Margaret Jobling

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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This little pie is a summary of how search across channels compares in size, and was based on 5 broad categories we looked at. I am shamelessly posting again, because it's a massive shift in consumer behaviour and opens more opportunities for brands to connect to consumers who are interested in your brand/product/category at that precise moment - searchers! Esp. for the post-Google generation who love search in TikTok. Do you understand Omnichannel search habits in your category and how they are changing? Do your consumers find you? Greenpark

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Preparing to rename your B2B brand to drive enduring value creation? Hear from our UK-based naming expert James McCarthy on the five factors to consider as you get started. Developing a compelling B2B brand name is one exhaustive (but exciting) process. Thinking about the five factors can help you set internal expectations for the journey—and ensure your new name speaks to the best of who you’re becoming. Read about renaming your B2B brand successfully here: https://lnkd.in/ew7qW3aA #B2B #B2Bbranding #B2Bbrandnames

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It has been a long time since I attended a top-notch marketing conference and MAD//Fest London did not disappoint. It was a seriously impressive event packed full of fantastic and thought provoking content, at a super-cool venue with fantastic food and great cocktails 🍹 3 things that struck me the most: 1. AI, AI, AI: all marketers need to understand and know how to use it; it’s not going to replace us; instead it can be an awesome co-pilot and will be especially useful for small businesses without big budgets. 2. The importance of marketing fundamentals: strong strategic direction, brand positioning and differentiation, balancing the long with the short term and seeing marketing as an investment in value and not a cost - ignore these at your peril. 3. It pays to support mental heath in the work place. For every £1 invested in supporting mental health at work, employers get an average of £5 back. Thanks Ian Maskell and @Luke Wilcox for the ticket and great company. #madfest24

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PROMOTIONS ARE LIKE BAD CHOLESTEROL Sir Martin Sorrell, former Chief Executive of WPP once said “Brands should view promotions as “bad cholesterol” which boost sales but at a cost to brand health. In contrast advertising should be seen as “good cholesterol” which delivers sales whilst also maintaining profitability and brand equity.” The digital commerce equivalent would be Brands should treat Paid Search & promotions as “Bad Cholesterol” both of which boost sales in the short term at the expense of profit and loyalty. In contrast building relevance to a customer’s needs and missions along their digital shopping journey through portfolio, advertising, marketing and targeted digital retail media should be seen as “good cholesterol” which delivers sales whilst also maintaining profitability & brand equity and building customer engagement, experience and loyalty. A bit more of a mouthful, but then I haven’t spent 40 years at the helm of a global advertising giant. #digitalcommerce #ecommerce #cpg #cpgindustry #fmcg #fmcgindustry #digitalstrategy #digital

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#sainsburys largest year-on-year share gain since 1997, and #asda's alarming rate of sales decline, are the key take-outs from Worldpanel by Kantar's UK market data for 12 weeks ending 4th August released this morning. 12-wk sales grew by 2.3%, up from the last 12-wk period figure of 2.0%, with grocery #inflation rising for the first time in 17 months from 1.6% to 1.8% (last 4 wks.). The top 2 retailers, #tesco and Sainsbury’s continue to out-perform the market, with shares up 0.6% and 0.5% respectively compared to the same period last year. The 0.5% rise in Sainsbury’s share is their largest y-o-y gain in 27 years. 4 years’ ago, new CEO, Simon Roberts, implemented the “Food First” strategy, aiming for JS to be the first choice for food, offering consistent value every day, leading in freshness, availability and innovation. Key stats, such as 7000 Nectar prices each week (with 90% engagement), 1,500 new #ownbrand products launched annually, with a focus on quality (resulting in their premium tier, Taste the Difference, enjoying 14% sales growth in Q1 '24), and the number of lines included in their Aldi Price Match scheme steadily rising from 250 to 670, are testimony to the relentless pursuit of JS to deliver this strategy. In contrast, without a CEO since being bought by the Issa Brothers, Asda’s decline in sales of 6.0% follows their Q2 results announcing a drop in LFL sales of 5.3%. This week’s comment from Chairman, Lord Rose, of being “embarrassed” by the supermarket’s decline, suggests that Asda’s current key priorities will be ramped up quickly – improving customer satisfaction (£30m being invested in extra staff hours), enhancing availability (focus on the top 1000 lines always being available), and delivering a renewed trading plan (driving use of the Asda Rewards loyalty app). But, without a CEO leading the ship, will they really be able to turn their fortunes around? Tesco, also laser focussed on value, quality, range, loyalty, and ease of shop, are benefiting from Asda’s weak performance, increasing their share gap to Asda by a significant 1.7% points YoY. In fact, Tesco have increased their share gap YoY to all of the other retailers, including a gain of 0.8% points vs. Aldi. Aldi and Lidl are annualising against 24% and 22% growth this time last year. Lidl have managed to maintain above-market growth this period of 7.8%, whereas Aldi are only up 0.5%. A major concern at Aldi will be their 1.6% decline in volume – challenging the discounter business model of growing volumes to increase efficiencies, enabling lower prices. #iceland remain under the radar when we talk about discounters. Performance is strong, delivering the highest volume growth, with a focus on value - offering 700 products at “£1 or less” and impressive “Mix & Match” deals such as ‘5 for £5’. They have carved out a great niche in the own label market as well, with many tie-up’s with well-known brands such as Myprotein, and Sides delivering exciting NPD.

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A very good article by Adam Leyland from The Grocer on Carlsberg Group bid to buy Britvic plc and the potential coming together of a leading alcohol and soft-drinks company. The next few weeks will tell if Carlsberg is successful in it's quest to acquire Britvic, but it does open the question will the beverages industry now see other similar moves in this approach to M&A activity? Will other leading beer companies look to follow the lead set by Carlsberg? Would a leading spirits company look to acquire a softdrinks company with a strong mixer and tonic range? For any beverages company, strategic and long-term growth is all about winning "share of throat" through having a strong and varied portfolio of brands and products to meet consumer needs across different occasions and need states. M&A activity offers the potential to do this quicker than through organic growth. Interesting times ahead! #alcohol #softdrinks #categoryblurring #occasions #beverages #Carlsberg #britvic Carol Dunne Gwyneth Kelly David Deeley Brian Short Sheelagh Pentony Lars Jensen Paul Villis Gilles Halotel Mark Allen Jerry O'Keeffe Ian Chesworth Sergio Saavedra Rodríguez Birgit Schaaf Erika Minaguchi Jean-Philippe Delforge Bourcard Nesin John Craven Joshua Schall, MBA Farrah Gilsenan Marc LEJEUNE Erlon Pereira Alison Wilkinson Declan Stack Mark Gallo Xavier Herrera Francois Sonneville Kristof König Jean Noel Ortal Magdalena Edyta Przewoźnik Barbara Lezzer Alison Van Houten David Walsh Stephen Rannekleiv

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A recent survey by the CIM | The Chartered Institute of Marketing reveals a critical need for clear guidance on ESG communications, with 87% of marketers calling for global standards to help avoid greenwashing risks. Marketers face growing pressure from both colleagues and stakeholders to provide solid evidence for sustainability claims, underscoring the need for transparency and trust: https://lnkd.in/efukkf-k As CIM’s Chief Executive, Chris Daly, aptly puts it: “Marketing has a critical role to play in driving the sustainability agenda forward with marketers feeling increasing pressure to communicate and evidence their brand’s sustainability credentials. It’s vital that the conversation around environmental claims is professional.” The findings also highlight a concerning trend—'greensquashing,' where companies limit both their sustainability ambitions and communications due to fear of greenwashing. This cautious approach impacts companies’ ability to authentically engage with audiences on their sustainability progress. 📅 #edie25 on 26-27 March 2025 will dive deeper into these themes, featuring speakers like Alex Robinson (Hubbub), Charlotte Love (Standard Chartered), and Victoria Moorhouse (Kingfisher plc). Mentions: Sarah George, edie #AntiGreenwashCharter #Greenwashing #ESG #SustainableMarketing #CIM

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Brand Growth is crucial in the fast-paced world of #FMCG 🥗🍻. Understanding the tactics that drive key brands to maximize their channels is paramount for success. Colin Horan delves into how powerhouse brands like PepsiCo & Cadbury UK achieve this through OOH in collaboration with The Grocer. If you work with FMCG brands, this insightful article is a must-read! Clear Channel UK https://lnkd.in/eGHPqQRC

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Great post by Gregor and in full agreement; 3P Marketplaces allow anyone to sell and access traffic and digital shelf space, equalizing somewhat the natural in-store advantage of big brands. Just like everyone became a creator with the advent of smartphones and social, more than ever anyone can be a seller. The other unsaid point: Marketplaces provide profitability to those retailers that field them in a way that 1P does not…

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#tesco’s highest share in 7 years, and M&S Food delivering the highest sales growth, are the key take-outs from Worldpanel by Kantar's UK market data for 12 weeks ending 1st December released this morning. Tesco’s sales growth of 5.2% is more than double the overall market sales growth (2.4%), and their market share of 28.1% is the highest it has been since Dec 2017. A strong Seasonal range across both brands and private label, many of which are on offer through Tesco #clubcard prices, along with great availability, are factors leading to their success. #sainsbury's growth of 4.7% has led to their highest market share since Dec 2020. An almost identical approach to Tesco appears the perfect strategy to “turn the screw” on some of the other big players, in particular #asda who continue to struggle with an alarming sales loss of 5.6% YoY. Returning chief, Allan Leighton, has a huge task ahead of him to turn Asda’s fortunes around. This month, Kantar reports Marks and Spencer enjoying market-leading sales growth of 10.4% across their FMCG business. Kantar do not usually include M&S stats in their monthly release due to the higher proportion of clothing and non-food in M&S’s sales mix. But they can’t ignore the fact that M&S are rocking it right now – both across range, new product innovation, and excellent stores, bringing the “Food Hall” feel back into mainstream retailing. The proportion of spending on #premium #privatelabel products has reached 5% in the last 4 weeks, with Kantar expecting this to rise to 7% in December. It is a surprise, however, that so many premium seasonal products are being chosen for deep price cuts, many through #loyalty prices. Premium-tier should deliver strong margins for the retailers yet, as an example, Tesco have reduced their Finest Mince Pies from £3.00 to £1.50, resulting in them being only 25p more expensive than their standard Mince Pies and surely now making little or no margin. Others are following, driving value out of the market and undermining the great quality of these products. Both #aldi and #lidl's stores are great places to visit currently – their seasonal ranges, merchandised in one long run, are truly impressive – I challenge you to visit one of their stores and not impulsively pick up a few of their Christmas products! Lidl’s growth rate is slowing a little, now at 6.6%, but still three times that of Aldi’s. Finally, Kantar report that the cost of the average Christmas dinner for four has risen by 6.5% YoY, to £32.57, largely driven by the price of turkey and Christmas vegetable staples. Watch this space. Aldi have already announced the now-annual price cut across the likes of sprouts, parsnips and carrots, all to be sold at just 15p in Christmas week. Most of the other retailers will follow. Good for the consumer? Putting pressure on the growers? Simply unnecessary? Maybe all three, but it’s not going away any time soon. Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and peaceful Christmas!

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I have had the privilege of being part of the Marketing Leadership Masterclass over the course of the last 12 weeks, run brilliantly by Thomas Barta and Syl Saller CBE. For those that aren’t familiar, the virtual course covers a huge array of topics, spanning all aspects of marketing leadership from behaviours, skills, strategy with a number of hugely inspiring outside speakers from the world of FMCG and service marketing. I thought I would share my top insights below. I would love to hear your reflections on reading. 1.     Be sure of the value you are creating – either for the consumer, your customer or your company. Consider why you are working on something, what are value are you creating, how will you extract the value, is it worth your time, the investment you are making. Always be clear on the ‘value creation zone’. 2.     Zooming out, Zooming in – always be clear on the big picture problem you are trying to solve and present your case using the right level of detail / data to support. 3.     Know your audience – what type of a leader are they? Know what motivates them and adjust your style and the way you present your case accordingly. Are they more detail focused, or more emotional? What will they need to see to go with you on your journey and be convinced? 4.     Zero based Budgeting – this breeds creativity, do less with more. Prove what you need and why. 5.     Know your brand objective  - go back to the funnel – are you needing to raise awareness, considering, preference or conversion? Be focused on the objective. 6.     Bitesizing – consider your journey as smaller, bitesize steps. Consider your audience and reframe the challenge in palatable chunks that will work for them. This approach often helps mobilise energy and support internally. 7.     Start a movement internally – put yourself out there and gather support, build belief. Test and learn and prove the case enabling you to go further, unlocking the support you need. 8.     Don’t let the elephant in the room get in the way – be brave, recognise it, lean into it. 9.     A Team – be demanding on talent, hire for distinctiveness either internally and also with the partners you are working with. Face into where there is a weak link and address it. It’s only fair on them and the rest of the team too. 10.  Build trust – connect with your team, show vulnerability, and build confidence. There is no room for ego. 11.  Ruthlessly prioritise – invest your time and resources in what will build equity and deliver results. Keep doing this, reassessing. Keep focused on the value creation zone. 12.  Be clear on how you inspire others – know yourself and what your purpose is as a leader. 13.  Be Brave, aim high and be your authentic self It was hugely valuable and really thought provoking. Thankyou Thomas Barta and Syl Saller CBE, thoroughly recommend to others.

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Welcome to “In My Humble Opinion”, a podcast collaboration between The Marketing Society and Publicis Groupe UK agencies that creates a space for marketing leaders to discuss their opinions on topics affecting our industry which they think about but may not always say out loud. You will hear industry leaders and experts talk about their views and opinions on deliberately provocative subjects such as the impact of technology on brands and consumers, the future of our industry, the generational divides, diversity and inclusion and more. This is Episode 1 - ‘In My Humble Opinion...nobody ever got fired for buying the safest brands.’, a deep dive into the often-overlooked importance of brand in B2B marketing and purchasing decisions. We're joined by Billy Hamilton-Stent, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis Pro, and special guests Mimi Turner and Jann Martin Schwarz from Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn Marketing Services. What do we cover? 💡The challenges of measuring brand impact in B2B marketing 💡The need for a more holistic approach to B2B marketing strategies Whether you're a B2B marketer, sales professional, or business leader, this episode offers valuable insights into the power of brand in driving B2B growth and success. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/eZGG_Rxc #B2BMarketing #IMHOPodcast

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#tesco hitting 28% market share, whilst #ocado being the fastest growing grocer for the eight month in a row, are the key take-outs from Worldpanel by Kantar's UK market data for 12 weeks ending 29th September released earlier today. 12-wk sales grew by 2.9%, slightly down the last 12-wk period figure of 3.0%%, with Grocery #inflation rising from 1.7% to 2.0% across the last 4 weeks. Tesco’s share has increased by a very impressive 0.6% points YoY, hitting the 28% mark for the first time since December 2017. Between that time and now #aldi and #lidl have increased their combined share from 12% to 17.9%. Tesco’s achievement of regaining their 28% share is a triumph, reflected by their first half results of profits increasing by 10%. #sainsburys sales growth of 5.1% is just short of Tesco’s 5.2%, as both retailers continue to enjoy success from their #loyalty prices and Aldi Price Match schemes. #asda continue to struggle – the implementation of new systems may be one reason for some availability problems seen in stores. #morrisons have stabilised their sales, with share flat YoY following many periods of share decline. The new Morrisons More loyalty prices seem to be resonating with their customers. Aldi’s sales and share decline may have bottomed out. Their YoY sales growth was only 0.3% in July, 1.7% points behind the total market. In this latest period, it is 1.8%, 1.2% points behind the total market. Some great new #christmas products have appeared in their stores ready for the key festive trading period, and right now there's an impressive #halloween range instore. However, Aldi will be somewhat concerned that the gap in market share between them and Lidl is now just 1.7% points. This has narrowed from 1.9% points in the last period and 2.3% points versus this time last year. The #online market grew by 3.5% over the last 12 weeks, ahead of the total market. The UK online grocery market is now worth £3.7 billion with 22.1% of households shopping for groceries online. Ocado are fuelling this, enjoying market leading sales growth of 10%. Expanding their #privatelabel range over recent months may have helped this as they look to offer great value-for-money products. With thanks to Richard Harrow for helping to compile this. #ukretail #supermarkets #competition #brands #ownbrands International Private Label Consult (IPLC)

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“The IPA Effectiveness Awards winner is a case study in the marketing fundamentals that most brands ignore or forget – and it’s brilliant because of it” Mark Ritson Fundamentals are fundamentals for a reason. Don’t let new brand messages delivery toys forget it. Over two decades, McCain Foods has talked about the number one message to tap into safety, connection and belonging needs: FAMILIY. We are tribal animals. From music, to flags, to sports teams, to IG challenges, to languages… you name it! … it’s all about belonging to a tribe, in my opinion. Have you found your tribe? #marketing #ipaawards https://lnkd.in/gP96ZTsJ

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Whilst I normally report on Worldpanel by Kantar UK market data, I thought it worthwhile to delve into the NielsenIQ Total Till data for the 12 weeks ending 7th September 2024, released earlier this week. The two sets of data differ slightly due to Kantar's data being driven from a consumer panel of 30,000, whilst Nielsen's is derived from a panel of 14,000 and includes sales from Marks and Spencer Food. From next month the Nielsen panel increases to 30,000. Key take-out's from this week's release are: 4 w/e sales are up by 4.0% - a lower level of increase in the previous 4-weeks (5.5%) due to the previous 4-weeks benefiting from some sunny weather. Volumes are up by only 0.9% - indicating that the majority of growth is driven by higher prices. Spend on promotion is static at 25% - likely to increase as we approach the key "golden quarter" when the supermarkets offer some great deals to try to secure customer loyalty for the Christmas period. Online sales are up by 6.1% whilst Bricks & Mortar are only up 1.8%. An increase in the number of online orders and delivery slots being widely available has helped online reach a 2024-high market share of 13%. #ocado are benefiting from this, seeing the highest sales growth of 15.4%, closely followed by #marksandspencer's 12.4% growth. The latter's relentless push on great quality new product launches, coupled with superb in-store execution, are driving factors behind their current success. Retailer performance, according to the NielsenIQ data, very much reflects the Kantar data. #tesco and #sainsburys are the stellar performers of the "big 4", whilst #morrisons appear to be stabilising (More Card prices will help this), and #asda continue to struggle with alarming sales decline. Of particular note is #aldi's share decline of 0.4% YoY compared to #lidl's share increase of 0.5%. The much reported success of Lidl's in-store bakery and loyalty app are two key reasons for this share shift between the discounters. #ukretail #supermarkets #competition #waitrose #iceland #privatelabel #brands International Private Label Consult (IPLC)

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As a young brand manager in my mid 20s in London, I invested time and considerable expense into completing an NLP Practitioner programme, run by a fabulous organisation in Hammersmith. 💱 It totally changed the way I think. One of the most interesting concepts we learned about was the power of METAPHORS in business coaching. 🧠 When you're listening to other founders' businesses’ challenges and opportunities, especially if they're in a different industry from your own, you see or hear connections between what they're doing and what might work for you—even if the categories that they are working in are totally different. 📈 In neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), metaphors make complex ideas feel more relatable and practical. For example, if you hear a business talking about increasing their basket spend, you might picture that as a shopper or “filling up their basket” with products that are related to, but different from the product you are selling —a simple image that can help you think of ways to get your own customers to buy more per transaction. Even if your category is totally different, this metaphor could spark ideas for encouraging more value in each purchase. On Brand Growth Heroes podcast, we've recently spoken to founders in non food and beverage categories, although we will always stick to our homeland which is consumer packaged goods (CPG). 🎧 So here's your challenge: The founders in Absorbency Clothing (WUKA) and Sexual Wellness (HANX) are increasing basket spend in clever ways. What can you learn from them? #brandgrowthheroespodcast #businesspodcast #cpg #brandmarketing

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NPD - IS THIS A STRETCH TOO FAR!? Great long-lasting legacy brands reach a point where they saturate their current consumer audience and growth of any kind is challenging. We've seen it in recent times with the advent of Coke red and the extension of that into different light, zero and flavour alternatives to protect their market share and recruit new consumers into the brand. But just when is a stretch too far and how should can you leverage your core product intrinsics in a way that resonates with consumers? We know that most innovation that lands is often wrapped in a brand that we already have a strong memory structure around. New brands struggle as its so hard to land new memories in our already cluttered minds. I was intrigued to see that Chupa Chups had stretched from its core lollipops into flavoured popcorn. An act of genius or madness? Only time will tell, does the flavour alone stretch enough? Its certainly not as bad as Colgate Lasagne but has the elastic band of innovation been stretched too far? #npd #innovation #retail #chupachups

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Loving this HARIBO UK end-cap spotted in Sainsbury's!!! Ticks all the boxes... 👀 SEE IT Bright, contrasting colours (POSM and product) attract attention, as does implied movement created by the flying / exploding sweets on the header board 🧠 GET IT Strong branding... logo, DBAs... and of course the product itself... Visuals over text... every time! (There is science behind the age-old phrase "a picture paints a thousand words") What text there is is short and sweet... 19 words in total including the shelf edge strips (excluding SRP and packaging). And though I tend to witter on about use of CAPS on a regular basis... and the font on the shelf strips may be a little disfluent... I honestly don't think it's an issue on this display due to the frugal use of text 💖 WANT IT Well... you "know you wanna" don't you!!! Humorous, subtle and single minded call to action nudges the decision to buy What's not to like? #shoppermarketing #shopperinsights #icshoppers

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