Download the FHRS Christmas toolkit and suggested social media ...

The FHRS 2013 Christmas
communication toolkit
‘The recipe for a great meal out’
Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH
E: fhrsenquiries@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

About this toolkit
This toolkit has been produced by the Food Standards Agency. It is designed to
support local authorities in promoting the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) at a
local level in the run up to Christmas 2013.
The festive season is a crucial period for food businesses with an expected increase
in custom as Christmas parties are in full swing and shoppers enjoy a hard earned
lunch. It’s the perfect opportunity to promote food businesses with good hygiene
standards by encouraging consumers to check the rating before booking or going in
for a meal. If appropriate, we would also like to encourage them to search for and
switch to a food business with a higher/better rating.
Using this toolkit
This toolkit outlines ideas and suggestions for your communications and
environmental health departments to work together to deliver.
It includes:
campaign posters and web banners
a template press release
photography suggestions to support your press release
advertorial and web copy to use in council publications and websites
suggested social media posts
Please take the time to look at the content and use it according to your needs.
You can find all campaign artwork, posters, web banners, accompanying
photography and copy available to download at www.food.gov.uk/christmastoolkit-2013
The FHRS campaign – ‘The recipe for a great meal out’
Our campaign is designed to encourage consumers to consider the hygiene rating of
a business, when planning their Christmas parties and meals, alongside essentials
such as whom they plan to invite and the menu itself. We want to encourage them
to see checking the hygiene rating as an essential part of the elements that
combine to make a great meal out. The key messages are:
incorporate hygiene ratings as part of your decision making process when
choosing where to eat
check the ratings before you book or visit a restaurant, and if you can’t see the
rating displayed, you are encouraged to ask the manager/staff
We have developed several posters and web banners to promote the FHRS in the run
up to Christmas. These posters have been provided electronically, and enable you to
co-brand them with your local authority logo.
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Suggested activities
Display a poster or web banner
You can print off and distribute the posters to use around the council building or in
local libraries and post offices. You can also use them as an advert in your residents’
magazine or local paper. The web banners could be placed on your external website
with a news story promoting the FHRS.
Press and PR
Press release template
You will find a template press release in Annex 1. This has been designed for you to
personalise and issue to your local media in the run up to Christmas. The press
release urges consumers to choose eateries rated 3 or above in the scheme, by
encouraging them to look out for the stickers on windows and doors of food
businesses. It also reminds them that if they can’t see a sticker displayed, they
should ask staff in the restaurant or check online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings.
The template provides a space for you to insert positive statistics on the percentage
of food businesses in your area with a rating of 3 or above. You can generate these
statistics by running a report on the Local authority FHRS portal. This will benefit
businesses with good hygiene standards in your area as well as making the
information within the press release local and relevant to your audience.
Content for publications, advertorials and websites
As well as issuing the press release to your local press and radio stations, you could
use it as content for your council’s website, residents’ magazines and other
publications.
Christmas events
If you have other Christmas activity to promote such as street or food markets or
lights switch-on events please don’t forget to mention the FHRS in your
communications particularly if you have stipulated an FHRS requirement for food
traders.
Photography suggestions
An accompanying image may increase the chance of your press release being
published.
Alternatively, please see some suggestions below which you could easily set up:
Council representative at local 5-rated business with Christmas dinner/FHRS
sticker in view (alternatively this could be shot at the council premises).
Council representative at Christmas place setting with FHRS sticker on plate
(minimal set up as food not required).
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If you have some budget available, props can be a fun addition to the picture and will
add more colour to the shot:
FHRS-branded Christmas crackers for council representative to hold or have
on place setting
Christmas pudding-shaped prop with FHRS branding
Christmas dinner plate graphic (in shape of a plate) with FHRS branding
You can find all campaign artwork, posters, web banners, accompanying
photography and copy available to download at www.food.gov.uk/christmastoolkit-2013
Social media
Social media is growing in its popularity, with eight in ten internet users utilising
either Google+, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. At least 54% of all internet users are
on one of these networks at least once an day, and 60% use social networking sites
while out and about, including at restaurants at least once a week.
Many local authorities are using sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a
communications channel, which is a great opportunity to promote our scheme.
We will be actively promoting the FHRS through social media this Christmas including
running a competition aimed at encouraging consumers to share their ‘recipe for a
great night out’. We have developed a series of suggested Facebook and Twitter
posts for you to use over the festive period. You can find these in Annex 3.
Here are more suggestions for how you can get involved:
Facebook
The FSA Facebook page is at:
www.facebook.com/FoodHygieneRatingScheme
Please ‘like’ us on Facebook and share our posts to help promote our
Christmas competition.
Encourage businesses in your area to post a picture of their FHRS sticker this
Christmas. You could even run this as a competition, offering the first few
businesses a prize for doing so.
Twitter
If you are tweeting about FHRS this Christmas, please use the hashtag #FHRS in your
tweet. We can use this to help us keep track of what Tweeters are saying about FHRS
and how far the word is spreading
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Please follow us at @foodgov (www. twitter.com/foodgov) and retweet any
of our FHRS related tweets
Internal messages
If your council uses an intranet site, you could run an internal awareness raising
campaign this Christmas to make sure any council parties or team lunches take place
at premises with higher ratings. Use the suggested web copy in Annex 2 as a news
story and upload the web banner to encourage colleagues to check out the ratings of
their favourite restaurants before their next visit.
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Annex 1: Template press release
The recipe for a great meal out in xx this Christmas
Good company, great food, Christmas crackers and all the trimmings are usually the
ingredients for a great meal out during the festive season. But what about the food
hygiene rating? Whatever your recipe for eating out this Christmas, make sure you
choose one of the XX number/% of eateries in XX council area with a rating of 3 or
more.
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rates food businesses on their hygiene standards,
based on inspections carried out by XX Council. Businesses in the area are rated on a
scale ranging from 0 which means ‘urgent improvement necessary’ to a top rating of
5 which is ‘very good’.
So, whether you’re planning a festive meal out with family, friends or work
colleagues or just grabbing a quick lunch when out Christmas shopping; don’t only
consider the menu – make sure you check the hygiene rating too!
Look out for the green and black food hygiene rating stickers displayed on windows
and doors to find out how businesses in the XX area are doing. If you can’t see a
sticker, then ask staff in or check online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings
XX EHO AT XX Council commented: “Christmas is a busy time for our local
restaurants, cafes and pubs and with the majority of food businesses in the XX area
rated 3 or above. The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme makes it easier for everyone to
choose to eat out in places where food hygiene is taken seriously."
Catriona Stewart, Head of the Food Hygiene Ratings Team at the Food Standards
Agency, said: “The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a great tool when choosing where
to eat out, particularly when celebrating a special meal, because it tells you what’s
going in the kitchen and behind the scenes. For local eateries, a good rating will be
good for business during the festive season.”
This Christmas, make sure one of your ingredients for a great meal out is a good
hygiene rating. Before you book check out the food hygiene rating of your favourite
places to eat at www.food.gov.uk/ratings
- ENDS -
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Notes to the Editor:
1. The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a local authority/FSA partnership initiative
designed to provide consumers with information about hygiene standards in
food premises at the time they are inspected to check compliance with legal
requirements – the rating given reflects the inspection findings.
2. The scheme currently operates in 98% of local authorities in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
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Annex 2: Suggested web/advertorial copy
Make a top hygiene rating part of your festivities
in XX this Christmas
What’s your recipe for a great Christmas meal out? It could be good company, great
food, Christmas crackers and all the trimmings. Whatever your ingredients are make
sure you choose one of the XX number/% of eateries in XX council area with a food
hygiene rating of 3 or above this Christmas.
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rates food businesses on their hygiene standards,
based on inspections carried out by XX Council. All food businesses in the area are
rated on a scale ranging from zero which means ‘urgent improvement necessary’ to
a top rating of 5 which is ‘very good’.
So, whether you’re planning a festive meal out with family, friends or work
colleagues or just grabbing a quick lunch when out Christmas shopping; don’t only
consider the menu – make sure you check the hygiene rating too!
Look out for the green and black food hygiene rating stickers displayed on windows
and doors to find out how food business in the XX area are doing. If you can’t see a
sticker, then ask staff inside or check online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings
This Christmas, make sure one of your ingredients for a great meal out is a good
hygiene rating.
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Annex 3: Suggested social media posts
Dates Audience Activity/attach
w/c 18
November
w/c 25
November
w/c 2
December
Businesses
Consumers
Consumers
Consumers
Christmassy FHRS image available from:
www.food.gov.uk/christmas-toolkit-2013
Use suggested text from List 1 below
Retweet FSA competition tweets
Promote campaign using suggested text from List
2 below
Promote competition by sharing or retweeting
FSA competition posts
List 1 – Suggested text
1. Are you ready for the Christmas rush? Make sure you are displaying your
FHRS rating so that customers can see your standards of hygiene at a glance.
2. Last year 68% of people dined out over the festive period. Make sure you
make the most of it by promoting your FHRS rating.
List 2 – Suggested tweets and Facebook posts
1. This Christmas [Name of local authority or Twitter handle] is encouraging
people to make FHRS part of their great meal out. If you can’t see the sticker,
just ask inside.
2. Got any last minute Christmas bookings to make. Make sure you check out
www.food.gov.uk/ratings first
3. Make sure you include a good food hygiene rating as part of your great meal
out. Check out www.food.gov.uk/ratings
4. Planning a great meal out in [insert name of authority] this Christmas. Make
sure you check out www.food.gov.uk/ratings
5. There are [insert number/% of businesses rated 3-5] in [insert name of
authority] find out more at [insert link to LA page on food.gov.uk/ratings]
6. Can’t see the hygiene rating in the window? Just ask staff inside.
7. Longer version for Facebook (and don’t forget to include an appropriate
image to increase engagement): Good company, great food, Christmas
crackers and all the trimmings are usually the ingredients for a great meal out
during the festive season. Whatever your recipe for a great meal out make
sure you choose one of the [xx number/% eateries] in [name of council] area
with a rating of 3 or above.
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