ENJOYPromoting hospitality and leisure

Gastro pubon the Tyne

Adventures

in food

LOVE ARTBUY ART

Affordable today, priceless tomorrow

City chic

and

boutique

PR & MARKETING

RECIPE FOR SUCCESSDon’t simply leave your reputation to word of mouth. In the hospitality andleisure sectors this can often be the most powerful form of PR but it can behaphazard and take time to develop. MHW has the expertise and track recordto deliver creative brand building campaigns and manage what people sayabout you – offline and online. If you want to be heard and seen in a crowded market then call the PR andpublicity specialists at MHW.

T 0191 233 1300 www.mhwpr.co.uk

Great operators continue to do great things in

the hospitality and leisure sector. We may be

stuck in challenging times but strong people

continue to perform and delight.

Welcome to this first issue of ENJOY, an MHW publication,which aims to celebrate the best of hospitality and leisureacross the North of England – and beyond.

Even in difficult times there is much to celebrate. ENJOY aimsto highlight some of the best operators in the North who turnbeyond their core skills and use communications to boost theirbusiness. ENJOY promotes some examples of the best PR andmarketing in the industry.

Increasingly, it’s becoming apparent that what worked beforedoesn’t necessarily work today. For many, the mass-marketapproach is the wrong game to be in.

As a communications specialist we must admit some self-interest. ENJOY aims to work with the best, the innovative andthose with a focussed ethos.

When it comes to communications the choice is simple; youcan be proactive and control the process - or leave it to fateand the whims of the media and more aggressive competitors.

If you need a helping hand to enhance your PR, publicity andmarketing then call me at MHW PR, specialists in thehospitality and leisure sector.

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enjoy4-5NEWSProjects around the

North of England

6-7The BroadChareSuccessful launch

of city gastro pub

8ModernIndianOld spice favourite

invests for future

10-11Jesmond Dene House Hotel set to get spa

treatment and expand

12-13Art FairshowcasePlanning for 5th year

of success

14Stella show Promoting the North’s

historic sites

15NE WineFestival Preparing for 2012ENJOY TEAM

Editor:Wayne Halton, MHW Design: Craig Hutton, Some People Design Photography: Kevin Gibson, George Swift, George Bosnyak

Acknowledgements: We gratefully thank Terry Laybourne and 21 Hospitality Group, Vujon, NewcastleGateshead Art Fairand our many other friends, media contacts and partners and clients (past and present).

Creating hell inNewcastle P4

Food festivals atJesmond Dene P10

Affordable art P12 - 13

Our favourite international bad-asschef Marco Pierre White is set toopen a restaurant in Newcastle city centre.

The man who is not afraid topromote Bernard Matthews and ismost recently known for his Hell’sKitchen hosting, is to open The Steakhouse Bar & Grill atHotel Indigo, early in 2012.

The £14m boutique hotel is due toopen in Fenkle Street, Newcastle,early next year. The 120-seatrestaurant, which will feature aprivate dining area, bar andlounge, represents the celebritychef’s first foray into the NorthEast. He’s set for a big welcome,but we hope he isn’t coming withpreconceived notions.

White says: “The North East’sdining scene is thriving, with ahandful of successful restaurantsserving very good food. Our planis to shake things up with our own affordable glamour, givingthose more established venues a run for their money and raisingthe bar even higher.” We havebeen warned.

Marco Pierre Whitecreating hell in Newcastle

HOT NEWS

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Newcastle is clearly perceived as a regional capital city to invest infor hotel operators.

Our favourites, Jesmond DeneHouse, the Malmaison, and Hotel du Vin are facing new competition.

New kids on the block include the Sandman Signature Hotel, onthe former site of the S&NBrewery, in the city centre, nearNUFC.

We also have Hotel Indigo inFenkle Street; another so-calledboutique hotel, with 148 rooms.The venue, managed by SanguineHospitality Ltd, is due to open inthe summer of 2012.

Elsewhere, the ever expandingMalhotra empire is planning todevelop a £15m luxury, boutiquehotel, Grey Street.

BOUTIQUE

HOTELS

Coming into Newcastle

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New focus at theCleveland Tontine

One of our favourite foodie destinations, the

Cleveland Tontine, in North Yorkshire is tweaking its

image and marketing as part of a subtle shift in focus

and positioning.

Now to be known as McCoys Hotel and Restaurant

at Cleveland Tontine, the marketing effort aims to

promote the seven quirky and stylish bedrooms at

this Georgian coaching inn, located just off the A19,

near Northallerton.

After 34 years in business, owner and chef Eugene

McCoy already has a great reputation for his food.

He aims to build on that with his recent investment in

the bedrooms and fresh marketing push featuring a

new website, increased PR and wider online activity.

New Quayside diningThere are lots of changes underway aroundthe lower end of Dean Street and the Sidein Newcastle.Italian restaurant, Roscos, has gone to be replacedby the stylish Babucho Bar and Restaurant, run byexperienced operator Robby Scott previously ofPiccolino, Est, Est, Est and The Apartment.

Nearby, the former site ofOldfields, below MilburnHouse, has opened as 1-OAK, a restaurant, deli and lounge bar.

There is also talk of anothersmall hotel in the area, justdown from Marthas. Great tosee some investment in thispart of the Quayside.

Maximising thepower of TripadvisorTravel review website Tripadvisor continues toentertain and inform visitors, while also infuriatingmany hotel operators and restaurateurs.

Tripadvisor, the world’s leading travel website,attracts more than 50m unique visitors everymonth, in 20 different languages. Its power toinfluence continues to grow.

If you are looking to promote a hotel or restaurantto literally millions of interested visitors andtravellers then you need to understand how youcan leverage the power of Tripadvisor. ‘Peoplepower’ means Tripadvisor and reviews have a lifeof their own. Whether you like it or not your hotelor restaurant is probably already online and beingtalked about.

Operators ignore at their peril. It’s time to engage.You may get criticised every now and then, butyou can learn from this. There might be valuablecustomer feedback. You can neutralise damagingcomments.

There is also an ‘owners centre’ where you can takesome control of your listing, making your hotel orrestaurant more attractive.

Please call MHW for more information.

COOKING THE BOOKSCookery books are always among the bestsellers.North East chef Terry Laybourne has added tohis earlier publications by creating a special gift-box collection of 4 different recipe books. Eachhardback features some of the most populardishes – starters, mains and puds – from Café 21,Café 21 at Fenwick, Caffe Vivo and Bistro 21. The books were developed in association withpublishers Room 501 and are available in therestaurants or online. We say ENJOY!

GASTRO PUB

ENJOY proper food and beerin a proper pub

The pub, a creative partnershipbetween Live Theatre and TerryLaybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group, is an unusual addition for the city,offering great food, and greatbeers in a great environment.

MHW developed an extensiveonline campaign for The BroadChare. We managed the blog in

the build up to the opening in May2011, building buzz and anticipationby sharing and disseminatingupdates via social networking sites.

As well as creating some shortvideos, we also engineered positive media coverage in thenational specialist media and theregional magazines.

We had some great fun helping with the successfulopening and launch of The Broad Chare, a gastro pub on Newcastle’s historic Quayside.

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MHW SERVICES Social media

l

Videol

Launch eventsl

Media publicityl

Press reviews

VIDEOFour simple point-and-shoot videofilms were created explaining thevision of the pub, the food, thecreation of a bespoke real ale –The Writer’s Block, and aninterview with national beer writerAlastair Gilmour, all shared on You Tube.

ANALYTICSGreat visitor results were recordedfor the blog. There was a steadybuild-up to the launch with almost1,700 visits (1,350 unique) to thesite on the week of the opening.Popular sections were the chat,media gallery, videos and jobs.Strong interest and results havebeen maintained.

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SHARE THISMany posts and new images were‘shared’ online with other socialmedia platforms including Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn. Friendsand ambassadors were recruitedto spread the message amongdifferent network groups.

GALLERYAs the story content increased, sodid the gallery with food imagesdeveloped and added in the lastmonth to tease the taste buds ofviewers and highlight the style ofthe food and venue.

COMMENTSActing as blog editor and moderatorwe posted and responded to allcomments. These increased near the opening and just after. Foodiebloggers also spread the message via their own sites adding links to our site.

CHATFor more than three months weposted regular news updates asthe pub development gotunderway. These increased infrequency as opening approached,helping build buzz and anticipation.

VujonModern makeoverfor hot favourite

RESTAURANTS

Curry-houses continue to thrive on most high streets, where there’s still an appetite for beer,poppadoms and a vindaloo.

Thankfully, there’s also been agrowing appreciation of moreauthentic and regionally-basedfood from the vast Indian continent.

Vujon restaurant pioneered theway in Newcastle more than 20years ago, setting a standardothers tried to follow. OwnerMahtab Miah promoted authentic,freshly cooked Indian food servedin a luxurious environment. It wasfine dining, Indian style. It provedto be a recipe for success.Eventually, competitors caught upand offered a modern flourish tothis recipe.

More recently, following a bigrefurbishment, a new executivechef and the approach of Vujon’s20th anniversary, Mahtab realisedhe needed to invest in bettermarketing to keep up with moreaggressive restaurateurs.

MHW helped organise ananniversary party featuring a localMP, the media and corporateguests. We also generated mediapublicity and positive restaurantreviews and improved Vujon’srankings on increasingly importantreview websites like Tripadvisor.

MHW continues to support Vujonon an ad-hoc and strategic basis.The development of a new websiteand customer booking system hasbeen the most recent activity.

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MHW SERVICES

Media publicityl

Press reviewsl

Event managementl

Web + online marketing

An Italian like no other in the NorthEast. For starters, there’s no pizza onoffer at Caffe Vivo.

It’s not run by Italians either.Executive chef Glen Robson and histeam have created a truly uniqueItalian spirit at this relaxed but buzzyeatery on Newcastle’s Quayside.

The atmosphere in this formerwarehouse is warm and easy-going.The food is unmistakablyMediterranean, authentic andseasonal, with lashings of sunnyflavours and colour.

MHW helped open the restaurantwith a flourish by holding severalevents that featured acclaimedgourmet movie, The Big Night in theadjoining Live Theatre followed by a

slap-up supper in the restaurant. The power of word-of-mouth quicklydid its work around the city.

The successful launch events werefollowed by a wave of mediapublicity that included securingpositive food reviews in key regionallifestyle magazines. Great mediacoverage was posted online and this, along with fabulous customerreviews, helped rocket Vivo into the top 10 of Newcastle’s bestrestaurants on Tripadvisor.

We continue to work alongside the Vivo team and undertake ad-hoc PR and promotions to ensurethe restaurant remains a popular city destination.

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MHW SERVICES

Media publicityl

Press reviewsl

Launch eventl

Web + online marketing

Great to beVivo

Jesmond Dene House Hotel & Restaurant, in Newcastle’sleafy suburbs, is hoping to get the spa treatment in thecoming year.

The successful boutique hotel isplanning to add to its success by converting nearby stonebuildings into a luxury spa andtreatment rooms.

MHW is delighted to have workedwith the owners of this highlyregarded independent hotel. Foralmost four years we helped launchand then establish the reputation ofthis ambitious hotel.

Jesmond Dene House set out totreat its bedroom business andrestaurant with mutual respect.Neither would play second fiddle to the other. Both would offer anexcellent experience. And customerreviews suggest this is the case.

The PR and marketing task was topromote this positioning and getthe hotel and restaurant on theradar as quickly as possible –initially in Newcastle and across theNorth East and then wider afield.

Extensive media publicity wasgenerated, regionally and nationallyin key titles like The Times, The

Guardian and The Independent. A rota of regular journalist visitswere organised to createwidespread coverage in lifestyle,travel and online media.

Carefully targeted media promotions were also set uptargeting key audiences. MHW alsohelped promote an annual week-long food festival which featuredother nationally and internationallyrecognised chefs. All this helpedestablish Jesmond Dene as a stylishnew hotel and restaurant on theoutskirts of Newcastle. Today, itcontinues to build on this success.

HOTEL

StyliShhotel and restaurant builds on early success

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The Indep

endent

IDFX Magazine

MHW SERVICES

Media publicityl

Press reviewsl

Promotionsl

Launch events

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The Guardian

Chef Paul Rankin

Hairy Biker Si King

Preparations are well underway for the fifthNewcastleGateshead Art Fair, to be held at TheSage Gateshead, the fair’s iconic home.

Showcasing the work of around 50 galleries along with aline-up of concerts, the annual three-day Art Fair is thelargest commercial fair of its type in the North of England.

MHW has worked with the Art Fair for three consecutiveyears and has helped develop its reputation within andoutside the region working with leading London, Scottishand international galleries.

The primary task has been two-fold – to help attract andsecure exhibitors and sponsors and then to market theevent and destination, driving footfall and art collectors to The Sage.

Our integrated communications campaign developed withBenchmark Communications has featured a mix of activityfrom specialist and regional press and radio advertising,direct mail, and promotions to a heavy emphasis onPR/media relations. Extensive, positive media coveragewas regularly achieved among national specialist, onlineand regional media.

In 2010 we supported online activity and regular e-shotswith a simply produced video featuring endorsementsfrom exhibitors. This short You Tube video is featured onthis year’s website.

Fineartofcommunication

ARTS & CULTURE

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“Wayne is great to work with,having the right balance ofprofessional attitude, humourand understanding of the needsof new and young businesses.”

Andy Balman, Art Fair

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MHW SERVICES

Media publicityl

Videol

Promotions &sponsorship

l

Advertising

Andy Balman, director of NewcastleGatesheadArt Fair, recognises thevalue of effective PR and marketing:

“I have worked withWayne and the MHWteam for the past threeyears developing theNewcastleGateshead ArtFair and more recentlywith the opening of theBalman Gallery.”

The North features some of the country’s besthistoric and cultural sites and attractions.

For several years, MHW was trusted with promoting thehistoric homes, castles and sites of English Heritage.

One of the more eye-catching projects was the returnof Stella McCartney’s crystal horse to Belsay Hall, Castle& Gardens in Northumberland.

We came up with a hook toengage the regional mediaincluding a creative writingcompetition and writingworkshops focussing onthe horse with Skelligauthor David Almond.

MHW achieved extensiveregional and nationalmedia coverage forEnglish Heritage,helping boost visitornumbers to Belsay.

STELLA SHOW

EAT! NewcastleGateshead is a slap-up annualfestival that promotes great local food and drinkalong with producers and retailers.

Our friends at NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI)organise this fabulous event and put on a great feast ofactivities every summer.

Here at MHW we’ve had the pleasure to work alongside the guys at NGI, helping promote certainindividual events.

Acclaimed chef Terry Laybourne sits on the festival’ssteering group and in recent years has been a veryactive participant.

This year Terry took part in a pop-up Cook School atthe Fenwick department store, Newcastle. Members ofthe public had the chance to learn how to cook like apro from one of the best chefs in the country. The eventsecured widespread local media coverage.

FESTIVAL OF

ADVENTURES

IN FOOD

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

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The word on the grapevine is that there are plans afootto repeat the success of the inaugural North EastWine Festival.

Hopes were high that the two-dayevent would be taking place againthis year at Corbridge,Northumberland, but the originalorganisers have pulled out and thefestival had to be cancelled.

But ENJOY can reveal thatdiscussions are underway withcertain interested parties, includingMHW, to get the event off theground again for next summer.

MHW was delighted to be involvedlast year, working alongside mainorganiser Spanish Spirit and thebubbly Ginny McKidd.

Our task was helping launch thefestival to North East media andthen to promote the participationof chef Terry Laybourne.

Terry decided to have a bit of funand created a pop-up Spanishtapas bar – Casa 21 – specificallyfor the occasion. Better known forModern British, French and Italiancuisine within his successful 21Hospitality Group, Terry decided toextend his repertoire into tapas.

Other restaurants that took part atthe first festival were The FeathersInn, Hedley on the Hill, and theBouchon Bistrot in Hexham. Theevent attracted a range of winespeakers along with numerousNorth East wine merchants andretailers including Carruthers &Kent, Gosforth.

Wine festival set for return

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Promoting the best in hospitality

THE FINE ART OF COMMUNICATIONLike hoteliers and restaurateurs, we take a pride in our work and service. We aim to do the best for our customers. We recognise that today there isgreater emphasis on value and seeing a return on investment. We work hardfor clients to ensure their PR budget is spent wisely and gives them thelaunch or push they need. Please call MHW if you want to see your PR make a real difference to your business.

T 0191 233 1300 www.mhwpr.co.uk

PR & MARKETING