Michelle Robins

"𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂" Pete Markey, former CMO of TSB Bank & Boots UK, shared this insight during his conversation with Amina Folarin at The AI Advantage: Tech & Talent Aligned for Growth event, and perfectly captured the real challenge facing marketers today. With 51% of CMOs struggling with demand management, the pressure to adopt AI is real. But this transformation isn't just about the tech, it's about choosing the right partner to navigate it with you. Our new blog series extends this conversation, starting with a practical framework for evaluating AI transformation partners. 📖 Understand the framework in our first blog: https://hubs.li/Q03Jv-mL0 #AITransformation #InHouseMarketing #GenAI

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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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“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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🗞 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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New UK data law changes are creating fresh opportunities for marketers. Download our practical implementation guide: https://lnkd.in/e89EWFKT Changes in UK data law are opening doors for better user experiences, streamlined compliance and more effective marketing strategies. We've created a comprehensive guide to help you understand exactly how these changes can benefit your business and marketing efforts. 🎯 Key opportunities our guide covers: Simplified cookie consent requirements that reduce user friction New GA4 configurations that enhance privacy and performance Strategies for international campaigns and compliance Building stronger customer trust through transparent data practices These regulatory updates present a genuine opportunity to enhance your marketing measurement whilst maintaining user privacy standards. Our guide provides clear, actionable steps with no legal jargon - just practical advice to help you implement these changes effectively. What questions do you have about navigating these new opportunities? 👇

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Retail media is growing up, but the roots matter. I had a brilliant conversation with Tom Limongello and Todd Sawicki on The Middlemen Podcast. We covered a lot, but a few things stuck: 🔄In the UK, retail media started in-store. Tesco. Loyalty cards. Coupons at checkout. That foundation still shapes how we think at SMG: holistic campaigns that enhance the shopper experience, not channel-by-channel plans. 🎯The best campaigns don’t start with "We want *insert media channel*." They start with KPIs, "We need to drive penetration," or "This SKU isn’t getting picked up enough." And then we use every tool in the kit: media, promo, price, etc. to make it work. 🧠Merchandising and media must move together. If they’re misaligned, one of two things happens: either nothing moves, or the wrong metric does. ✈️ And travel retail? Hugely underutilized (for now). SMG North America is proud to power WHSmith North America Media Network to unlock the value of high-intent, high-spend airport shoppers. No e-commerce. No endless scroll. Just real-world attention for brands. It’s always refreshing to step outside the echo chamber and have an honest chat about what’s working (and what’s not). Link to the podcast episode in the comments below! Would love to hear what you think. Cheers to Tom and Todd for the invite. #retailmedia #themiddlemen #thoughtleadership

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Yesterday, Nicky Barton - Head of Marketing Science at Mutinex - was invited to a panel at Spotify Sessions — to discuss the results of a recent Bupa initiative.  As a Mutinex customer, Bupa asked us to measure the true commercial impact of their omnichannel media strategy during a competitive EOFY health insurance campaign. Working alongside Atomic 212º, our modelling validated that Spotify's programmatic audio investment via Yahoo DSP delivered 46% higher incremental return on ad spend compared to maintaining budget in social channels. While our GrowthOS Scenario Builder product showed that increasing audio investment would drive even greater returns for the healthcare brand. Watch the case study for more...

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