Author: Sam Houston

When brands think about brand sponsorship marketing, it’s easy to focus on an event itself. But the most successful sponsorships don’t begin and end on the day. With the right planning, a single sponsorship can generate PR, social media content, photography and stories that continue long after the crowds have gone home.

At Hungry Communications, we believe great brand sponsorship marketing is about much more than putting your logo on a banner and getting a post up on social media. It’s about creating meaningful moments that connect with your audience and making sure every opportunity works as hard as possible for your brand.

A recent example is our work with JAZZ™ Apple, which returned for its fifth year as a sponsor of the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim in support of the British Heart Foundation. Thousands of swimmers took part in the event, with JAZZ™ Apples on hand to help participants refuel after crossing the finish line.

The event itself was a fantastic success, but also highlights what makes an effective sponsorship campaign.

Why brand sponsorship marketing starts with the right fit

JAZZ™ Apple champions healthy, active lifestyles and making movement part of your everyday. That meant the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim was the perfect partnership. Rather than simply giving out apples, JAZZ™ were supporting an event that reflects its values while offering something genuinely useful to participants at exactly the right moment.

People are far more likely to engage with a brand when it feels like a natural part of the experience, rather than an interruption.

Think beyond the event

A successful event should never be a one-day marketing opportunity.

With a little forward planning, one sponsorship can create content and stories that continue to support your marketing long after the event has finished.

That might include:

• PR coverage before and after the event
• Photography for future campaigns
• Social media content
• Website and blog content (hello!)
• Retailer and trade communications
• Email newsletters

So don’t view these as separate activities, they should all be part of the same campaign.

Every event has a story to tell

One of the biggest opportunities brands miss is storytelling and it’s the part we love most about PR and Marketing.

Before an event even begins, we ask questions like:

• What’s the story here?
• Why will people care?
• What images do we need?
• How can we keep talking about this after the event?
• What will make us stand out?

Planning these answers in advance means every event delivers far more than a few social media posts. It becomes an opportunity to build brand awareness, strengthen relationships with customers and generate content that can be used across multiple channels.

Making your sponsorship marketing work harder

Sponsorships require time, budget and commitment, so it’s important to maximise their value.

Rather than treating an event as a standalone activity, we look at how every element can contribute to a wider communications campaign. A single activation can support PR, social media, websites, email marketing and future campaigns, helping brands get more from the investment they’ve already made.

That’s exactly why integrated campaigns continue to deliver stronger results than isolated marketing activity.

Looking beyond the finish line

The Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim is a great example of how the right partnership can become much more than event sponsorship.

By choosing an event that aligns with the brand, planning content around the experience and creating opportunities for ongoing storytelling, JAZZ™ Apple was able to support an important charity event while building positive engagement with thousands of participants.

At Hungry Communications, that’s how we approach sponsorship marketing. We don’t just think about the event itself. We think about everything that comes before it, everything that happens on the day, and all the opportunities that follow.

Because the best sponsorships don’t stop at the finish line.

Planning a sponsorship or brand activation? We’d love to help you turn it into a campaign that keeps delivering long after the event is over. Get in touch with the Hungry Communications team to find out more.

Hannah

Each month we share some of the stories, features and campaigns the Hungry team has been working on.

This month’s Press Coverage of the Month looks a little different, as we’re sharing a piece written by Hungry’s own MD, Sam Houston for Stir It Up magazine.

As a food and drink PR agency, storytelling is a huge part of what we do. Whether it’s securing media coverage, creating content or finding the people behind a brand, it all starts with understanding what makes a story interesting.

The coverage

Sam interviewed hospitality legend David Mulcahy for the June issue of Stir It Up as part of its Leading Lights series.

The feature explores David’s incredible career, his work supporting the hospitality industry and his passion for inspiring the next generation of chefs, including through initiatives such as Springboard FutureChef.

Why this story matters

Behind every great piece of coverage is a great story.

The interview works because it goes beyond David’s career achievements and looks at the experience, passion and knowledge behind them.

It’s a reminder that some of the strongest stories come from the people shaping an industry and the ideas they have to share.

David has played a huge role in shaping the future of hospitality, supporting chefs at every stage of their careers and helping to shine a light on new talent entering the industry.

Why it worked

Before Hungry Communications, Sam spent almost 20 years as a journalist, interviewing people, finding stories and creating content for leading publications.

That editorial experience is still at the heart of what we do today, helping food and drink brands find their voice, share their stories and connect with the right audiences.

You can read Sam’s full interview with David Mulcahy in the June issue of Stir It Up magazine here: June 26 SIU_MR final

Takeaway from a food and drink PR agency

This was a brilliant conversation with one of hospitality’s leading voices and another reminder that there are always great stories to be told in food and drink.

Thanks for reading. Hannah

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about AI in PR.

Mainly because, well, it’s really useful.

I use it myself. It helps speed things up, organise ideas, structure information, pull together research, tidy up notes and get through admin much faster. It will even help me with the SEO for this very blog post (thanks!) And that’s brilliant.

But the more I use it, the more I keep coming back to the same thing: the best PR still relies on people.

Not because AI isn’t clever. It is. But PR isn’t just information exchange. It’s human communication and relationship building.

There are a few things I still think good PR people do, that AI can’t replicate (just yet).

1. Building relationships still matters in AI in PR

This is probably the biggest one and the thing we’ll keep coming back to. A big part of doing PR well is understanding the people you’re talking to.

You learn which journalists prefer things short and direct. Who likes a joke. Who hates overly polished PR language. Who will miss an email but reply instantly to a text message, WhatsApp or Instagram DM.

You learn when not to pitch. Which days their inboxes are chaos. When they’re open to chatting. Even details about their families, holidays, working patterns and what they enjoy outside work. It all builds a picture.

For PR people, journalists are often our first audience and understanding how they work is a huge part of doing the job well.

AI can help draft an email, but it doesn’t really know your relationship with that person. And for us, a lot of PR success still comes from relationships built over years.

2. AI in PR can research, but humans still join the dots

AI is good at finding existing information.

But one thing I still think humans do better is spotting unexpected connections.

PR people consume media constantly. We read features, listen to podcasts, scroll Instagram, overhear conversations, notice trends and absorb….all day long.

Sometimes the best idea for a food or drink brand comes from reading something completely unrelated. A travel feature. A parenting article. A sports story. Even a dog competition.

That sideways thinking is often where the strongest ideas come from.

AI can analyse what already exists, but humans are still much better at connecting ideas, people and stories.

3. Thoughtfulness and personality still matter in PR

There’s also the human side of PR that people remember.

A handwritten note. A birthday bunch of flowers.

Sending someone their favourite mixer with a bottle of gin because you know they love it.

Remembering something small they mentioned months ago.

Putting together a sample that feels personal rather than mass-produced.

Those little details still matter because people remember how you made them feel.

4. Why face-to-face communication still matters in AI in PR

PR has become much more digital over the years.

There are fewer long phone calls, fewer coffees and fewer press lunches (shame!) than there used to be. Even less press events.

But whenever you do meet face-to-face, you nearly always get more from it.

You share stories behind the brand. You bounce ideas around naturally. Conversations about future features, collaborations and angles nobody had thought of before. You have time, maybe not much but much more than a 300 word email.

That chemistry is hard to recreate online.

5. Human judgement is still important in AI in PR

This is probably the hardest thing to explain, but experienced PR people know it instantly.

Sometimes it’s knowing not to send the email. Sometimes it’s knowing a story isn’t ready yet. Sometimes it’s understanding that a pitch technically works, but doesn’t feel right for that journalist, publication or moment.

AI can help generate ideas, but judgement still matters.

And I think that’s probably where the “human in the loop” part comes in.

Final thoughts on AI in PR

AI is already a brilliant tool for PR and I think most agencies now use it in some form.

But the best communications work still comes from people who understand relationships, timing, culture and human connection.

That’s probably the bit we need to hold (or cling) onto.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Hannah

Fresh strawberries, zesty lime and a splash of gin – our recipe of the month is a Strawberry Gin Smash made for summertime.

The days are getting warmer (I’m an optimist), so we’re celebrating simple serves, bringing together great ingredients and fresh flavours. This Strawberry Gin Smash recipe combines Hernö Pink BTL Gin, Coconut Sugar, fresh strawberries, lime and basil to create the most refreshing cocktail for a gathering with mates, BBQs or a weekend treat.

At Hungry Communications, creating recipes is about much more than mixing ingredients together. From initial ideas and flavour combinations through to recipe development, styling and photography, we create content that helps food and drink brands tell their story.

This Strawberry Gin Smash was developed and shot in-house as part of our summer cocktail series, creating seasonal serves that can work across a range of media opportunities.

Whether it’s summer entertaining, garden party drinks, Wimbledon recipes or the best cocktails to serve in jugs and pitchers, we look at how every recipe can be adapted to give journalists fresh, timely and useable ideas throughout the year.

We also work closely with bartenders, chefs and industry experts to develop recipes that not only taste great but look the part too. After all, in food and drink PR, the right recipe is often the starting point for a much bigger story.

Strawberry Gin Smash Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups Hernö Pink BTL Gin
• 3 cups soda water
• 1 tbsp Coconut Sugar
• 1 punnet fresh strawberries
• Juice of two limes
• Ice
• Fresh basil to garnish

Method

Cut the limes into small pieces, add the sugar and place in a cocktail shaker. Muddle well to release the oils from the peel and combine the sugar with the juice.

Strain into a jug and add half the punnet of strawberries before smashing everything together.

Next, add plenty of ice, the Hernö gin, the remaining sliced strawberries and a few fresh basil leaves.

Gently stir the ingredients together before topping up with soda water.

Serve in highball glasses with fresh strawberries and basil to garnish.

Food and Drink Recipe Development

At Hungry Communications, we create recipes, photography and PR campaigns for food and drink brands, helping turn great products into stories people want to read.

Keep an eye on the Hungry Communications blog for more recipes, ideas and inspiration from the brands we work with.

And if you want to get your brand in front of thirsty consumers, get in touch.

Hannah

This month, one of our favourite pieces was for British JAZZ™ apples in insideKENT magazine, celebrating 20 years since the apples were first planted commercially in the UK.

The feature explored the story behind the variety, from its New Zealand origins through to becoming one of Britain’s best known apples, while also spotlighting the growers, flavour profile and long-term success of the brand.

Why this British JAZZ™ apples feature worked for regional PR

The timing helped.

Anniversary stories are always a strong hook when there’s something genuine behind them and, in this case, there was a lot to work with. British JAZZ™ apples are celebrating two decades in UK orchards, with more than one million trees now planted across counties including Kent, Herefordshire, Norfolk, Essex and Gloucestershire.

The piece also tied together a few different angles which helped give it depth:

• 20 years of British growing
• The heritage and story behind the variety
• Award-winning taste
• Kent grower involvement
• Food and lifestyle appeal
• The wider JAZZ™ Apple Foundation work supporting communities and healthy lifestyles

Rather than feeling overly corporate, the article read as a genuine lifestyle and food feature, which suited insideKENT’s audience perfectly. Particularly as JAZZ™ are grown in the county.

British JAZZ™ apples and the importance of regional storytelling in food and drink PR

One thing we often say in food and drink PR is that regional media still matters hugely.

People connect with stories that feel close to home and this piece did exactly that. Kent plays an important role in the British JAZZ™ apples story, with growers including Monk’s Farm and Clock House Farm helping establish the variety commercially in the UK.

For regional magazines like insideKENT, stories with local relevance, beautiful imagery and a strong food connection work particularly well.

The visual side of this feature also helped it stand out. The photography felt warm, fresh and lifestyle-led, helping bring the orchards, apples and growers to life across the pages.

Why long-term food and drink brand building matters

Another thing this feature shows is the value of consistency over time.

British JAZZ™ apples have spent years building recognisable branding and consumer trust. From supermarket shelves through to food events and recipe content, the messaging around flavour, crunch and quality has stayed really consistent.

That makes milestone coverage like this feel earned rather than forced.

The article also referenced JAZZ™ being named the UK’s Tastiest Apple eight times, which gives journalists a simple proof point they can immediately understand and build a story around.

British JAZZ™ apples as a great example of lifestyle food PR coverage

We loved this piece because it balanced brand storytelling and celebration with something genuinely interesting for readers about their local area.

It wasn’t just about apples. It touched on British farming, food culture, healthy lifestyles, orchards, flavour and how a product becomes part of people’s everyday lives over time.

For us, that’s often where the best food and drink PR coverage sits, rooted in stories people actually want to read.

A lovely one to work on and a great example of how regional lifestyle press can deliver beautiful, meaningful coverage for food and drink brands.

Read the full article here.

Looking for food and drink PR support?

At Hungry Communications, we work with food and drink brands on everything from press office support and creative campaigns to product launches, events, influencer activity and long-term brand storytelling.

You can find out more about what we do on the Hungry Communications website.

Chat soon, Hannah