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Somerset cheesemaker claims first social media #trademark

Free Cheese Friday, a social media campaign launched by UK cheese producer Wyke Farms, has won trademark protection

The Free Cheese Friday competition has been running for four years
The Free Cheese Friday competition has been running for four years Credit: Photo: Wyke Farms

A Somerset-based firm that has been making cheese since 1861 has been awarded the “Free Cheese Friday” trademark as a result of 25,000 people a month clamouring to win some of its vintage cheddar.

Wyke Farms set up online weekly competition Free Cheese Friday four years ago. The competition runs across the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and the firm has more than 47,000 followers across both social networks.

In total, 25,000 people enter the competition every month to win some of the brand’s mature cheddar.

“We’re an independent business from Somerset. Every day is a David and Goliath battle with the big companies,” Wyke Farms’ managing director, Rich Clothier, told the Telegraph. “We use social media to level up the playing field. Social media can be the stone to slay the Goliath.”

Wyke Farms makes 14,000 tonnes of cheese a year at its farm in Somerset, which employs 205 people.

It is one of the largest cheese processors in the UK, and also supplies French retailers after winning many French fans.

Post by Marina Durand.

Mr Clothier says Wkye Farms is the first brand in the UK to register a trademark based on the popularity of a social media campaign.

The UK Intellectual Property Office awarded Wyke Farms with the trademark on the basis that the firm’s competition is distinctive, and that it had been using the Free Cheese Friday hashtag for a number of years.

Post by Wyke Farms.

“This registration confirms that the creative elements and popularity of social media campaigns can demonstrate distinctiveness and strong associations in their own right,” said Mark Armitage, a trademark consultant at intellectual property law firm Withers & Rogers.

He added: “Marketers and brandowners should review their brand marketing work in light of this decision and seek to protect phrases they regard as having commercial potential. Failing to protect such creative equity could leave them open to copycat campaigns in the future.”

Wyke Farms is no stranger to using outlandish tactics to sell its products. Owner John Clothier will sing to customers at a Tesco store in Shepton this Friday, to promote the farm's latest line.