Our specialist manufacturing media relations team has loads of experience working with media outlets that write about the latest manufacturing trends. The manufacturing industry is (still) going through a digital transformation frenzy, with newer trends like advanced AI, 5G in industrial operations, next-gen robotics, sustainability and circular economy models, continued developments in IoT, predictive maintenance and ERP systems, impacting 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 continues to be a trusted source of news, features, events and insights for a few different sectors. Keep an eye on their digital content as well as their deep dives into everything from recruitment to sustainability and supply chains in their monthly magazine. We would also recommend looking into their ‘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.
To pitch to The Manufacturer, email their editorial team at press@hennikgroup.com. Make sure your story aligns with their focus areas: leadership, innovation, industrial data, AI, digital transformation, automation, workforce development and sustainability.
Manufacturing Management
Manufacturing Management offers best practice advice to manufacturing businesses, concentrating on productivity and profitability. It’s targeted at directors and managers in charge of the UK’s world-leading manufacturing sites. As well as online articles it has a bi-monthly magazine all about technological innovation, news and the latest developments in the UK manufacturing sector.
When pitching to editor Paul Fanning, think lean management tricks, the nuts and bolts of maintenance, and the fourth industrial revolution.
UK Manufacturing
This quarterly, digital-only publication covers manufacturing news across the country. UK Manufacturing is also part of the ‘Connecting Industry’ network of magazines, 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.
Food Manufacture
Food Manufacture is the go-to read for those in the food and drink sector (the UK’s current star player in manufacturing). It covers the latest trade and tech news, commentary and analysis, interviews, inside looks at top factories, and the lowdown on new products.
When pitching to editor Bethan Grylls, remember that its content is tailored to the decision-makers at the heart of food and drink processing, so keep this in mind with each pitch you share. The publication also issues a regular newsletter so there can be an additional opportunity for coverage here.
You should check out the Food Manufacture podcast too, where episodes cover all themes from recalls and food safety, to searching for young talent within the sector.
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 manufacturing@businesslive.co.uk.
FMCG CEO
FMCG CEO is a magazine for CEOs and other senior decision-makers driving the British FMCG industry.
It’s 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, 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.
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.
A few months before we updated this blog, Tata announced their new £4bn electric car battery plant in Somerset. When a story like this is published, it’s a good opportunity to review who the nationals assign to this type of manufacturing story. In this case, for the BBC, it was Ruth Bradley.
The Daily Telegraph gave it to its industry editor Matt Oliver; The Times gave it to its industrial editor too, Robert Lea; The Guardian pushed it to its senior business reporter Simon Goodley; the FT covered it from multiple angles (often happens with international stories) so it was down to political editor George Parker, international business editor Peggy Hollinger and deputy political editor Jim Pickard, while the local Tata insight was supplied by Gulf business 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 think about a UK government angle).
Our media relations team does two things when pitching manufacturing stories they think have legs beyond the industry press:
- They look back through their networking notes for clues on journos with connected interests.
- 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).
This is just a snippet of the ever-evolving media landscape in the manufacturing sector. If you’re eager to learn how to navigate this dynamic and share your manufacturing stories, why not get in touch with our B2B PR experts?
Written by Katie Chodosh, Head of Media Relations and Jasmin Martin, Senior Media Relations Executive.
Updated by our professional services PR team, Caitlin Singh on 10/06/2024.