Claire Stacey

At AFFINITY Group, our new Growth Accelerator positioning isn’t just about driving business success — it’s about sparking a broader conversation at the highest levels. By aligning the vision of CEOs and CMOs, we’re empowering leaders to implement changes that deliver measurable impact and sustainable growth. Ready to see the difference this approach can make for your business? Let’s talk. Have a read of our chat with Mediaweek Australia:  https://lnkd.in/g4vT3Up3 #GrowthAccelerator #PotentialRealised #AFFINITY 

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Step one ✅ Shout about what you believe in and, constructively, hold people to account when they need it. In the last few minutes, Innovate UK has released the below. We asked them to: 💸 Commit to allocating the remaining £2+ million to female-founded and female-led businesses, by awarding the remaining 25 awards to the top-scoring applicants - ✅ This is happening and I am DELIGHTED! 🗣️ Engage in a collaborative dialogue to address the current issues with the funding process and implement necessary improvements, taking into consideration female funding needs and application experiences - ✅ in their statement, they have said they will "Further develop our strategic engagement with business leaders and advocates in this area. We have already been speaking with people who have been engaging on behalf of communities." 📖 Acknowledge the shortcomings in the current process and commit to preventing similar outcomes in the future by conducting a collaborative review of the assessment process - ✔️ They have stated they will "Continue to work collaboratively to improve our processes and co-create new opportunities." 🚀 Launch a redesigned Women in Innovation Award in 2025 based on lessons learned, with a transparent funding allocation and scoring process that restores confidence in Innovate UK Now just for a redesigned WII Award... but three out of four (in 72hrs) isn't bad at all. 🙌🏽 What a team effort, and what an incredible community of women - hundreds of women who made this happen! Becky Lodge Zandra Moore Emmie Faust Emma Jarvis et al!

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We've taken our Carbon Literacy for Marketers course online so now you can learn in your own time and at a pace that suits you. Explore the climate science, the sustainability landscape and, its effect on people the planet and profitability. You'll take a deep dive into the critical role of organisations and the part Marketers and communication must play in responding to climate change. Becoming Carbon Literate myself really opened my eyes and my mind to what's possible and, the opportunities we have if we take the time to understand what's happening. Most importantly, we can do something about it. Carbon Literacy isn't just a professional must, it's personal! Find out more 🌎 https://lnkd.in/eXqdBczQ #carbonliteracy #marketing #communication #sustainablemarketing #onlinecourse #training #learning

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Unlike many research pieces or white papers, this work by our Forty1 & Inizio Engage XD Behavioural Science teams, will bring real insight and perspective to the topic of workplace motivation. Can't wait for Hillary & Guy to share their perspective next week. Inizio Engage

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Dahlia is joined by Katie Hart to discuss the topic of Neuromarketing, what it is and how it impacts our stress levels, our decision making and our clothes. https://lnkd.in/eKB_Wssc

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ESG & DEI are reshaping the industry. Businesses are now focusing on quality hires, not just filling roles. See further insights here ➡️ Want to learn more? Download our free report: https://lnkd.in/g86rprmz

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“Zero-Based Budgeting is a bit like National Service, it’s loved the most by the people least likely to end up having to do it.” I had a lovely old natter with Matthew Valentine on the topic for Marketing Week TL:DR I actually don’t hate it, well not completely, but it’s frequently badly implemented resulting in a lot of organisational trauma for little upside. 😈 If implemented well it can make a lot of sense. But too often, as ever, the theory of zero-based budgeting is tainted by the reality of internal politics. 🤪 But if you end up with the fate of your business relying on people with no subject matter experience, ruling on the fate of recommendations from your company’s experts in business critical fields, it isn’t likely to end well….particularly if you divert those experts from business critical tasks, for weeks on end, to create ZBB submissions for activities that are no brainers. 📊 Zero-based budgeting suits some organisations better than others. E.g: Established consumer goods companies with marketing units, technology companies in fast moving categories and smaller high growth companies. ☯️ Generally it works best when a hybrid version is used, which focuses time decision making on the projects most likely to have a big impact on strategy, resource utilisation and results. Thanks to Sophie Devonshire⚡️ for the introduction.

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giffgaff and Big Issue join forces to improve livelihoods and change lives I’m really proud to share that we’re marking @giffgaff’s 15th birthday with the launch of a new multi-year partnership with @Big Issue, a leading social enterprise and fellow B Corporation that helps millions of people in the UK affected by poverty to earn, learn and thrive.  Together, we’ll use the power of connectivity to help tackle digital exclusion by giving Big Issue vendors, in communities across the UK, access to refurbished smartphones and digital skills to increase their earning potential and connect them to vital services and support. The new partnership builds on our previous work together which saw 250 Big Issue vendors use giffgaff devices to increase their magazine sales by an average of 30% - which could mean up to an extra £520 per year for each vendor. We’re going even further by donating devices to job-seekers involved in the Big Issue Recruit programme to help build their digital skills, apply for jobs and settle into roles they love. From accessing courses to researching job roles, to scheduling and taking part in interviews, and then joining and settling into new roles – having a device of their own will help to build their job readiness and support them to transition smoothly into the world of work. We’ll also be investing in Big Issue’s frontline teams, so that they can help vendors and jobseekers to build their digital skills and confidence and use their devices safely. To mark the start of our partnership this Giving Tuesday (3 Dec), a group of volunteers from giffgaff will be donning the iconic red jacket and teaming up with vendors to sell the Big Issue magazine on the streets of London. Look out for us there – or visit this link to find out other ways you can support https://lnkd.in/gBKMentu Together, we’re not just bridging the digital divide - we’re creating pathways out of poverty. Learn more about our partnership here: https://lnkd.in/gwFkfKtU. A huge shout out to Tracey Herald for this remarkable piece of work. We're so lucky to have you. #UpToGood

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After the fantastic response to our Kate Muir talk in July, the Brilliant Women event schedule is looking busy over the next few months... 1. Senior women meet-ups: talking about sustainability and AI and looking at how we can influence the future, in two locations Manchester - September 25th London - October 16th 2. Exec level breakfast: looking at leadership burnout - how can we spot the signs and is this contributing to a lack of senior women in organisations? London - October 3rd 3. Brilliant Women book club - first up is Brené Brown's, Dare to Lead. We're hosting the club online to make it as accessible as possible. Online - October 22nd About the network It was established over 10 years ago for women who don’t really like traditional networking groups. It’s known by its members as a friendly and safe environment to share ideas and successful approaches, or to discuss concerns or problems in smallish groups, with likeminded women. Not a large room of unknown faces. (Although we do occasionally host larger get togethers but they’re still informally hosted.) We cover many leadership topics throughout the year and past events have included Cultivating a Growth Mindset; Hybrid Leadership, Sustainability in Tech;  Implementing Effective DE&I Programmes; and How to Move from Equality to Equity. If you’d like to know more about the network and/or sign up for our Senior Women leadership events, email [email protected] and we’ll make sure you’re on the mailing list. We promise you won’t be inundated with emails. Brilliant Women. Connecting leaders. Driving Change. #brilliantwomen #leadership #meetups #sustainability #AI

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Something you might not know about Mischief: we have access to all of MHP Group's behavioural science insight and expertise. Our work may be a little bit naughty, but at least its backed by science 😈 #strategy #prstrategy #behaviouralscience

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A hugely important conversation - in MR and across office-based industries - that surely begins with 2 questions: 1. How and where do you like to work? and, 2. How and where do you work best? And these questions are best answered by candidates/employees - not employers insisting (for what may be quite arbitrary reasons) on a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to working styles Neither "back to the office" nor "remote" work for everyone, all the time. So why not just ask people what does?

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Nice piece in Marketing Beat about our campaign to encourage people to take action to help remove the barriers society places in the way of blind and partially sighted people living life. The campaign - created with GOOD Agency, and driving people to download our Be Helpful Guide - is running across social media, out of home and radio, so have a look out for it appearing on a billboard near you. 👀 If you haven’t yet downloaded the guide, please do - it includes lots of tips for sighted people on making getting around easier for people with sight loss, from leaving wheelie bins in the right place to knowing how to guide people appropriately; it was created with blind and partially sighted people. The link is in the comments so no excuses! We want as many people as possible to download the guide - and turn themselves into allies for changing society for people with sight loss through simple steps. #socialchange #marketing #campaign #sightloss #behaviourchange

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Some thoughts on Dupe Culture - We live in an aspirational society where climbing the social ladder is more or less possible - With most traditional forms of marking social status faded or fading, we’ve gravitated towards products that tell the world which rung we stand on - The backdrop for this has been zero percent interest rates and an explosion of access to debt, democratizing access to status symbols - With the bill coming due, and the economy teetering at a micro level, people are desperate to write a narrative of their behavior that doesn’t reduce perception of their social status - Dupe culture repositions this social hierarchy anxiety by giving personal agency to people who are “smart enough” to get the utility out of similar products - The irony is that this only reinforces the value of luxury because luxury is about purposeful wasting of utility to display control over resources - The backpack you buy on TikTok has more utility than anything Hermes makes but it doesn’t mean anything no matter how hard you try to position it as a smarter choice - Our refusal to face climate change is in large part tied to our addiction to using waste to signal status - Luxury brands have nothing to fear but Dupe Culture can take a big bite out of mid premium and premium brands that don’t mean enough to people - People buy a fever mirror dream of themselves, filling a god shaped hole

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Today's women in their 40s and 50s are trailblazers - redefining societal norms, embracing diverse lifestyles, and commanding nearly half of the UK's wealth. Yet, they are often left feeling overlooked by the media, with many brands missing the untapped opportunity of this "super consumer" cohort. But what if there was a way for brands to understand, uplift, and empower these women while increasing their bottom line? Our latest consumer report in partnership with Southpaw explores the attitudes and behaviours of the 4.6 million women aged 45-54 in the UK through the lenses of identity, intent, and influence, providing actionable strategies brands can implement to captivate and connect with this transformational audience. 💡 Find out more via Campaign here: https://lnkd.in/erndv6b8 Download the paper here: https://lnkd.in/ewn8EstJ #MidlifeRevolution #Whitepaper #StaySmart

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Who in my network is going to #SiftedSummit in a couple of weeks? This time last year we were interviewing clients and friends in the industry ahead of launching our first #techcomms report. The report is linked below - and for anyone there, let me know if you fancy a coffee and a natter on what's changed over the last 12 months, what's stayed the same (or why the overuse of emojis should remain a key feature in all LinkedIn posts...): 🌍 Maintaining relevance globally and locally 📈 Rising above the ‘boom and bust’ model in tech 🤝 Building long-term trust with customers and stakeholders 📢 Educating the media as key influencers 🤯 Managing the AI hype cycle https://lnkd.in/ezjvVhAY

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Base Creative is now a B Corp™. That’s really exciting news, but you’d be right to ask… “so what?” B Corp™ isn’t just a stamp of approval. It reflects real actions we’ve taken, are taking, and our goals for the future. But it’s still vital to ask what it means for our clients, and why they should buy in to us setting high standards for sustainability, transparency and more. It’s their buy-in that’s going to allow us to have a real positive impact. So, what can our B Corp™ status do for you? I’ve written something up to explain just that: https://lnkd.in/eCN4kGuu

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This is a really smart article from Raconteur about the importance of CEOs speaking to the press, the potential pitfalls and how to do it well. https://lnkd.in/eQgZ8wSe #mediaspokespeople #mediatraining

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This debate was a farcical exercise in avoiding the issue. Last Tuesday, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising organised a debate at the House of Commons: "The anti-woke agenda is fuelling creativity".  And what a wasted opportunity it was.  But then again, why was I surprised?  Adland's institutions (its associations, awards shows, trade papers, and big London-based network agencies) have, for 12 years, failed to critique the influence of the woke agenda (to use the language that framed the debate) on our industry. Instead, for years, they embraced Social Purpose as the go-to-market strategy and currently unquestioningly accept DEI as the organising principle for agency recruitment and internal affairs. In the "debate" itself, all four speakers - to varying degrees - were actually against the motion! As Nick Asbury has observed the "proposers and opposers were of one mind in defining ‘woke’ as standing for all good things (not racist, not sexist, not fascist) – a definition that pre-emptively casts any dissenting opinion as ‘anti-woke’ and therefore beyond the pale". There was no mention of the fact that woke has become synonymous with cancellation, de-platforming, trigger warnings and fear of misspeaking. Or that, in "unconscious bias", it asserts that all white people are inevitably racist whether they know it or not. Thus automatically calling into question any opinion they might be bold enough to proffer. Nope, no one referenced the above - or the fact such traits might just be inimical to the expression of alternate points of view, original thinking or creativity. On the contrary, the speakers inveighed against a diabolical "anti-woke movement". Nick Asbury and I tried our best to see our creative industry (advertising) in this context but eventually had to explain that, in our circumstances, the "anti-woke movement" essentially amounts to erm ... him and me. I also pointed out that in our world, woke (in the form of Social Purpose campaigns) has not been rejected by some fiendish cabal (aka Nick and me) but by a) our clients and b) the consuming general public. Aside from that, there was no mention (never mind critique) of woke censoriousness (and groupthink) and its baleful impact on creativity.  Which surely is what we should've been debating. But then again, it's a discussion that our industry panjandrums have been avoiding for years. And they probably went home on Thursday evening happy at another snow job well done.

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