M&S marketing goes digital first
Marks and Spencer is shifting its marketing strategy to digital first, launching campaigns online before they give the impression of being on TV or in print because it looks to higher engage with its customers.
The change started with the “Leading Ladies” campaign, which launched on Facebook in September before rolling out to billboards, print and in-store. An analogous is right of its latest Christmas ads “Believe in Magic and Sparkle”, with a two-minute video ad launching online yesterday (4 November) sooner than its TV debut tomorrow.
Speaking to Marketing Week on the retailer’s half-year presentation in London today, M&S’s executive director of promoting and business development, Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, said social media is significant to M&S as it lets them take heed to what consumers are saying in real time.
“Straight away we all know what customers think about our new campaign and the Christmas range. Social media means they may feedback on to us and we will be able to provide a right away link to buy. We all know the comments to this point are positive, we wish to see that feed through to sales,” he added.
Speaking on the same event, M&S CEO Marc Bolland said the move to digital marketing is a part of the retailer’s aims to be multichannel and prove its ecommerce savvy. He claimed that the Leading Ladies campaign had 10 million hits inside the first week and had a 52 per cent cut-through, higher than many of its TV campaigns.
M&S plans to follow an analogous strategy for spring/summer 2014, ensuring that online is absolutely integrated across marketing and buying. a brand new web platform is likewise planned for spring next year.
M&S is additionally adding a brand new element to its Christmas ad campaign, integrating its food and general merchandise, which contains clothes and homeware, for the primary time. Bousquet-Chavanne said this offers M&S a bonus over other retailers, none of that can use an analogous branding for garments and food.
He said this has only happened for the primary time now since it has previously been difficult creatively to embrace both businesses within the same environment. He expects it to steer to uplift inside the variety of customers shopping across food and general merchandise, with currently around 40 per cent buying both brands.
“This is a brand new way of working that lets us cross-fertilise across food and clothing. Other retailers can’t do that,” he added.
M&S is under growing pressure to show around its clothing business after nine consecutive quarters of decline. Sales improved slightly within the second quarter, falling by 1.3 per cent, in comparison to a 1.6 per cent drop within the prior period.
Bolland said M&S is seeing a “positive trend” because the retailer integrates marketing, the in-store experience and its new collections. Its new store layout, which positions clothes around capsule ranges which include dresses, coats and tailoring is now available in 70 stores, with an extra roll out planned for next year.
Bolland said he’s also working to enhance perceptions of the M&S brand around style and “fashionability” by working more closely with the trend press, inking a focus on London Fashion Week for a M&S catwalk and launching a studio within the London School of style to provide it early access to market trends.
“Our concept stores work. Our collections work. Our brands work. We’re bringing fashionable under M&S brands where it was not before. These are early signs of improvement,” he added.
