PlastikMedia’s Morning Brief Shortlisted for Plastics Industry Awards 2026

PlastikMedia (a division of PlastikCity Ltd) has been named a finalist for Best Business Initiative of the Year at the Plastics Industry Awards 2026 for The Morning Brief, its daily news podcast for the UK and Irish plastics industry.

Launched in March 2026, The Morning Brief delivers approximately two minutes of industry news every weekday morning, giving busy plastics professionals a convenient way to keep up with developments affecting their businesses. Episodes cover company investments, machinery, materials, appointments, legislation, and supply chain developments, with stories selected for their relevance to the UK and Irish market.

In its first five months, the podcast attracted more than 750 regular listeners and published 94 episodes. More than 100 PlastikCity Partner companies were mentioned or featured during that period, giving their news an additional route to market at no extra cost.

The initiative grew from evidence that PlastikMedia’s audience increasingly wanted to listen to industry news. Following the introduction of an AI-powered article audio player in 2024, usage more than doubled between the first and most recent 12-month periods.

Feedback from industry professionals at FANUC’s January 2026 Open House reinforced the opportunity. Attendees described listening to articles while checking emails and carrying out other tasks, prompting the PlastikMedia team to develop a dedicated daily audio briefing.

Jess Clarke, Managing Director of PlastikMedia and PlastikCity, said: “People in our industry want to know what’s happening, but finding time to read several articles during a busy working day isn’t always practical. The Morning Brief gives them the key developments in two minutes, whether they’re commuting, having a coffee, or getting ready for the day.

“It also gives the companies we work with another way to get their news heard. More than 100 PlastikCity Partners featured in the first five months, extending the reach of their announcements through a format our audience was already telling us they wanted. We’re proud to see the initiative recognised by the Plastics Industry Awards.”

The podcast combines AI-assisted production with human editorial oversight. The PlastikMedia team selects and ranks the stories, uses AI to support initial script preparation, and manually reviews, edits, and fact-checks every script before publication.

Audio is generated using a voice profile trained on Jess’s voice, with each episode checked for accuracy and pronunciation, including specialist plastics terminology and company names.

This approach has made a daily broadcast achievable for a small specialist team. PlastikMedia estimates that a conventional production process could require four to five hours per episode, while its established workflow takes no more than one hour a day. Multiple team members are trained to produce the briefing, supporting its regular 7:30am weekday release.

Founded in 2015 as PlastikCity’s news and marketing arm, PlastikMedia now reaches around 28,500 email subscribers across the UK and Ireland. The Morning Brief adds a daily audio channel to its established news website, weekly newsletter, and social media activity, creating further opportunities to inform the industry and promote the companies working within it.

The awards also bring recognition for PlastikCity, which is jointly shortlisted in the same category alongside FANUC UK, Hi-Tech Automation, and Sierra 57 Consult. Their entry recognises The Future of Precision Engineering, a three-day event at FANUC’s Ansty Park headquarters combining live manufacturing demonstrations, industry discussions, and skills development. This marks the eighth time PlastikCity has been named a finalist at the Plastics Industry Awards, following its 2024 win for the PlastikCity on Tour initiative.

The winners will be announced at the Plastics Industry Awards ceremony on Friday 20 November 2026.

The Morning Brief is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and the PlastikMedia website.

Read more news from PlastikMedia here.

PlastikMedia (a division of PlastikCity Ltd)
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