Marketers on the risks and rewards of effective team building
Matthew ValentineFrom avoiding the impulse to hire ex-colleagues to constantly engaging “passive candidates”, marketers discuss their playbook for building effective teams.
Tesco credits ‘biggest ever Christmas’ to increased value focus
Grace GollaschThe supermarket achieved its highest market share since 2016, now at 28.5%, after increasing its focus on value over the festive period.
‘Significant change’: ATP Tour on repositioning to engage next gen tennis fans
Molly InnesAiming to create the “greatest campaign of all time”, the tennis tour wants to attract new audiences and support fresh talent as legends of the sport retire.
M&S ‘out to break records’ after festive success
Amrit VirdiBoosted by its festive campaigns, M&S broke sales records over Christmas with more customers choosing the retailer for “everyday shopping”.
Greggs pledges to ‘meet the headwinds’ of 2025 with value offering
Niamh CarrollCEO Roisin Currie acknowledges consumer confidence is low and there are cost pressures going into 2025, but says Greggs’ value positioning will help it address these challenges.
‘The idea is to elevate’: Revolut on why it’s no longer a challenger brand
Amrit VirdiThe fintech brand is starting the year with a product-focused campaign designed to convey a “premium feeling”, part of its brand building mantra for 2025.
Five banana skins for marketers to avoid in the coming year
Johnny CorbettKeep your eyes peeled for these perils among the New Year predictions and resolutions, if you’re planning on having a more powerful brand in 2025.
The Week in Tech: Meta’s moderation, Nvidia and Dell apes Apple
Josh StephensonMarketing Week’s weekly round-up of the technology stories that impact the marketing sector: from AI to martech, regulation to public perceptions.
Why AI could be the best thing to happen to marketing
Alison LindlandAI has moved far beyond being a novelty, becoming the catalyst for a creative renaissance in marketing.
Meta fact-checking overhaul: Mass exodus unlikely but advertisers will be watching closely
Grace GollaschAdvertisers are questioning what Meta’s plan to get rid of third-party fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram means for brand safety.
‘Intense discounts’ fuel record £14.6bn festive grocery sales
Amrit VirdiMore than a quarter of all FMCG sales were purchased on promotion over Christmas, as the UK grocery sector hit its highest level of promotions for three years.
‘Laddering up to an idea’: Cadbury on the beauty of ‘compound creativity’
Niamh CarrollAs Cadbury releases the seventh installment of its ‘Glass and a Half’ platform, marketing boss Elise Burditt discusses consistency, generosity and future thinking.
Let’s celebrate good marketing rather than ridiculing the bad
Andrew GeogheganOur industry is quick to deride campaigns but slow to praise good work. We should focus more on sharing the repeatable approaches that work effectively.
Brands urged to tackle ‘name bias’ harming ethnically diverse talent
Charlotte RogersA new campaign is calling on employers to address the hiring biases stunting job prospects and fuelling pay inequality for ethnically diverse talent.
Tesco outperforms festive market as Sainsbury’s hits six-year high
Amrit VirdiGrocery sales surpassed £13bn in December for the first time, with Tesco enjoying the biggest market share gains and Sainsbury’s claiming its largest share since 2019.
Next ups prices to offset £67m increase in wage costs
Grace GollaschThe retailer intends to increase prices by 1% on like-for-like goods to combat a rising wage bill, alongside a projected £7m marketing “cost increase”.
Don’t forget the little things as you plan your media for 2025
Ben DavisThe ‘McRib’ campaign from McDonald’s last year was a sterling example of how to take a smaller bit of messaging and maximise its effectiveness.
‘Apply your own oxygen mask first’: Why marketing bosses should address their skills gaps
Michaela JeffersonRather than only prioritising training for their teams, marketing leaders should carve out time for learning and rethink what ‘upskilling’ really means.
Data, financial literacy, AI: The skills that matter to B2B marketers in 2024
Michaela JeffersonData and analytics skills gaps might be worrying B2B marketers, but are they underestimating the importance of critical thinking, financial fluency and empathy?
‘On the backburner’: Marketing leaders on tackling the upskilling imperative
Josh StephensonNearly half of marketers haven’t been offered the opportunity to upskill, compounding an existing skills problem and piling increasing pressure on teams.
Gaining customer insight ‘most critical’ skill for B2B marketers
Charlotte RogersMarketing Week’s new and exclusive State of B2B Marketing research reveals customer insight is the most critical quality B2B marketers can possess, with empathy languishing at the bottom.
Why most marketers are using AI wrong (and how to fix it)
Peter WeinbergIf you haven’t yet worked out what AI can do or why it’s valuable for your brand, consider these three principles for putting it to effective use.
Marketing to female audiences is becoming shockingly polarised
Jane CunninghamMuch progress has been made in traditional media to stamp out everyday sexism in marketing, but social media is fuelling unattainable and idealistic images of women, which are particularly damaging to young girls.
Helen Edwards: And the marketing winners of 2024 are…
Helen EdwardsOur columnist names her picks for the best and worst of marketing in the past 12 months.
The summer of sport - Euros 2024
Creative campaigns and exclusive insights from across the agency landscape.
‘We’ll never think we know everything’: Mars on building its effectiveness culture
Niamh CarrollMars introduced a tool that uses “behavioural philosophy” to predict the impact of creative in driving sales in 2020, part of its eternally evolving effectiveness effort.
Only people can give the gift of effectiveness
Grace KiteHaving the right people at the heart of effectiveness programmes is the difference between succeeding and failing.
Why it’s time to move beyond lead generation as a measure of effectiveness in B2B marketing
Niamh CarrollB2B marketers have long leaned on lead generation as a way to quantify their contribution to revenue, however, with many recognising it can be a blunt measure, is there a better way for marketing to showcase its contributions?
What can be done to solve marketing’s problem with work overload?
Josh StephensonSolving the increasing burden of responsibilities on marketers doesn’t come with any easy answers. But from increasing the profession’s presence in the boardroom to changing the culture of overwork, there are things that can be done.
Are we witnessing the end of the CMO? No, and stop asking
Mark RitsonMarketers should cease pontificating about the validity of CMOs and their time in post, and start focusing on how to do the job better.
‘Credibility in the boardroom is critical’: CMOs on the future of marketing leadership
Molly InnesFive top marketers from a range of businesses share their outlook for the future of marketing leadership, from struggles with role fragmentation to the need to be deep collaborators.
How can brands drive growth in 2024?
Niamh CarrollHigh levels of inflation have forced many brands to lean on increased prices as a lever of sales growth. This year, growth will have to come from elsewhere, presenting marketers with a huge challenge.
McDonald’s: Loyalty scheme will enable ‘even smarter’ pricing
Niamh CarrollMaintaining a balance between price and footfall growth is a “North Star” for the McDonald’s business, which hopes its growing loyalty scheme will help it further step up its pricing strategy.
Welcome to IMGFUCK: Seven steps to kicking your price-promotion addiction
Mark RitsonEscaping dependence on price promotions is a tough challenge, but it’s achievable with Mark Ritson’s systematic approach.
Why brands must move fast to keep pace with consumer AI adoption
Niel BornmanAI is making strides in retail personalisation and marketing content creation, and will continue to be a game-changer alongside expert human judgement.
The red-flag signs it’s time to rethink your marketing technology
Marketing Week PartnerIf engagement is falling, your technology isn’t serving your objectives or campaign stagnation is creeping in, it may be time to switch or upgrade your marketing platform. Here’s what you should know.
How virtual production is changing the way ads are made
Marketing Week PartnerVirtual production helps brands to cut the costs and environmental harms of video shoots, without compromising on the creative possibilities.