Our Behind the Scenes event, which took place at the Manchester Evening News office and printworks in Chadderton, Manchester, on 25 and 26 June, was a great success. It welcomed businesses from a diverse range of industries based in the north of England.

This invite-only event was fully booked well in advance, such was the demand. Over two days, the event was attended by 66 people representing 46 businesses and agencies, who participated in four sessions plus networking opportunities. The sessions were designed to provide insights into how we have adapted over the years with the advancement of digital media, whilst showcasing just some of the technology we have at our disposal to help businesses be seen by their target audiences.

On arrival, guests were invited to network whilst enjoying some amazing food and drinks. It was wonderful to witness the coming together of some brilliant business minds, and the energy and enthusiasm flowed freely throughout the room. There was a buzz around the place (not least because we have beehives next to the main car park that can be seen from the office) as people opened their goody bags packed with Reach merchandise and a gift card, with up to £3,000 in advertising up for grabs!

Networking over breakfast

Welcome & Introduction

The first session was hosted by Guy Keeble, Business Development Director – Regionals, who, after introductions, set the scene for the day with an overview of Reach and some of our products and solutions, outlining what to expect from the coming sessions.

A warm welcome from Guy Keeble

Ask the Editor: Q&A “The Future of Digital Media and Local News”

Guy then invited Sarah Lester, Editor of the Manchester Evening News (MEN), in to discuss the future of digital media and local news. Sarah explained how long she had been in the business (spoiler – it’s been a while) and discussed some of the changes she has witnessed in that time. It was with pride that Sarah explained how, rather than the decline of newspaper circulation having a negative impact, the Manchester Evening News has never had such a large audience as it does today, with reach and numbers that its previous editors could have only dreamed of. Next, Sarah told us how a typical day in the newsroom unfolds, beginning with a conference at 10:30 am, where the decisions are made as to who is going where, what to cover, and who is working on what, describing how it feels to be in the real heartbeat of the newsroom.

Sarah Lester captivates the audience

We were then shown some memorable and favourite headlines from the front pages of the Manchester Evening News over the years. Some were light-hearted, others deeply impactful and testament to the MEN’s campaigning efforts to effect change in the region—something Sarah was clearly very proud of. This led nicely into the importance of local news in the age of disinformation and misinformation – something Guy Keeble had touched on in his welcome session, explaining the difference between the two. Sarah explained how, in the aftermath of the Southport tragedy, riots spread to different areas of the country, with Greater Manchester being no exception. Videos on social media were reporting pockets of unrest in a number of areas, so in conjunction with the local police, Sarah and her team created a real-time blog, sending journalists to each location, showing that no such disorder was occurring. This is something the MEN was praised for in preventing further unrest, and a powerful example of why trusted news sources like the MEN are so important. The session ended with an opportunity for questions, of which there were many, a real testament to the value of the session.

Insights Hub. “Connecting with Customers / Delivering ROI”

Still buzzing from Sarah’s session, we headed to the Conference Room at the opposite end of the office for the next part of the event. Natalie Toulson, our Head of Digital—Regionals, along with Lucy Dean-Smith, Commercial Growth Manager at InYourArea, led their session on how to connect with customers and boost ROI through advanced targeting techniques, including AI, hyper-local advertising on InYourArea, and contextual interest-based targeting.

Natalie began by introducing the ‘Reach family’ – a typical family in the Manchester area – who were interwoven throughout the session. This helped our guests understand how, where and how often we reach a typical family, how they interact with us and what our first-party data allows us to know about them.

Lucy was passionate about hyper-local news site InYourArea, explaining how the platform allows advertisers to target people by postcode where they live, rather than their IP address – something unique to Reach. Hannah then spoke about recent client success stories from well-known brands such as Tesco and Sky. This led to a number of questions from the guests, particularly around competitor targeting and disruptive marketing.

Overall, the session was well-received. Guests commented that their practical tips and insights were interesting, providing everyone with fresh ideas to take back to their businesses.

The Modern Newsroom. “Data-informed storytelling”

For our final session, we moved back into the office to meet Sarah Lester again. This time, Sarah showed us some of the technology they use in the newsroom. Of particular interest was Chartbeat, the program used to determine the position of a news story on the MEN’s home page. At any time, they can see where people are clicking and move stories accordingly. One of the guests asked an interesting question here, about who chooses which stories go in the newspaper. Sarah explained they no longer write stories with print in mind – everything they produce is for digital audiences. The print editor then chooses the best from the day for the newspaper, and it will be a mix of their core stories, such as court news, lifestyle, and human interest. Again, the passion for Manchester and its people was evident as Sarah spoke, something the guests found reassuring, commenting that the local news provision in the city is in good hands.

That’s a Wrap!

Finally, we had more time for networking, and feedback from the guests was overwhelmingly positive. Future appointments were made, more questions were asked, and gratitude was expressed for the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Manchester Evening News.

Thankfully, our Behind the Scenes tour is not over; we will be returning in the Autumn at locations throughout the UK. Interested in joining us? Register your interest here.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us Behind The Scenes! Your enthusiasm made it such a memorable event.