Gemma Clarkson

Have you seen our latest report? In Burning Platforms, CMOs from BT, Halfords, HSBC, M&S, Samsung and Tesco share perspectives on research from AAR and The Drum exploring the ‘burning platforms’ of the modern marketing ecosystem. As the role of the CMO becomes more challenging and complex, this is essential reading. Discover more below. #MarketingOperatingModel #MarketingOperations #MarketingReport https://lnkd.in/eKrYY4bH

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N. 1 Marketing Hazard.    A couple of years ago, I took a small team  through a very involved brand planning process for a small (2% of market) brand.   Very different to what we’d done before. We did it alongside different brands for the first time.   Loads of people on Teams. Multiple agencies. Lots of market data. Lots of dissecting. Breakouts with people that didn’t know each other and not enough time to finish tasks we didn’t understand.   New words - ones you would NEVER use if a customer walked into your shop —> Leverage —> Anchor space —> Demand space —> Consumer recruitment   “In what particular part of the morning  was a particular type of consumer  who cares about one particular thing at a particular time in their life  going to drink one particular type of drink?”   Over Engineered.    I didn’t think that saying “I don’t know, they can drink it when they bloody want!” was allowed. So I tried to work it out.    You see, I’d been sucked in.  Maybe this was the grown-up way to do things. The ‘right’ way.   I questioned everything I thought I knew.  Moved all the thinking we’d done around  until I had some words on slides  that the people running the show started to nod at.   But when I presented the new strategy to the board  I had to keep looking at my slides to keep track. Because the words - were not mine.   And when I presented it back to my team, I felt myself sinking because I realised… and then a trusted peer confirmed it:   “You sound like you’ve disappeared up your own arse” 🎤 Words people don’t really say on a page in a format “everyone” puts it in does not a strategy make. The following year, we kept it simple.  Started from what we knew.  Reminded ourselves where we wanted to get to. Decided the most important things to do to get there. Wrote that down. Reviewed it monthly. 🚤 🚤 🚤 Small businesses are like speed boats, not ocean liners, or container ships, like the big ones. Do not look at them. You don’t need the kind of engineering that makes them move. I am not convinced they do but that's another story. Look at your boat. And what it needs to go faster. You know. It’s your boat.   * Do you have someone who will grab you if you start to disappear? * Day 11 of 30 days on #smallbusiness and #startups #challenger #founders #brandstrategy #freelance

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This is worrying on so many levels. Gamifying loyalty programmes to encourage consumers to spend more, during a cost of living crisis. Barely covering up your own cash flow and profitability agenda in the very thin shroud of ‘great value for our customers’. Unregulated in the way that say the gaming industry is regulated. The argument that it is a choice rather than a mandate doesn’t hold water - activity like this is cynically based on consumer psychology and known to adversely affect those least able to make the right decisions Multiple supermarkets copying each other’s approach so as not to miss out. Activity like this gives marketers a bad name. Don’t be that marketer.

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Let's become a brand 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗅 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 is a global initiative promoting accessibility for disabled consumers. 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄? The Purple Pound (spending power of disabled people and their families) is valued at £249 billion in the UK alone. As marketers, we have a unique opportunity to drive inclusivity. Here's how we can make a difference: • Design accessible websites and apps • Create inclusive advertising campaigns • Implement disability-friendly user experiences Embracing accessibility isn't just ethical – it's smart business. We're opening doors to a significant market segment. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: Take 5 minutes today. Find one thing in your brand experience that could be more accessible. Share your insight with the Key decision-makers in your business. 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, we can create a world where everyone feels welcome. Isn't that what great marketing is all about? #PurpleTuesday #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveMarketing

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Some great insight here from Abi Dempsey 💥

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UK companies revised their marketing spend up once again in Q1 2024, stretching a run of growth that dates back to Q2 2021, with direct marketing once again putting in a strong performance which is forecast to stretch into 2025 as brands embrace the power of data-driven disciplines.

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Who would’ve thought that in June of 2024, brands are still putting up their rainbow-themed logo as their profile picture for Pride month and calling it a day? Not me 🤷🏽‍♀️ In our 2024 Influencer Pricing Report we quoted New Digital Age who found that nearly 57% of UK consumers disengage from media and advertisements they perceive as unrepresented, specifically 62% of LGBTQIA+ individuals reporting they tune out. But this isn’t about brands getting consumers to care about them, this is about showing true allyship. Consumers in 2024 expect brands to show genuine social responsibility, otherwise, they a) don’t trust them and b) don’t buy from them. So how can brands be better and support the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride and beyond? ⬇️ 1. Support LGBTQIA+ causes - Donate to and partner with organisations that actively support the community! This is so much more meaningful and impactful than rainbow profile pictures. 2. Partner with LGBTQIA+ creators - Collaborate with LGBTQIA+ influencers and content creators, during Pride and throughout the rest of the year too (👀) 3. Always have inclusive representation - Include LGBTQIA+ stories, experiences and people in your content and campaigns, again, not just during Pride month, but all 👏🏽 year 👏🏽 around 👏🏽 Are there any brands in particular that you feel are showing true allyship during this year’s Pride month? Please share them in the comments - I would love to see some good examples of support! Photo Credit: our talent @reystyless on Instagram

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Our 59A Shopper Media product... new, refreshing and measureable! 59A’s Unified Shopper Media is powered by 59A’s Shopper Index which covers all shoppers across the 81,284 retail outlets in the UK and is broken down into 9,197 postcode sectors. Each of these 9,197 postcode sectors is profiled using 59A’s Thematic data. In short, it allows 59A to remove retailer bias and agnostically identify the priority growth areas for a brand.

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Successful campaigns need good briefs. That's as true for working with #contentcreators and influencers as it is for any campaign. We pride ourselves on our briefing process so were very happy when Head of Delivery was asked by The Drum to give some tips along with other #influencermarketing experts. https://lnkd.in/g_-d_FYB Thanks to the Influencer Marketing Trade Body for helping to set it up. #creatormarketing #gaming #agency #gamingagency #gamesindustry #influencer #briefing

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We’ve scaled 22 brands to £10 million (and counting!) and 3 to over £100 million. We’re all about turning big spends into even bigger wins. 💰 Our 360° Growth Matrix allows us to achieve maximum results consistently. We consult across these key areas to maximise results: 🏆 Market Leader Positioning Brands often lack clear market leader positioning. It’s a BIG part of the reason that most e-commerce brands don’t scale and it’s massively overlooked by founders. Positioning is everything, especially for success in saturated niches 🚀 💰 Financial Forecasting You need to know your figures inside and out. Cashflow management in e-commerce is hard, so planning and forecasting is everything. We get to know your operating economics using our tools, then our team is able to forecast all the important figures: NCPA, monthly ad spend, ROAS, MER - the lot. 🌱 Organic Marketing So many brands are too reliant on paid ads. We constantly see brands come to us with engagement rates on the floor, barely any organic revenue and full reliance on paid ads as a result. Our team consult across core platforms to drive conversions, with 20m+ followers on TikTok across our agency clients, we have a trick or two up our sleeve 👀 🔍 CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) Massively overlooked by 9/10 agencies and in-house teams, yet one of the most important aspects of e-com. We have an in-house CRO expert constantly auditing our brands websites to maximise conversion rate, you’d normally expect to pay $1000+ per audit - but it’s completely FREE with our services. 👩‍💼 Influencer Marketing Our formula for influencer marketing drives sales like no tomorrow. Our brands have had deals with Alix Earle, Vanessa Hudgins and SO many more using the strategies our team developed. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much we cover in order to provide maximum value to our clients - we’re so far from being ‘just an ads agency’ it’s insane. Make sure to follow me learn more.

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We’ve scaled 22 brands to £10 million (and counting!) and 3 to over £100 million. We’re all about turning big spends into even bigger wins. 💰 Our 360° Growth Matrix allows us to achieve maximum results consistently. We consult across these key areas to maximise results: 🏆 Market Leader Positioning Brands often lack clear market leader positioning. It’s a BIG part of the reason that most e-commerce brands don’t scale and it’s massively overlooked by founders. Positioning is everything, especially for success in saturated niches 🚀 💰 Financial Forecasting You need to know your figures inside and out. Cashflow management in e-commerce is hard, so planning and forecasting is everything. We get to know your operating economics using our tools, then our team is able to forecast all the important figures: NCPA, monthly ad spend, ROAS, MER - the lot. 🌱 Organic Marketing So many brands are too reliant on paid ads. We constantly see brands come to us with engagement rates on the floor, barely any organic revenue and full reliance on paid ads as a result. Our team consult across core platforms to drive conversions, with 20m+ followers on TikTok across our agency clients, we have a trick or two up our sleeve 👀 🔍 CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) Massively overlooked by 9/10 agencies and in-house teams, yet one of the most important aspects of e-com. We have an in-house CRO expert constantly auditing our brands websites to maximise conversion rate, you’d normally expect to pay $1000+ per audit - but it’s completely FREE with our services. 👩‍💼 Influencer Marketing Our formula for influencer marketing drives sales like no tomorrow. Our brands have had deals with Alix Earle, Vanessa Hudgins and SO many more using the strategies our team developed. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much we cover in order to provide maximum value to our clients - we’re so far from being ‘just an ads agency’ it’s insane. Make sure to follow me, Jack Oldham, to learn more 📈

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One number brand scores – love them, or hate them? Some brands favour the simplicity of the one-number score methodology for assessing brand health. It's great for quick comparisons and aids benchmarking against competitors, but is it really the optimal approach? Relying solely on this approach risks oversimplifying the complex dynamics of brand health. It overlooks detailed insights, assuming that a universal set of metrics applies to all brands equally. This doesn't account for individual brand strategies or provide guidance on improving brand equity. At Hall & Partners, we believe there are better ways to drive brand growth. Our Partner and expert, Farid Jeeawody, explains why... Click the link to learn three ways to go beyond a one-number score. #BrandStrategy #BrandHealth #MarketingInsights 📈 https://lnkd.in/eRcTeSUP

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We've been making some solid strides around sustainability in our supply chain for a long time at Clear Channel UK, but I absolutely love this latest initiative. Clear Channel Revive - a project breathes new life into old bus shelters, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 94% and extending their existence by 10 years. It minimises the use of new materials, reduces waste and re-uses refurbished parts It's more sustainable, more cost-effective and that benefits both our communities and the planet. 🌍💚 #Decent. More here: https://okt.to/BNwd9m #Sustainability | #CircularEconomy | #PlatformForGood

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Loved speaking at the PRWeek UK #pr360 conference today about all things measurement, insights and evaluation alongside the brilliant Clare Stafford. We spoke about best practice for measuring PR impact and proving its value back to the business. My top tips are: 1) Don't do PR for the sake of PR: Everything we do in PR should directly support brand goals. We want to create meaningful behaviour change with PR that supports brand efforts and in turn meets business objectives. Your PR measurement framework should be specifically tailored to support these goals. 2) Think about impact: Reach and volume are not good indicators of good PR. Reporting should look at quality measures such as key message penetration, sentiment and prominence as well as business impact measures like website traffic and sales. 3) Take stakeholders on the measurement journey with you: Make sure the relevant stakeholders understand what each measurement means, why it's important and how it supports your overall brand goals. If they understand it, they can better see the value of your work. Most importantly I survived my first time speaking at a conference... and even enjoyed it! 💁‍♀️ 💁‍♀️

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With a handful of copycat 'Pint Protection' campaigns popping up from the likes of Aldi UK and The HEINEKEN Company, it's a good reminder that speed of execution is the single most important advantage startups have over massive brands. Our original plan was actually to launch a little later. But we recognised the opportunity of going live before the Euros started, so we hustled hard to get it done in a way that a massive brand could never have done. It turned out to be the ideal moment for us to introduce Pint Protection and by the time England kicked off on Sunday we had well over a thousand people signed up. A week later, Heineken launched a very similar campaign built solely around England games... when England had already played twice lol. The entire positioning of their campaign as "the first of its kind" and "just in time for the football" is comical now it's neither of those things because they were too slow. Somewhere along the line things got stuck and they missed their shot. A few days can make all the difference. A similar thing happened last year when we launched a stunt to 'unofficially' sponsor The Queue at Wimbledon. The team worked all weekend so they could be there at 3am on the first day of the tournament. We went viral by lunch. By the end of the week there'd been half a dozen other brands try the same thing. A day later and we'd have missed our chance. The two ideas above are, in my opinion, quite obvious opportunities and I wasn't surprised to see them come from other brands too. But while well-resourced brands may beat startups on execution quality, they don't stand a chance at execution speed.

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Has Tesco got the power to be number 2 in the marketplace space in the UK? It believe it certainly does and its power is data (Clubcard Data), to be able to offer highly targeted advertising based on what you shop online or in-store. With over 1.1m grocery shoppers a week, it must be taken seriously. Please let me know what your thoughts are. Read my thoughts in the Daily Mail here > https://lnkd.in/gas5F2Zxe #tesco #marketplace #ecommerce

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When you post matters just as much as what you post 🕰️ Topical content is a cheat code to maximise £££. Key dates not to miss in June for ecom brands: 1st June – 30th: Pride Month → Show your support for the LGBTQ+ community. → Educate your audience, collaborate with LGBTQ+ influencers, and support their causes. → Be authentic with your marketing though, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion strategies all year round. 14th June: Flag Day (US) → Show off your brand’s patriotism with relevant promotions. → Create a sense of togetherness. → Decorate your website and update your marketing materials to celebrate the day. 16th June: Father’s Day → Remember that some people will be looking to gift a ‘father figure’ (dad, grandad, mentor) → Put together relevant gift guides to help those struggling with ideas (e.g. when they already have enough socks...) → Also, don’t forget to add gift wrap and messaging options as easy wins. 20th June: Summer Solstice → Summer-themed promotions. → Seasonal product releases. → Summer giveaways. 26th – 30th June: Glastonbury Festival → Ensure that your campaigns are relevant for people going to the festival. → Promote products that they might need. → Make your content light-hearted and fun. We’ve built a marketing calendar for the rest of the year as well… To make it easy for your brand to capitalise on these dates. If you want me to send you your free copy, just repost this and comment “CALENDAR”. Follow Olly Hudson for more content on ecom growth and strategies.

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