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manley is a strategic PR and storytelling agency. We help organisations earn the recognition they deserve through the media, so their impact lands with audiences and policymakers. Since 2014 we've spotted the strongest stories inside companies and put them on the page with edge. From Antwerp, across Europe. In a world full of AI content, authentic stories are the only ones that still count.

impact venture & community building · BORA Awards 2025 shortlist

An international campaign that had to go ahead after the worst floods in decades. manley rewrote the story from postponement to resilience — and made the shortlist of the BORA Awards 2025.

W2650926-Enhanced-NR.jpg — group photo of chefs in front of the We're Smart backdrop with awards

We're Smart World is the leading reference in plant-based gastronomy. Founded by Belgium's "The Vegetable Chef®" Frank Fol, the organisation rates more than 1,300 vegetable restaurants in 51 countries through the We're Smart Green Guide — from one to five radishes. Every year, We're Smart hands out an international award to the world's best vegetable chefs.

For the fourth time, manley handled the international PR around the Awards — this time from Valencia, the European Green Capital of 2024. The brief was the same each time: generate maximum media attention for the organisation, its "Think Vegetables! Think Fruit!" philosophy, and the winning chefs. Because the more people visit those restaurants, the more chefs choose sustainable, plant-forward cooking — and the bigger the movement's impact on the world.

We're Smart €4,000 charity cheque handed over on stage in Valencia

nine countries, nine languages

We built the communication strategy on three pillars: targeted press invitations in nine countries, localised press releases in the mother tongue of every journalist, and hands-on personal follow-up with the twenty food and lifestyle journalists we brought to Valencia. Visit Valencia handled the logistics — travel and accommodation — we made sure the right people came.

Nine countries, nine languages: Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark and the UK each received their own press release, written by an international PR team that understood the cultural context of each market.

No mass mailing — tailored work. Each journalist received a story that matched their audience. A Belgian journalist didn't just read that El Invernadero (Spain) was named the world's best vegetable restaurant — they read that Vrijmoed from Ghent came fourth and Humus x Hortense from Brussels ninth. News value is local. manley applied that principle consistently across nine countries.

We also supported journalists at key moments throughout a multi-day programme, including a culinary experience at top vegetable restaurant La Salita. We were always reachable — if a journalist wanted to speak to a chef or someone from Visit Valencia, we set it up.

The evening before the show, journalists in attendance received the press info under embargo so they could prepare and publish fast. Right after the ceremony, a nearby press moment followed where the winning chefs were filmed and interviewed — so the news went live immediately. At the same time, we sent the press release worldwide, adapted per country to the local news angle.

Winners of the Green Guide by We're Smart 2024 with their awards

tragedy in Valencia

On 29 October 2024, disaster struck. In under 24 hours, Valencia received more rainfall than usually falls in a whole year. The devastating floods cost many lives and left a trail of destruction. A celebratory gala barely ten days later? Suddenly unthinkable.

Floods in Valencia, November 2024

Everyone, journalists included, asked the same fair question: is an international gastronomy event the right thing right now?

The city of Valencia and We're Smart decided, after long deliberation, to go ahead. Right now, recovery initiatives and international support were needed more than ever.

At manley, we understood this called for pure, empathetic crisis communication. We proposed giving the international top chefs — who were travelling to the city for the event — a voice and an active role: a concrete way to give back to the people of the city hosting them.

The idea was welcomed. We're Smart then went further. The result? At a quieter, reworked award show on 10 December, a €4,000 cheque was handed over to the victims. No one in the room was untouched that afternoon.

We communicated the new date as soon as it was confirmed, and shared the updated programme personally and one-on-one with every journalist. The significant extra work we absorbed entirely on our side. Force majeure isn't a moment to negotiate — it's a moment to show up for your client and the community.

CaixaForum in Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia

Team manley in Valencia during the We're Smart Awards

508

clippings / June 2024 – January 2025

316.4 million

people reached

€24.6 million

advertising value equivalent (AVE)

Not every journalist could move their agenda to the new date — but those who could, came. The gala became an emotional celebration of culinary talent and resilience, attended by the mayor of Valencia. The charity cheque gave the event a meaning a regular ceremony could never have reached.

Media coverage exceeded expectations — thanks in part to the worldwide press release we sent right after the show, adapted per country to local news value. Positive coverage in more than 15 countries: from El País and La Vanguardia (Spain) to VRT NWS and Misset Horeca (Belgium), from Frankfurter Rundschau (Germany) to Luxemburger Wort, Food Inspiration and DR Nyheder (Denmark).

Journalists didn't just write about the winners — they wrote about the resilience of a movement that refused to go silent in the face of disaster. That story was stronger than any press release.

El País — El Invernadero de Madrid es el mejor restaurante de vegetales del mundo

VRT NWS — Vrijmoed from Ghent and Humus x Hortense from Brussels in the top 10

Luxemburger Wort — Ma Langue Sourit und René Mathieu ausgezeichnet

Food Inspiration — Restaurant Flore in the world top of best vegetable restaurants

Madnyheder — Geranium blandt verdens bedste grøntsagsrestauranter

La DH — Brussels restaurant Humus X Hortense in the worldwide top 10 of the We're Smart Green Guide

"Your press releases in multiple languages and adapted to different countries are really outstanding — never seen something so well done."

— Roberta Nicosia, journalist

BORA results — We're Smart Awards 2024 in Valencia: coverage trends, impressions, AVE and top outlets

BORA results — We're Smart Awards 2024

A crisis isn't a reason to go quiet. It's a reason to communicate smarter.

manley didn't just make the decision to go ahead logistically manageable — we made it narratively strong. By proposing the charity action, by supporting every journalist personally, and by localising news value per market, a challenging situation turned into a story about solidarity and perseverance.

That isn't luck. That's PR.

about manley

manley is a strategic PR and storytelling agency. We help organisations earn the recognition they deserve through the media, so their impact lands with audiences and policymakers. Since 2014 we've spotted the strongest stories inside companies and put them on the page with edge. From Antwerp, across Europe. In a world full of AI content, authentic stories are the only ones that still count.