The festive selling period is now well and truly underway and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. But don't panic - even if you've left your marketing planning out in the cold, there's still time to make the most of your Christmas sales!Be present in the right placesConsumer interaction with brands and products are typically quite complex. We live in a fast moving, communication-led world with information and conversations possible in a variety of ways across multi...

Basket abandonment rate for eCommerce websites can be frustratingly high. The average rate for abandoned baskets sits around 65%, but for some sectors it can be as high as 80%!Costly delivery and the customer not being ready to purchase top the list of reasons for basket abandonment. However, website UX design is also a major influence. According to Invesp 11% of abandoned baskets are attributed to a complex checkout or basket process and 24% of shoppers are saving selections and deciding l...

If the first bite is taken with the eye, then high quality food photography that tells your brand's story, should be at the heart of your marketing campaign. To get the most out of your food photography it really is worth spending time to clearly define your brief and think carefully about where and how your images will be used.What type of food photography do I need?Before commissioning a photographer, think about the different types of images you may need. As a minimum we would sugges...

B2B ecommerce is seriously big business. The global B2B ecommerce sector is forecast to be worth £5.2 trillion by 2020. As digital savvy Millenials take over senior buying and procurement positions, businesses need to be ready to meet and service their needs.  Historically, B2B digital marketing has been slow to evolve, falling behind its B2C counterpart. However, in recent years there's been rapid growth in B2B ecommerce sales, so it's a proposition that deserves serious conside...

Social media is supposed to be free, right? Isn't good social media simply creating engaging content and watching it go viral? Why then would you want to pay for social media advertising?What is social media advertising?Social media advertising comes in many forms. There are three main types of advertising:boosting a specific post digital display advertising remarketingBoosting a postOn a crowded platform with a lot of accounts making a lot of 'noise', boosting a p...

Yes, we know that summer has only just arrived, but if you want to capitalise on the Christmas gift market you'll need to have your Christmas packaging wrapped up very soon.   Ideally, your Christmas packaging will be completed and include pack shots, pricing and samples, by the end of June.  Why so early? Several of the big retailers have large media Christmas gift launches in the summer and #ChristmasinJuly has gained a lot of traction over the last few years. In fact, there is...

So you’ve launched your brand spanking new website and it's received fantastic feedback. But does a website have a 'shelf life' and if so, when should you start thinking about developing a new one?Let’s be SMART about itIn principle, the success of a website can be measured against its intended purpose. Was it developed to attract new customers? Is it an eCommerce site that needs to deliver a specific ROI? Maybe it adds credibility to your business or service? Or perhaps it's purely...

It's a question that we're asked a lot and the answer is unequivocally 'yes!'. Our client data tells us that yes, people do click on Google Ads. But don’t just take our word for it: when AdWords first launched in 2000 it had 350 advertisers, now there are estimated to be over 1 million advertisers spending tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue. 1 million advertisers certainly must think they’re onto something! People often have a 'Marmite approach' to Ads – they either love ...

As you scale up your food and drink operation, have you thought about how you will manage your food waste?Often, the food and drink businesses we support and help grow have either just scaled up their operations, or are at the point of doing so. As manufacturing grows so too can food waste volumes. Somerset based, waste equipment and processing experts, PRM Waste Systems, have written a superb guest blog for us, detailing the management of food waste and ways to reduce the amount that enter...

“Social media isn’t rocket science and we’ve got a graduate who’s a dab hand with Instagram.” Sound familiar? It's true, social media isn’t rocket science! However, like all marketing activities, it is truly effective when utilised as part of a wider strategy. Whilst the office junior may have a great following on Snapchat or perhaps even be an emerging YouTube star, running, managing and growing social media channels for a business requires planning, quality content and t...

You’ve been on the food market circuit for a while and perhaps even have a couple of local retailers stocking your products, but how do you grow your stockists and reach new retailers potentially hundreds of miles away? The time might be right for you to start talking to food and drink wholesale distributors.Working with food and drink wholesale distributors can be an effective way to reach a wide network of retailers and can significantly aid your business growth. However, there are several...

In 2019 it is estimated there will be 2.77 billion social media users worldwide. Social media marketing is recognised as a highly effective means to build brand awareness, demonstrate expertise and build engagement with existing and potential customers. The immediacy of social media requires social media channels to be nurtured with engaging content carefully created for them. Unfortunately, this takes time. With day-to-day operational business needs often taking priority over social medi...

Whilst bloggers have been promoting goods and services since the early 1990’s, the emergence of professional Influencers has been a more recent event. Professional Influencers do exactly what it says on the tin, they influence! Typically they post pictures and videos of their day to day life on their social media channels, sometimes focused around a specific subject (e.g. make up, fitness, parenting etc.) whilst growing their follower base. These followers are then, at times, influenced by the...

The food packaging industry has evolved massively over the last couple of decades. Gone are the days when packaging was produced as cheaply as possible, with the sole purpose of simply holding a product (and in some cases to extend its' shelf life a little). Now, the expectation is that packaging needs to work much harder for its money.Today, the fact that packaging makes food products look desirable, keeps them well protected and in perfect condition just isn't enough. Consumers want it to co...

First impressions are everything and if “the first bite is taken with the eye”, then regardless of how amazing, unique or delicious your product, the packaging will need to work hard to be successful in the food and drink market. Packaging will often be the first point of contact a customer has with you and your goods, and when it's sat on a crowded shelf or market stall, it needs to excite, entice and engage in a matter of seconds. The power of food and drink branding In 2016, a top 4 UK su...

You’ve recognised your vision and shaped your creation, you’ve tested it on your family and friends (they loved it of course); You might even have hit the streets with it, to make sure you have taken on board the feedback on the best flavour, presentation, size, and price. You now need to think about your packaging and food labelling, if you haven’t already started to do so. It’s not just the colour, typography, texture, size and shape you need to consider; there are also regulations and...