in all its forms impacting on foodservice, be it payment apps or online ordering hubs like Hungry House and Just Eat, not to mention social media, the face of foodservice is ever changing. The good news though, things are pretty positive and although consumer confidence is fragile the ratio of new opening restaurants to closures hasn’t looked this good in years (although mainly driven by group casual dining operators as independents continue to struggle).

Then it was onto the year ahead and what might be on the Horizon (so to speak!). With the terror threat ever present, a likely referendum in the offing over Europe and continued austerity, as well as the impact of the national living wage, there is a backdrop of uncertainty both with business and consumers. Whilst on the positive side we have Rio 2016 and Euro 2016 to look forward to next summer. The secret to success in the year ahead? Peter Backman would urge operators to innovate and move outside of their comfort zones to stand out from the crowd – sound advice at any time. So after a morning of food for thought it was then on to the actual food of the day, with a stunning lunch prepared by the team at the Mandarin Oriental and having had an elegant sufficiency, it was then time to hear from Wendy Bartlett…

First off she took the opportunity to set the record straight and make clear that Ian Mitchell is her friend, not her husband, a widely held misconception in the industry. As Founder and CEO of Bartlett Mitchell, the hugely successful boutique contract caterer, with 87 locations, 800 staff and over £30 million turnover, Wendy knows a thing or two about contract catering. She, like many other achievers in her field came from a Sutcliff Catering background which spawned so many contract catering companies. She took the brave move fifteen years ago when she and Ian left their stable careers in contract catering to set-up their own business from Wendy’s back bedroom with two phones (after Ian resigned on her behalf, would you believe, after leaving an incriminating document on the photocopier at their current work – oops!). With no salary for two years (but a holiday booked as soon as they set-up oddly enough!) the company started off with a £20,000 budget from each founder and a tight hold on overheads (despite Ian’s allowance for dry cleaning his shirts – a top priority).

Having started out with their first ever contract with a Swedish TV company, now Wendy is one of the top 100 influential people in hospitality, has an MBE and Bartlett Mitchell is counted amongst the ‘Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work for’ and is accredited by the Sustainable Restaurant Association. All in all it’s safe to say things have gone pretty well. Indeed, Wendy never found being a woman in foodservice a barrier, as without the worry of a wife and kids to support she feels she had the freedom to take risks her male counterparts might have shied away from, and loves the business as much as ever, especially the food and the people side. She welcomes the national living wage and to date 50-60% of their clients have taken this on and will always put forward sustainable options to clients, but accepts that they are spending other people’s money so often the decision is out of her hands. Her words of wisdom to the room included – working with friends, not using a lower case font for a logo as it causes a nightmare with autocorrect and to mentor and nurture the next generation of leaders to ensure the industry has the right talent coming through. Her Christmas wishes included…the end of demitasse cups, easier Wi-Fi codes, a simple qualification for chefs – so we’ll have to see what Santa brings.

Then it was time for the charity draw, with Wendy doing the honours, and the great news that the event had raised £1,540 for Hospitality Action. As the day drew to a close and the bar called, there was a little more time to catch-up with contacts old and new and toast the imminent festivities. Well done to Lorraine and the team at Arena, as well as Peter and the team at Horizons and Wendy Bartlett on a great event, as well as the sponsors that make it all possible. Roll on 2016 and what will doubtless be an excellent line-up of events. To find out more about Arena visit their website.

Susan Wickes

27th November 2015

Lovely day for a Guinness®

Food Service Agency - Guinness Settle and Savour. The words of one of the world’s favourite drinks brand – Guinness® – a brand which claims that not everything in black and white makes sense. And they are right…

A recent adventure of mine took me to the Guinness® Storehouse in Dublin where I explored my way through the history and production of the brand we all know and love so much.

The Guinness® Storehouse offers a one-of-a-kind adventure, which can be enjoyed by all, and where I consumed my FIRST Guinness®, yes that’s right my first glass of the dark stuff!

Now, working at a leading foodservice marketing agency such as jellybean, I have an undeniable love for advertising from the original Coca Cola Christmas campaign right through to the new John Lewis television adverts, but undoubtedly, Guinness® is one brand that never let me down.

Guinness® claims that imagination is something they have never been short of – and I can’t deny that. The Storehouse displays an entire floor of past and present advertising campaigns, which you can’t help but fall in love with all over again. Campaigns which take you back in time and always leave you wanting more. Going back over 80 years the range of print, digital and TV campaigns in the Guinness® World of Advertising can keep you entertained for hours!

What did I learn on my adventure you ask? Let me tell you…

Some see Guinness® as a brand; some see Guinness® as a drink… I see Guinness® as a love affair. As marketers we pride ourselves on our work and the work we do for our clients, but to have pure admiration of the creative, the branding, and the slogans means it must be good. Not just good, great! For Guinness® I have only two more words for you… well done!

A site worth visiting the Guinness® Storehouse is located in St James’s Gate, Dublin 8, Ireland – make sure to visit The Gravity Bar on the top floor to enjoy your Guinness® with a view!

www.guinness-storehouse.com

jellybean is a leading food service agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

25th November 2015

Where would we be without mobile?

Where would we be without mobile - jellybean- Foodservice Marketing Agency It’s a daunting thought I know. One almost too unbearable to think about. Is that the 21 year old in me saying that? Or is it the consumer and creator of information in me?

I’d like to argue that it’s not just the adolescent in me, as my Grandad would say. It is quite possibly the truth of the world we live in today.

With ever more hectic schedules, deadlines more demanding, responses to situations and messages required far more instantly (and that’s without taking in to consideration how active we’ve become as consumers and our desire to respond to the media and produce our own content) you wonder how we’d cope without mobile now.

Well, let me try and put it in to perspective.

The total population stands around 7.2 billion. There are just over 3 billion active internet users and almost 3.7 billion unique mobile users. That’s give-or-take half the world actively living in the same digital realm.

In Europe alone, approximately 70% of the population are active internet users with 57.3 million of the 64.1 million UK citizens actively using the internet. 38 million of us have active social media accounts and 32 million of these accounts are accessed via a mobile. So again, I repeat, we are living online!

For those of you reading this thinking, ‘that’s not me. I haven’t been absorbed by the digital realm’…let me share this with you.

In an average day, a UK citizen spends 4 hours on the internet, accessed through a computer, and 1.9 hours on the web, accessed via a mobile device. The average daily use of social media in the UK stands at 2hrs 13m.

And if that doesn’t shock you enough, on average the UK now spends more time on media devices per day (8 hours 41 minutes) than we do sleeping (8 hours 21 minutes).

The capabilities of the digital world accessed via mobile mean – amongst many things – that we are able to connect with whoever we want, whenever we want, from wherever in the world that we want. Whether it’s a phone call, text message, whatsapp, snapchat, facebook message, linkedin connection, skype…I could go on for a while here.

It also means that we are in demand a hell of a lot more than we were only a decade ago. There is no ‘off’ switch as we have access to email, social accounts, PDF files, spreadsheets, mobile banking…all from the device that sits in our back pocket (#BendGate). There is no excuse for not emailing back, texting back, reading and approving that all-important document.

But there are oh-so-many perks to living digitally. Immediate feedback and in-depth analytics of how far your video of a cat sliding down the stairs has gone. Who’s seen it, who’s liked, shared, unliked it. Being able to find that perfect outfit online Thursday night and having it delivered to the office the next day, just in time for the weekend. Paying for your Costa with your iPhone (thank you Apple Pay!). Reserving Friday night’s table for 2 at the local Italian. The opportunities are endless – or at the very least, a million and one more than life without mobile.

So I conclude, where would we be without mobile?

Behind schedule, behind the trends, behind the next generation. So here’s to the digital world, and loving every minute of it!

Sources:
We Are Social
Mail Online

Guest Blogger

25th November 2015

A Winning Week

jellybeanis a Top 50 Agency - Foodservice Marketing Agency It’s been a great week at Jellybean, a week when the very bedrock of our agency has been recognised and rewarded. For over 28 years we have been a fiercely independent agency conceiving and activating fully integrated communication campaigns for our clients. We have also been entrenched in foodservice, a specialist B2B sector. This week we have been recognised for both our integrated approach and our dedication to B2B marketing and I could not be more proud of the hard working team at Jellybean.

Firstly, yesterday morning I opened the B2B agencies benchmarking report 2015 to find that we have retained our position in the top 50 B2B agencies in the UK sitting at No 46. This is quite an achievement in a marketing sector dominated by the mega high-tech equipment brands, the big spending pharmaceutical companies, not to mention the fast growing financial, data, security and IT business services sector, with multi million pound marketing budgets. So I am immensely proud that we are holding our own in such auspicious company and without doubt the reason we are able to hold our head up is because of our truly integrated and collaborative approach to foodservice marketing and our fantastic clients, with whom we create and maintain genuine strategic partnerships and as a result deploy their budgets to achieve an impressive return on investment.

This latest accolade came hot on the heels of last Friday’s win, when we were awarded Gold for the Best Integrated Campaign by The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards, arguably the most credible in the public relations industry, for our multi-faceted campaign “For the Love of Chocolate” with our client, Callebaut. The judges recognised the inspiration and integration at its heart, from our stunning creative design, right through to the strategy, tone and message crafted by the marketing and PR teams. Here you can see an overview of the campaign.

As the founder of jellybeanI have always championed a fully integrated and business accountable approach to communications, to ensure that we help our clients achieve their commercial goals. We were never about the fluffy stuff or massaging our own ego with “edgy” creative, but rather about hard hitting, effective and creative communications that delivered against specific business objectives. And as we come to the close of 2015 I can truly say that never before have we had to be so multi-skilled, always “on” and accountable for real results – and quite rightly so. That is why this latest gong in our trophy cabinet means so much to us all, it validates the very heart and soul of the agency.

Frankly, nearly 30 years from the start of this journey I couldn’t be more proud of my team or more excited about the fresh challenges 2016 has to offer this industry.

Fiona Rickard

24th November 2015

Integration. Integration. Integration.

Food Service PR - Pride Awards 2015 - Gold Winner It’s a word often spouted by PR and marketing bods the country-long, but what does it actually mean? I mean, I know what it means, but what does it really mean when an agency figurehead talks about a ‘specialist integrated approach’. It’s easy enough to pick words and phrases like ‘harmony’, ‘equality’ and ‘shared goals’ out of the sack, but in the case of our beloved agency what the word really represents is simple: a bunch of creative-minded souls pooling often very different skillsets and worldviews into one salient, sellable idea, all for the good of the client.

Earlier this year, PR Week talked of a ‘tipping point’ for agencies – heralding 2015 as the advent of an integrated future. The article claimed that because of the rise of digital and clients becoming ‘much more agnostic about how they spend their money and think about marketing and communications’ that agencies needed to ready themselves to offer smarter combined services. Thankfully it’s something we’ve known for many years; that with channels of communication becoming so much more fragmented, the joined-up approach simply works better.

Last week our efforts were rewarded with the joyous news that jellybeanhas been awarded the Best Integrated Campaign gong at The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) South of England PRide Awards. The awards are the most credible in the public relations industry and, as such, are judged by a high calibre of experts drawn from the very top of their fields. Those same judges saw fit to award us Gold for our work with client, Callebaut, in creating the multifaceted (and highly integrated) ‘For the Love of Chocolate’ campaign.

With inspiration and integration at its heart, ‘For The Love of Chocolate’ was a labour of love for all involved, from our dedicated studio, which turned out stunning creative, right through to the strategy, tone and message crafted by the marketing and PR teams. As well as inspire, the campaign looked to educate and engage chefs, focusing specifically around the disconnect between the consumer demand for chocolate desserts and the amount currently offered on menus.

The seven-month campaign – seen by almost 6.5m people in the foodservice industry – employed a mix of bespoke consumer research, PR and marketing, creative and a highly successful industry competition, to drive an extraordinary 15% YOY uplift in Callebaut’s foodservice sales. A truly incredible result, one that could only have been achieved through our tried and tested joined-up, jellybeanapproach.

To really hit it home, here’s what the judges had to say: “We thought this campaign was literally chocolate. A holistic approach was taken, with research really informing the strategy and tactics. It successfully segmented the target audiences and the concept was universal across all audiences. The design work was beautifully executed and it delivered impressive results with 15% uplift in sales against a target of 10%. This campaign demonstrated that the brand really understands its UK market.”

Amen to that, and to Callebaut for trusting jellybeanwith its reputation. Look out for more of the same in 2016 as year-two plans take shape.

Be sure to check out the ‘For the Love of Chocolate’ case study here: and while you’re there why not take a look at some of our other work to really get yourself integrated with Jellybean.

jellybean is a leading food service marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Nick Clancy

24th November 2015

FSM Awards 2015

Food Service Marketing - FSM Awards 2015 From event catering to healthcare, CSR to marketing, the FSM Awards (Foodservice Management Awards) aim to celebrate the best and the brightest in the field of contract catering. This year the glittering awards night, was held at the Lancaster London and hosted by Mark Durden-Smith (a foodservice favourite it would seem). The awards were dispersed between courses, prepared by leading contract caterers Elior, Sodexo, CH&Co and of course our hosts for the night, The Lancaster London – all of which were equally delicious.

The format worked well and as the evening progressed the conversation flowed along with the wine, as we welcomed onto the stage the well-deserved winners to receive their awards. The charity nominated for the evening was Sue Ryder who offers support to those suffering from life changing illnesses, offering hospices and neurological care. The charity was one close to the heart of Robyn Jones who sadly passed away earlier this year and in tribute to the outstanding work Robyn did in the contract catering industry she was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award which her husband Tim Jones collected for her. It was a poignant moment which honoured a hugely respected and much missed figure in our industry.

The full list of winners can be found here FSM Awards 2015. Congratulations must go to all the nominees and winners, along with the sponsors of the evening (which included our client Pritchitts) and of course the great team at H2O headed up by Alan Dewberry. Another great event celebrating the best talent in the realm of contract catering.

jellybean is a leading food service marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

17th November 2015

Alternative CV – Clare Fellowes-Freeman

What was your favourite subject at school?
French.

What was your best subject at school?
P.E. – mum was a PE teacher, it was always a dead cert.

What was your first-ever job?
Waitressing at the local golf club

What was the first music single you bought?
Sophie Ellis Bextor – Murder on the Dancefloor

What is your motto in life?
Everything happens for a reason

If you were allowed one dream perk what would it be?
Unlimited cake

What’s your favourite movie and why?
The Parent Trap – when I was little I watched it constantly with my best friend, but I still haven’t found my long lost twin!

If you could pick a celebrity to join the agency who would it be and why?
Michael McIntyre I think, for the endless laughs

What luxury would you have on your desert island?
A kindle

What animal best reflects your personality and why?
Probably a cat. I’m very independent but do like my creature comforts!

If you could be anybody in the world (alive or dead) who would you be and why?
JK Rowling, not only did she create the books which represent my childhood, she is a fantastic human being

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing, foodservice pr and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

13th November 2015

Propel Multi Club Event

The Propel Multi Club events are a must attend for those in the pub and casual dining world. Offering a range of expert industry speakers covering everything from the economic outlook to practical case studies, these events throughout the year have to deliver solid content in order to justify a day out of the business for these key players in the industry. The programme is very much aimed at multiple operators looking to build and grow a successful business and as such they offer a great opportunity for brands to highlight their products and services and even get to sample their wares. With an exhibition area used for breaks and lunch there is ample time to get face to face with the kind of individuals that are very difficult to pin down any other way.

With an attendee list that reads like a who’s who of the pub and high street dining world the day kicked-off with a look at the current economic trends and how they may impact on the eating and drinking out market. Speaking with no notes (quite an achievement) Ian King of Sky News talked knowledgably about the past twelve months and what might be in store for the months ahead, in what he termed as currently a pretty ‘benign’ market, as the impact of the national living wage takes effect.

The day went on to cover the headline grabbing world of mergers and acquisitions, synonymous with the pub sector, with Peter Hansen from Sapient Corporate Finance looking at the structure of the market and the impact of the MRO (market rent only) option. He ran through and what models are available in the market, from free of tie leases like Duck and Rice, to joint ventures with pub co freehold and Managed Expert Programmes like Hippo, where everything apart from the labour is controlled by the pub co and the manager receives a percentage of income. With low food inflation, low interest rates and a recovering economy the pub sector is looking good for the moment despite uncertainty over the possible impact of the MRO and growing competition from casual dining and retail. However with rates in London soon to rise and the possibility of food and energy costs increasing we will have to see what happens. Although it is fair to say that with more flexible options available there are still opportunities in the sector, although those with less than five years on their leases face an uncertain future and would be well advised to look at what deals can be done with their pub co’s property director.

Keeping with the finance theme, accountancy firm haysmacintyre took to the stage to advise the audience on the best way to manage their tax liability. My main take out…I think I’m in the wrong job, as there looks like there is some serious money to be made in pubs! Then it was on to hear from Enterprise Inns about building an 800-strong managed pub estate and the investment and progress in the leased and tenanted part of the business. Paul Harbottle talked us through the profiling of the Enterprise Inn estate and threw in some top tips when opening a site, such as getting prominent PTA, WI or Parish Council individuals on-side to help ensure its a success. In his experience it takes twelve months for a pub to get up and running and you should never expect to change history, if a site has a drug or violence problem then the chances are it still will have when you take over. But most importantly he stressed getting the right people who were ‘up for the challenge’ and made the point that often a good landlord doesn’t make for a good pub manager.

Then it was time for delegates to catch-up and network over lunch and take a stroll around the sponsors’ stands and after a delicious meal from the team at The Lancaster London it was time for the afternoon session. Toby Smith of Novus Leisure showcased their makeover of the Balls Brothers concept along with their real time social media feedback loop employed in everyone’s favourite nightspot – Tiger Tiger. He was followed by the irrepressible Martin Wolstencroft of Arc Inspirations whose passion for his business came across from the off. With thirteen (and one in the pipeline) bars/restaurants, predominately in the North, he’s been building his operation for the last thirteen years and has a portfolio of nine brands, ranging from sophisticated cocktail bars in city centre locations like Manahatta to American inspired craft beer and ribs concept ‘The Pit’. By ensuring all his staff really care, sourcing locally and insisting on consistency across the estate, he has built up an extremely successful business with concepts to match any location. Run on home-grown talent, many of his senior team started out as part time bar or restaurant staff as students, but by offering a culture they love (not to mention the odd performance related ski trip or jaunt to Ibiza) Arc have managed to keep staff engaged and motivated to deliver the very best for their customers.

Event Sponsor Fishbowl then took to the stage in a double header to take us through the technology behind sophisticated menu engineering which can help maximise both profit margins and customer base. With impressive case studies from the US, some of the more techy elements may have met a few blank faces, but the message was clear – with the use of the right programmes you can ensure you have the best money making menu possible. Whereas once gutfeel was all there was, now technology can let light in on the magic of a successful menu.

Loungers was next up to share their learnings. With seventy one sites and another four planned before Christmas the chain, which started with three friends and a vision, is big business now with venture capital backing. Their all day dining concept and strategic decision to go for secondary high streets has worked well. They even have their own in-house build team which means they can streamline fitting-out a site in five to six weeks. They also have the Cosy Club brand which although smaller is doing well with seven to eight opening every year. With Loungers seeing 100% overtrading honeymoon period for new sites, that can last up to four months, they are certainly doing something right and Nick Collins MD plans to continue the journey for a long time to come.

Another operator who seems to have made a niche for themselves is Brewhouse & Kitchen. With an actual craft brewery on every site they offer not just a bar and restaurant but an experience. With brewing days and masterclasses hosted by their master brewers, not to mention gift ideas I might very well have to take a trip up to Islington (the nearest one to us in leafy Leatherhead).

The day ended with an insight into what makes a great leader with Anne Elliott, event sponsor, sharing the outputs of many a conversation with some of the most successful individual in the industry. The answer? Vision, listening, asking why?, engaging, surrounding yourself with the best, helping people achieve what they never thought possible, saying thank you, putting yourself in others shoes, being yourself and leading from alongside your team. Indeed, many felt they were still learning every day. A topic which was then taken up by the panel discussion with business leaders from Spirit, Ego Restaurants and Thorley Taverns to get their thoughts on the principles of high quality leadership – and on that inspiring note the day came to a close.

Well done to Paul Charity, Jo Charity, Sharon Dickinson and Adam Dickinson, the team behind this great day, not to mention the sponsors who make it all possible. To find out more about Propel or sign-up to their e-newsletter visit www.propelinfonews.com

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing agency and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food and drink pr, digital and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

12th November 2015

Ischia – A Foodie’s Paradise

Having forgotten what sunshine feels like after a typically awful British summer, I escaped to Ischia – a small island in the Bay of Naples – this autumn, to bask in the Mediterranean heat and enjoy the foodie delights on offer.

We stayed in Ischia Ponte, a town on the north-coast of the island boasting spectacular scenery, beautiful beaches and a plethora of restaurants and bars to choose from.

Dining in Aglio Olio E Pomodoro was by far the highlight of our trip. Based in the heart of Ischia Ponte, the restaurant is obviously a favourite among locals as nabbing a table proved difficult! Tempted by the delicious dishes we saw fellow diners tuck into, we rashly ordered enough food between us to feed a small family; gnocchi in a butter and basil sauce, Zucchini pesto linguine and – of course – a Neapolitan pizza each, which I can confidently say was the best pizza I have ever eaten.

Never too far from a gelateria, I indulged in ice cream beyond my wildest dreams; Nutella, Cioccolato, Pistachio, Frutti di bosco and – my favourite –hazelnut gelato, Nocciola. Severe brain freeze was a small price to pay for this frozen delight which I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed every day I was there!

It was with a heavy heart and a very full stomach that I waved goodbye to Naples. The withdrawal symptoms are severe – I imagine it’ll take a while for food to taste good again. But rest assured I’ll be back for more gelato!

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing agency and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food and drink pr, digital and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

11th November 2015

The Delicious Eternal City

Where would be the perfect destination to take your food, wine and ancient history loving daughter? Rome of course! So that is where I went with my daughter, Rachel, when she was on a recent visit from New Zealand where she now lives. One of the downsides of living in such a wonderful country is that you can’t just ‘pop’ across to Europe – New Zealand is just such a long way away from anywhere else!

We enjoyed the perfect break in the Eternal City. I had my very own guide who could put all the Roman Emperors into context when wandering around The Forum and could explain the importance of Hut Urns (literally Urns shaped like huts) for the Etruscans – I always knew that degree in Ancient History would come in useful one day. But I think what really made our trip was the food, the lovely B&B we stayed in and the Prosecco on tap.

Our B&B – Bibi & Romeo’s ( http://www.bberomeo.com) – was a ten minute walk from the Vatican and the owner, Romeo, took the time to show us the easiest ways to get to all the sites, the best restaurants nearby and little tricks to get the most out of our visit. His first restaurant recommendation, Hostaria Dino e Tony, Via Leone IV, was just around the corner. We strolled there on our first evening and waddled back. No menus, we were just offered the antipasti, plates of meats and breads, followed by pasta – ‘red’ and ‘white’, one would have been enough, but two bowls each just about finished us off. We had to turn down the meat or fish course, but the desserts were too good to refuse.

I think our other favourite was actually a recommendation from one of Rachel’s uni friends, La Prosciutteria (http://www.laprosciutteriaroma.com), which is in the Trastevere area of Rome, all small cobbled alleys just south of The Tiber and full of bars and restaurants, lovely to explore in the evening. The restaurant is tiny and at the back of a delicatessen. You just find a space on one of the wooden tables, pull up a crate to sit on and order the meat platter, which was piled high with olives, salad, meats, cheeses, bread and fruit, all for €10 each, washed down with Prosecco – it was simply divine.

I would like to think we walked off all this food by exploring all the ancient sites, the Vatican and simply strolling around the streets, but somehow I doubt it!

jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing agency and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food and drink pr, digital and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Sue Foulsham