What Time Out and Chase's Top 2% UK Restaurant Guide Actually Launches
Time Out has unveiled The Top 2%, a UK restaurant discovery platform built around 200 restaurants chosen by its food editors. The initiative is designed as a continuous guide rather than a one-off list: it includes a 64-page limited-edition print publication, a digital hub that will be updated through the year, and the first rollout of Time Out Recommends stickers to the 200 venues.
The launch is a commercial partnership with digital bank Chase, with WPP Media leading strategy and media planning. The campaign will run across print, digital, social, CRM, vodcast and video. A new series, Table for 2%, will feature chefs and restaurateurs from the guide. Chase is using the partnership to promote 2% cashback on everyday spending, including restaurants, cafés, takeaways, groceries, fuel and transport.
Time Out executives describe the guide as an effort to connect trusted editorial with real-world food experiences. For Chase, the message is that customers can earn value while dining out. The companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
Why Chase, Time Out and WPP Media Are Combining Dining Content and Cashback
The commercial logic for Chase
Chase is not simply attaching its name to a restaurant list; it is embedding its cashback product into a dining-discovery experience. The 2% cashback offer covers categories with frequent, habitual spending — dining, cafés, takeaways, groceries, fuel and transport — so repeated exposure through restaurant content is designed to make Chase a default payment choice when consumers eat out. The partnership gives Chase a credible cultural setting rather than relying on direct-response advertising alone.
Time Out is extending editorial authority into recurring commerce partnerships
Time Out brings the trust of its expert food editors, but the value of the platform depends on keeping that editorial judgment credible even while a commercial partner is integrated. The 64-page guide and 200 stickers give restaurants a visible mark of approval; the always-on digital hub lets Time Out keep the campaign fresh with seasonal round-ups, which could create recurring sponsorship inventory beyond the initial launch.
WPP Media's role points to integrated brand funding, not a standard media buy
WPP Media is handling strategic and media planning across print, digital, social, CRM, vodcast and video. That breadth signals a branded-content approach in which the restaurant recommendation and the cashback message are meant to feel connected. For other media owners and agencies, the launch is a test case for whether a publisher's editorial platform can carry a financial-services offer without weakening audience trust.
What the Top 2% Campaign Means for Restaurants and Brand Marketers
- For the 200 selected restaurants: Use the Time Out Recommends sticker and any Table for 2% vodcast appearance to capture dining demand from Chase customers earning 2% cashback; this is not just branding but a likely reservation trigger for high-frequency diners.
- For UK restaurants outside the initial 200: Pitch for inclusion in the always-on digital hub by aligning with the seasonal round-ups, neighbourhood stories and chef-led features mentioned by Time Out.
- For restaurant and hospitality marketers: Treat the 64-page print guide and vodcast as a test of whether premium restaurant content can outperform a standalone cashback message; if the format drives engagement, it may justify similar publisher partnerships.
- For consumer financial brands competing with Chase: Compare your rewards structure against Chase's 2% cashback on dining, cafés, takeaways, groceries, fuel and transport, because the Top 2% platform gives that offer repeated, culturally relevant visibility.
Risk & Opportunity Assessment
| Commercial Risk | Medium | The return on the campaign for Chase and Time Out is unproven; 2% cashback on everyday spending carries acquisition and redemption cost, and no financial terms have been disclosed. |
| Competitive Risk | Medium | The guide may prompt other digital banks, publishers or card issuers to build similar dining-and-rewards content platforms, raising the cost of differentiation. |
| Regulatory Risk | Low | No regulatory change is announced, though Chase's cashback promotion must still meet UK financial promotions standards for clear, fair and non-misleading marketing. |
| Reputation Risk | Medium | Time Out's editorial credibility depends on keeping restaurant selection demonstrably independent from Chase's payment relationship; if the 200 picks or sticker scheme appear pay-to-play, audience trust could erode. |
| Technology Disruption | Low | The campaign uses established print, digital, social, CRM, vodcast and video channels; no new technological shift is present. |
| Commercial Opportunity | High | The 200-restaurant sticker scheme, always-on digital hub and Table for 2% vodcast create recurring content and sponsorship inventory for Time Out, while Chase gains a high-frequency dining context for its cashback product. |
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