Our manufacturing PR team has loads of experience working with media outlets that write about the latest manufacturing trends.
The manufacturing industry, just like any other sector, has been going through a digital transformation frenzy in recent years. New and innovative solutions like the Internet of Things (IoT), predictive maintenance, renewable energy, robotics and automation, and ERP innovation significantly impact the sector.
With that in mind, here’s our rundown of the UK’s top manufacturing publications, how you can work with them, and a list of journalists you should follow.
The Manufacturer
The Manufacturer provides news, articles, events, and insights across a variety of sectors. You should also look out for their monthly magazine, which covers everything from recruitment and sustainability to supply chains. We really recommend checking out their inside reports on British factories (for example this one that took a look into the inner workings of a Lush factory). You can contact the newsdesk via editorial@hennikgroup.com. Remember – anything you pitch will need to fit into one of the following categories: leadership, innovation, industrial data, AI, digital transformation, automation, people and skills.
They also run ‘The Manufacturer Podcast‘, where industry leaders have the chance to provide their expertise on various industry-related topics. If you’re interested in featuring on the podcast, contact multimedia editor Tom St. John.
Inside Industry
For over a decade, Inside Industry has been a major player in global industrial B2B media. You’ll find a wide variety of news covered here, including latest technologies, acquisitions and mergers, as well as in-depth company profiles. Each new publication is packed with profiles, press releases, exhibitions and news. Every release centres around a specific topic, supported by opinion pieces from experts in that area. If you have a story or a press release, contact editorial manager Phil Nicholls.
FMCG CEO
FMCG CEO is a magazine for CEOs and other senior decision-makers driving the British FMCG industry. The publication is the result of a merger between Packaging Gazette and FMCG News. You’ll find a lot of thought leadership pieces in this magazine, which focuses on the most prominent leaders in the sector. That said, packaging, processing and manufacturing still feature heavily in the publications, as well as all the sector-related news and features you’d expect. If you have a pitch, the person to contact is senior editor Eamonn Duff. Just make sure that the story is something business executives will want to read about.
BusinessLive: Manufacturing
From Reach PLC (the largest publisher in the UK and Ireland), BusinessLive puts a focus on activities across the UK on a regional and national level. We recommend checking out their manufacturing stories, as well as their coverage of local markets and major sectors in different regions. BusinessLive is a great champion of local businesses and they love following local entrepreneurs to see how they are driving their industries forward. For pitching, contact the newsdesk at businesslive@reachplc.com.
UK Manufacturing
This quarterly, digital-only publication covers manufacturing news across the country. UK Manufacturing is also part of the diverse network of magazines, Connecting Industry, where you can find news and expert analysis of the market trends of today and the near future. It’s mainly geared towards engineers, managers and senior executives spanning a variety of sectors, so keep this in mind when pitching a story. If you have something to say, the best person to contact is editor Victoria White.
The nationals…
Aside from the dedicated industry press, manufacturing news (obviously dependent on size and scope of the story) is regularly covered by the national and global media. As has been the case for a long time, the BBC is the most visited news site in the world, so paying them particular attention is a good idea, but all of the UK nationals have global manufacturing reach.
On the morning we finalised this blog, Tata announced its new flagship electric car battery factory in the UK. It was therefore a good opportunity to review who the nationals assign to this type of manufacturing story.
The Daily Telegraph gave it to its industry editor Howard Mustoe; the BBC gave it to Simon Jack (business editor, often on the Today programme) and Lucy Hooker (business reporter); The Guardian pushed it to its pharmaceuticals, property and insurance correspondent Julia Kollewe and its financial reporter Jasper Jolly; Sky went with James Sillars, its business correspondent; the FT covered it from multiple angles (often happens with international stories): in London it was down to political editor George Parker, breaking news reporter Maxine Kelly and deputy political editor Jim Pickard, while the local Tata insight was supplied by Mumbai correspondent Chloe Cornish.
A right mixed bag! Some more obvious than others: yes, targeting industry editors makes sense, and no, you wouldn’t think to go after a political editor necessarily (although it makes a lot of sense when you look at the UK government angle).
Our media relations team does two things when pitching manufacturing stories they think have legs beyond the industry press: 1) they look back through their networking notes for clues on journos with connected interests and 2) they look for trends in previous stories for clues on which ‘angle within the angle’ a journalist might be interested in (for example Tata is a story about UK job creation, but also a story about EV batteries and a story about political concessions).
That’s all for now. But if you want to learn more about how we can help you tell your manufacturing stories, why not get in touch?
Written by Katie Chodosh, media relations director (London), Jasmin Martin, media relations executive (Leeds) and Luke Budka, director of PR and SEO (Buckinghamshire).