This week saw some welcome good news for the hospitality industry as the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2021  was unveiled.

There was much to celebrate at El Gato Negro as the acclaimed Spanish tapas restaurant was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for the fifth year running.

The King St restaurant is the only Manchester city centre establishment to be honoured with a Michelin Bib Gourmand in this year’s list and to receive the accolade for five consecutive years.  El Gato Negro, Manchester, is led by Head Chef Milan Sojka for whom this is personally a second accolade, having also steered the King St restaurant to success in 2020.

Introduced in 1955 the Michelin Bib Gourmand list puts a spotlight on restaurants for providing “exceptionally good food at moderate prices.”

Providing further cause for celebration sister restaurant Canto was also listed by the prestigious guide.  Launched in September 2018 in the heart of Cutting Room Square, Ancoats, the Mediterranean tapas restaurant has, under the tutelage of Creative Director and Chef Patron Simon Shaw, and Head Chef Carlos Gomes, quietly established itself as one of Ancoats’ best restaurants and bars, loved for its laidback atmosphere and consistently good small plates.

Speaking on the success of El Gato Negro and Canto, Chef Patron and Creative Director Simon Shaw said: “In what has been such a tough year for everyone, to get the news that we have been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand is incredible and has given all involved a real lift.  It is one thing to be awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand but to keep it is massive and a real testament to the work of Milan and the team.

“To see Canto listed alongside El Gato Negro is something else.  To be recognised by the Michelin Guide in such a short space of time is a great achievement and hopefully something we can build upon from here.  He’s not a fan of the spotlight but this is deserved recognition for Carlos, and I couldn’t be more pleased for him.  It’s exciting to think what we could continue to achieve.”

El Gato Negro is one of the country’s most celebrated modern Spanish restaurants and Canto a real rising star.  We couldn’t be more proud to work with the team and are raising a glass to all involved.

Read more at The Business Desk, I Love Manchester, Manchester Evening News, and Manchester Confidential amongst others.

The doors to Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester may be temporarily closed as we navigate the second national lockdown but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop.  To the contrary, it means there’s an even greater requirement for it.

With the majority of Manchester’s festive celebrations cancelled due to the pandemic, we’ve been pleased to sprinkle a little seasonal magic on the city working with the leading family attraction to harness the media agenda and recreate many of Manchester’s much-loved Christmas events in miniature LEGO form.

The incredible build, created by Master Model Builder James Windle and including the iconic Christmas markets, Santa Dash, and ice-rink amongst other features, was unveiled to the public on Thursday night in an alternative, virtual Christmas light switch on.  Over 3,700 fans joined in online counting down with LEGO Santa to the official launch.

The response was fantastic, not just from the attraction’s A-list media who provided widespread feature coverage on the event and highlighted it as their ‘pick of the week,’ but from young families across the region who flooded Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester with thanks for “creating a wonderful bit of magic.”

It certainly provided us with a warm festive feeling.

You can read about it over at I Love Manchester or join over 85K people in viewing Manchester Miniland on The Manc, just two of the campaign’s highlight features.

Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester is scheduled to reopen in December, subject to government restrictions.

The agency is thrilled to have been named New Consultancy of the Year at the 2020 PRCA Dare Awards (North).

The win was announced in a virtual ceremony on Thursday August 13th and sees The Strong Agency recognised for its client retention / acquisition, innovation, implementation of creative ideas and financial performance.

The awards celebrate outstanding practice and cover three regions including the North East, North West and Yorkshire.

Strong founder, Julie Wilson, said: “It’s incredible news and only just starting to sink in.  The Strong Agency was founded with one ambition – to deliver great work with great people.  I’ve been blown away by the response to the agency and am grateful to all our clients for providing Strong with the opportunity to do what we love.

“In the last 12 months we’ve launched award-winning restaurants, delivered campaigns for world-class attractions, promoted pioneering new retailers, championed the work of Bafta-winning production companies, shaped strategies for global food brands and partner agencies, and consulted on the North’s largest hospitality and art events.  We couldn’t have hoped for a better first year.

“To now be recognised by the PRCA, the industry’s leading body, and across three regions, is the icing on the cake.”

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body and represents more than 35,000 PR professionals in 70 countries worldwide. With offices in London, Singapore, Dubai, and Buenos Aires, the PRCA is a global advocate for excellence in public relations.

A Grand Prix ceremony will be hosted later in the year.

The pressures of lockdown have seen many a relationship tested and its been no different for Sea Life Manchester’s giant green sea turtles, Cammy & Ernie.

Introduced in 2017 the leading family attraction’s star creatures immediately hit it off leading to high hopes that they would one day breed.  Recent weeks have, however, seen a noticeable change in their behaviour, with the duo developing a clear lockdown rift.

Not ones to miss a story opportunity we’ve been pleased to wade in, along with Sea Life’s expert creature welfare team, to help counsel the bickering duo and share how the deep-sea love doctors are working to reignite the turtles’ passion for one another.

A playful story we loved developing, leading to feature coverage on page three of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio 4, The Sun, The Scottish Sun, The Daily Star, The Manc, About Manchester and Inside Express amongst others.

It’s been two weeks since UK restaurants were permitted to reopen and what a two weeks its been.

We’ve been thrilled to work with Individual Restaurants in promoting every one of the group’s amazing restaurant’s return, with 23 venues reopened across the UK to date.  An ongoing, phased roll-out scheme will see the doors to the entire estate open in just a few weeks.

The safety of all guests is Individual Restaurant’s number one priority with the team working tirelessly to create safe and stylish dining environments for guests to enjoy.  The following linked video produced by the Group and on which we were pleased to support, documents just some of the new safety measures introduced.

An incredible job delivered by an incredible team.  Generating coverage for each and every reopening has been our pleasure.

The agency is delighted to have been appointed as the national retained PR agency for premium women’s outdoorwear brand, ACAI.

The leading outdoor clothing company revolutionised the women’s outdoorwear market in 2016 with the launch of its Skinny Outdoor Trouser, legwear that fits like a skinny jean but has all the performance benefits of an outdoor trouser.  Now, following another record year, the business is expanding with an extended collection and new premises.

The Strong Agency will handle the brand’s national trade and consumer PR, with a focus on raising brand awareness, driving online sales, and partnership amplification.  The agency will also work on ACAI’s content strategy, building a community of women with a shared love of the outdoors.

Work is already underway with the team supporting ACAI throughout the pandemic, a period which has seen the pioneering business enjoy exponential growth, despite the challenges of Covid-19.

Speaking on the appointment, ACAI Co-Founder and Managing Director, Joe Bromley, said: “Contrary to the difficulties many businesses unfortunately face at this time, our investment and growth are continuing.

“We’ve ambitious plans and are pleased to work with The Strong Agency to grow our brand awareness.  The agency’s expertise in the retail and outdoor sector combined with its passion for ACAI impressed us from the off.  We’ve no doubt that Strong’s creative and strategic approach, combined with its established network of contacts, will be of significant value to the business.”

Founder of The Strong Agency, Julie Wilson, added: “This is a brilliant appointment for the agency, playing to both our sector strengths and our personal interests.

“With over 15 years’ retail PR experience we are well placed to contribute to the continued growth and success of ACAI.   The collection is incredibly strong, combining high-end, fashionable shapes with the latest in technological innovation, to achieve a range that delivers on both style and performance.  We couldn’t be more pleased to work together.”

The agency is over the moon to be nominated in the 2020 PRCA Dare Awards.

The shortlist, announced on Friday (June 19th), sees Strong founder, Julie Wilson, nominated for Professional of the Year.  The category recognises individuals that demonstrate an impressive client list, client retention, evidence of quality work and results, innovation and implementation of creative ideas.

Speaking on the nomination, Julie said: “The Strong Agency was founded with one objective – to do great work, with great people.  I’ve been blown away by the response to the launch of Strong and couldn’t be more proud of what the agency has achieved in just a short space of time; a fantastic portfolio of clients and outstanding range of work.

“Client satisfaction is the agency’s number one drive, but to be recognised by your industry peers in the first year of business, and in such great company, is incredible.  It means a lot.”

The PRCA DARE Awards strive to seek out and reward the very best PR and communications professionals across the UK, decided by a panel of respected industry experts across the country.  The awards uncover impeccable talent and celebrate PR professionals far and wide.

Winners will be announced in September 2020.

Our feet may be firmly rooted in Manchester right now, but that hasn’t stopped us from delivering campaigns across the UK with the launch and national roll out of Individual Restaurant’s new delivery and collection service, 2GO.

Available across a wide number of the leading restaurant group’s amazing collection of restaurants, including: Piccolino, Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant and The Restaurant Bar & Grill, 2GO sees each restaurant’s experienced team of chefs prepare a number of incredible dishes from scratch, using carefully sourced ingredients, for guests to enjoy at home.

We’ve been engaging media and influencers up and down the country to promote the new service and the response has been fantastic, with coverage in every town and region despite the ongoing challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis.  Orders have exceeded all expectations.

Committed to continuously delivering outstanding food and service in atmospheric surroundings and now, to be enjoyed at home, Individual Restaurants is a privately-owned company that owns and operates 41 restaurants in central London, other major UK cities, affluent towns and suburbs.

These last few weeks, as the country adjusts to life in lock-down, have been an interesting time for us all.

Change can be difficult to embrace and for many, separation from loved ones and disruption to daily routines, has proven incredibly hard.  That’s particularly true of people for whom community groups are a real lifeline.

It’s one of the reasons we have been so pleased to support the Do Your Thing Choir Connective in its effort to raise valuable funds for the NHS.  The choir is more than just an incredible vocal group but a community that has provided much comfort to those who have experienced loss or hardship, and discovered the healing benefits of song.

When the lock-down commenced, organiser Liz Taylor knew what a negative impact the absence of practice meets would have on many of its members and, challenged by friend and choir member Carolynne, set about organising a virtual performance of Heather Small track, Proud, to bring together members online and raise funds for the NHS.

The result was incredible, with over 60 members of the choir from across Greater Manchester united in harmonious song.  We were pleased to be asked if we might help raise awareness of their efforts and of course we said yes.

We’re thrilled to see that funds have trebled since the story first broke.  Do Your Thing Choir Connective, you should be Proud.

You can read more about the choir’s efforts on About Manchester & Manchester Confidential.

The doors to Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester may be temporarily closed but that doesn’t mean the creative fun has to end.

As the leading family attraction prepared to ‘lock down’ with the rest of the nation this month, we were pleased to get to work adapting the attraction’s communications strategy, with a focus on inspiring and delighting LEGO fans across the region.

#LDCBuildAtHome, a series of virtual build workshops imagined by The Strong Agency and led by Master Model Builder James Windle, has done just that, with thousands of families tuning in from the comfort of their home to participate in the builds.

The campaign, devised and delivered in just seven days, has been such a success its been confirmed to run twice a week throughout April, with LEGO fans young and old invited to join in every Tuesday and Thursday at 3pm.  Those interested in joining in the fun, should simply visit the attraction’s Facebook page on the outlined dates and times.

Activity has driven incredible media coverage too, with James positioned alongside internet sensation Joe Wicks!  To follow is just a handful of the many highlights:  Evening Standard   /  Shortlist   /  Manchester Evening News   /   Manchester’s Finest   /   About Manchester   / Liverpool Echo   /   Manchester Wire