📬 Outlooks’s Had Enough of Your Nonsense

Don’t get blocked, get compliant.

Microsoft is joining Gmail's and Yahoo's sending policy squad. From 5th May 2025, if you're sending more than 5,000 emails per day, Outlook will expect to you behave like a respectful email citizen.

Here's the breakdown: 

✅ You MUST have SPF set up properly

✅ You MUST configure DKIM

✅ You MUST publish a DMARC record

And it doesn’t stop there.

To stay out of the spam bin, your emails also need:

• 📮 A valid “From” or “Reply-To” address that matches your domain and can actually receive replies
• 🧼 Functional unsubscribe links that are easy to find and actually work
• 🧹 Clean lists with good hygiene (bounce management is no longer optional)
• 🔍 Transparent mailing practices: accurate subject lines and headers only, thanks.

We heard direct from Microsoft: “Outlook reserves the right to take negative action… including filtering or blocking… especially for critical breaches of authentication or hygiene.”

If you’re sloppy, you’re spammy. And if you’re spammy, you’re invisible.

This isn’t just about tick-boxing technicalities, it’s about respecting your audience. 

Treat your email like your restaurant’s front door. If it looks dodgy, uninviting, and broken… no one’s coming in.

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🔍 Your menu isn’t just food—it’s fuel for your SEO.

If Google can’t read your menu, neither can your customers.

You’ve nailed the dishes, the names, the vibe. But if your online menu’s a fuzzy PDF? You’re invisible to search.

More and more people are Googling what they want to eat, not where to go:

🔍 “Bottomless brunch Manchester”

🔍 “Mac & cheese Shoreditch”

But if your menu isn’t readable, you won’t rank. Most venues still upload their menu as a PDF or image, great for looks, terrible for search.

Want to show up? Do this:

✅ Use real text on your site (not images)

✅ Break items into categories with clear headers

✅ Use keywords in dish descriptions

✅ Make it mobile-friendly + fast

Even better: structured data.

If Google can’t read it, no one else will either.

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🌙 Run Your Ads When People Actually Give a Sh*t

Day-parting is a game-changer, and you still aren’t doing it.

Here’s a quick truth bomb: No one’s booking a night out at 9am while sipping their oat flat white. Yet hospitality brands are still running paid ads 24/7 like attention spans don’t exist.

We’ve been experimenting with digital-day-parting only running ads during key hours, like 5pm–1am, or based on real-world engagement, and the results speak for themselves:

• ⬆️ Higher click-through rates
• ⬇️ Lower cost per acquisition
• 📲 Stronger intent to book (because you’re catching people in the mood)

When it’s getting dark, the drinks are flowing, and plans are forming, that’s when your booth offer hits. If you're campaigns are 'always on' you're doing it wrong.

Meta, Google, even TikTok, every platform gives you ad scheduling tools. Use them. Be smart. Don’t waste budget shouting into the morning void.

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🧼 First Click, Last Chance

Your bounce rate says more about your brand than your ad spend ever will.

You can have the sharpest ads, the best offer, and the most eye-catching creative but if your landing page flops, the whole thing dies right there.

In digital, the first five seconds are everything. And when someone lands on your site and immediately leaves without clicking, scrolling, or booking? That’s a bounce. And it’s costing you more than you think.

We see it all the time. Beautiful venues with shocking mobile load speeds. Award-winning menus buried three clicks deep. Booking buttons lost in a sea of paragraphs. No one cares. And yet, brands keep pouring budget into traffic, forgetting that conversion starts with experience.

Here’s how to clean it up:

• ⚡ Keep it fast. Speed is non-negotiable.
• 🎯 Lead with the CTA. If they have to hunt for “Book Now,” you’ve lost them.
• ✂️ Keep it lean. One message. One goal. One action.
• 📱 Make it mobile-first. Most of your traffic is scrolling with one hand and a pint in the other.

Your site should feel like a great host: welcoming, clear, and confident. Anything else, and they’re bouncing straight to the competition.

Don’t just get the click. Earn the action.

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🚫 No More Paid Pizza Promos

The UK’s digital ad ban on “less healthy” food kicks in October 2025.

From 1 October, you won’t be able to run paid online ads for HFSS (high fat, salt, sugar) products. That means no PPC for pizzas, cakes, sugary drinks, or chocolate bars.

According to Gov.uk, if your food scores 4+ on the Nutrient Profiling Model, it’s in the red zone. It's like Jamie Oliver all over again.

Banned:

• Paid social + Google Ads
• Sponsored influencer content
• Display and in-app ads

Still allowed:

• Organic social
• UGC (if unpaid)
• Digital billboards + audio ads

Even indirect ads might get flagged if the product is recognisable.

 This isn’t a reason to panic, it only effects brands with 250+ employees, and those who's product score 4+ on the NPM. If you fall within that category - don't worry, there's loopholes inc. getting your agency to 'own' your ad account, as they're likely under 250 employees. We'll be watching this one closely and will report back.

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🏃️Kate's Running The Manchester Half-Marathon!

This May, Kate will be running the Manchester Half Marathon to raise money for the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity.

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a degenerative genetic disorder in which cysts form in the kidneys, impairing their function over time and resulting in kidney failure. There is currently no cure and over 70,000 people in the UK suffering with the disease and awaiting a transplant. PKD is prevalent in Kate's family due to being inherited genetically. 

Kate's uncle successfully underwent a kidney transplant 10 years ago which was donated by his brother, however, many aren’t lucky enough to have a family member who is an immediate match and healthy enough to donate a kidney. Her Mam is currently awaiting a kidney transplant after unsuccessful family match testing, and brother and cousin also both have PKD and will require a transplant at some point, with their children all being born with a 50% chance of having PKD.

We are so eager to raise awareness and money to support PKD Charity in their work in helping those that live with the disease, for better treatment and hopefully to one day find a cure.

If you can spare a few quid to support a fantastic cause, you can do so here. 

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