Rebecca Harmer

We’re thrilled to announce Brave Bison’s acquisition of leading strategy and insights consultancy MTM!         With an impressive client roster featuring the likes of Google, Samsung Ads, Figma, Formula E, England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Sky Sports and BBC, MTM is a trusted audience strategy and insights partner for major global businesses. 🌎      MTM helps some of the biggest names in technology, entertainment and sport scale new business models, evolve products, shape positioning and reframe their relevancy in line with rapidly evolving consumer behaviours, cultural trends and commercial realities. As they join the Brave Bison universe, we become “uniquely positioned to help tomorrow’s super brands capitalise on complexity,” as our CEO and Executive Chairman Oli Green puts it.       Operating alongside but independently from our existing marketing and technology divisions, MTM will form our new insights and consultancy division. This will combine MTM’s depth of industry knowledge and breadth of research methodologies with our agile operating model and proprietary AI tooling across Brave Bison, SocialChain and Engage Digital Partners.      Welcome to the herd team MTM! We can’t wait to get started together on this new chapter. 🤝    Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ejHDNS93

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Trust is everything, and our new UK report with London Research shows just how powerful it is, especially in the finance sector. 78% of UK consumers are influenced by customer reviews, and our reviews can make a big difference. In fact, ads with Trustpilot signals are 14 times more likely to be clicked, and websites using them see an increase in trust, brand affinity and conversions. Check out the full report: https://lnkd.in/d5pe4-77.

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Our brilliant partner at Indeed, Clíona Hayes Hayes, recently sat down with The Drum for an insightful interview discussing the intricacies of marketing on a global scale, why she thinks taking risks is key to successful work – and how Indeed's latest campaign from #72LA and #72AMS excels on both fronts. 🎙️ "We’re calling out the absurdities in hiring, like lack of salary transparency, arbitrary requirements, nepotism and mismatched expectations...At its core, our campaign emphasizes substance over superficiality, challenging biases that prioritize pedigree and privilege over real skills and value." Read the full interview, here: https://lnkd.in/eMNfEvhM

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“The only cases we have seen where huge transformation with AI doesn’t also deliver significant double-digit year-one savings are when the client isn’t looking at a big enough piece of their business to transform.” A great piece in The Drum from Brandtech Partner and Head of Emerging Technology Rebecca Sykes on the big conversations she’s having with brands as they scale Gen AI across their marketing. Link in comments 👇

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CreateFuture has secured a technology partnership with Skyscanner which will see the digital consultancy work closely with the global travel marketplace’s tech teams across its Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Barcelona offices in areas including audience experience, data and AI tooling, and app experience.  Euan Andrews, CEO and Founder of CreateFuture, said: “Skyscanner began life here in Scotland, and is now the leading global travel app that scans over 80 billion prices daily.  We are excited to be working with their world-class engineering team to accelerate, grow, and contribute to their future success.”  Andrew Phillips, Chief Technology Officer at Skyscanner, said: “CreateFuture’s proven capabilities, culture match, and overall collaborative approach made them the ideal choice for us, and we fully expect their team to be instrumental in helping us to achieve our engineering goals.” CreateFuture was appointed after a multi-stage process from a national and international pool of consultancies, and was recognised for its engineering expertise, cultural alignments, and track record around delivery. Skyscanner joins a client list at CreateFuture which includes PayPal, adidas, NatWest, Baillie Gifford, MoneySavingExpert, Penguin Random House, Simple Online Healthcare, Multiverse, and FanDuel.  Euan Andrews added: “As a Scotland-headquartered company, we think it’s notable that we’re now working with the country’s two tech unicorns - Skycanner and FanDuel - and that this says something about the continuing evolution of the Scottish technology ecosystem as a whole.  And for our business, it not only strengthens our position at the forefront of digital transformation in Scotland, but helps to lay the ground for further expansion across the UK and internationally.” Founded in 2010 by CEO Euan Andrews, CreateFuture now has around 500 people working across 3 UK offices plus a European base - delivering end-to-end digital transformation and covering CX strategy, product innovation, AI enablement, cloud and infrastructure, and data and analytics.  The company rebranded from xDesign following the acquisition of CreateFuture in 2023, and is backed by investment firm Soho Square Capital. Pictured L-R are Andrew Phillips (Skyscanner), Euan Andrews (CreateFuture), Jamie Rorrison (Skyscanner), Myra Fulton (Skyscanner), Darren Dalrymple (CreateFuture), and Eloise Maslewski (CreateFuture) at CreateFuture's HQ in Edinburgh

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🗞 What’s been happening this week? ·      Retail sales saw a modest uplift in sales in July, however volumes remain below pre‑pandemic levels. Great to share insights with The Telegraph, This Is Money's Angharad Carrick, InternetRetailing's Amanda Whyte and others. Read more from me on the delayed figures from the Office for National Statistics through the link in the comments below. ·      Fantastic to attend the John Lewis Partnership breakfast briefing on Wednesday, with Peter Ruis, Vikki Kavanagh and Michelle Wilson discussing John Lewis & Partners’ hopes to attract nostalgic middle-aged and younger shoppers through a new partnership with TOPSHOP TOPMAN. This will see the debut of Topshop in 32 John Lewis stores and online from February 2026, with Topman in six locations. Ruis says it will “exemplify the new John Lewis” under Rachel Morgans’ fashion direction. ·      Personalisation is a key battleground in retail, but an execution gap exists in segmentation according to Retail Economics and beBettor research shared with Retail Week. Read more on how to close this gap through the link in my comments below. ·      Aldi UK rolled out InPost UK parcel lockers across 536 stores, enabling customers to collect and return parcels, with plans to expand to 600 locations by 2026. Over 115 million retail parcels are now delivered or returned through lockers, representing 7% of online orders and 12% of returns, according to our latest Retail Economics research with InPost – further details are linked in the comments. ·      Oxford Street will be traffic-free on 21 September from Orchard Street to Oxford Circus to demonstrate potential pedestrianisation plans. ·      Primark opened its first standalone homeware store in Great Britain, spanning 12,000 sq ft in Manchester. The concept forms part of a wider investment including refurbishments of Market Street and Trafford Palazzo. ·      Holland & Barrett trialled a revamped beauty category in six stores between June and August, reporting a 7% sales uplift compared with control sites. The format mixes topical products, ingestible supplements and expert advice, with rollout to larger city stores planned for 2026. ·      Currys plc announced a £50m share buyback after posting a 3% rise in like-for-like sales in UK & Ireland during the 17 weeks to 30 August. Growth was driven by B2B, gaming, AI computing and services. ·      In a trading update, Watches of Switzerland Group PLC recorded “strong trading” in the 18 weeks to 31 August, particularly in the US despite new tariffs on Swiss imports. UK growth remained stable.   🚨 🚨 🚨 This is just a selection of news this week. If you want to hear more, subscribe to our free weekly podcast below, covering all major retail news every Monday at 6am ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eZNDVfZ7   ____________________________________ ⤴ Follow me for weekly retail, consumer and economic insights. ____________________________________

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With the new division headed up by Keith Copeland in place and a clear focus on the real-world applications of AI, Hutcheon Mearns is now perfectly positioned as a trusted partner for companies looking to innovate and succeed in the digital age. Claire Clark CA, Managing Director at Hutcheon Mearns, said: “We’re excited to have added a new dimension to our services that focuses on the evolving world of AI and its impact on how organisations deliver many core activities. We’ve assembled a highly experienced and innovative team with the technical expertise to assist clients successfully navigate the AI journey: from strategic planning to successful front-line applications. One of our priorities since launching Hutcheon Mearns has been always to look ahead, anticipate the needs and challenges of clients in an ever-changing business landscape, and shape our service model accordingly. Here, we are doing so in a critical area, building our capabilities to ensure clients gain maximum value from investment in AI.” #TransformingFinance

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Find out more about the implications for marketers of the UK Data Use & Access Act. Download our guide to the changes you should be making so you don’t get left behind: https://lnkd.in/e7eWCM-6 The UK Data Use & Access Act 2025 is the biggest shift in data protection since GDPR, and it will deliver new insight for smart businesses. New cookie consent rules, clearer legitimate interest provisions and updated Google Analytics 4 requirements mean UK companies can build stronger user trust while improving their data strategies. But implementation matters. Get it wrong, and you're facing compliance headaches. Get it right, and you're ahead of competitors still using outdated approaches. To help we've put together a guide that provides practical strategies for UK businesses operating domestically and internationally. From GA4 configuration to cookie banner redesigns, we've mapped out exactly what you need to do. Download our implementation guide: https://lnkd.in/e7eWCM-6 #UKDataAct #DUAA2025 #DataPrivacy #GoogleAnalytics

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