M&C Saatchi Group

New work for O2 (Telefónica UK) drops today, alongside the Women's Sport Trust, as we release the first ever wearable report, seeking to close the gender awareness gap in Rugby by speaking to a new audience, via an unexpected medium! Our limited edition fashion drop features key stats and data points that celebrate the progress made so far (awareness up from 25% to 15 % in 12 months) as well as representing the challenge that still lies ahead of us. O2 and Virgin Media broadband customers can get their hands on the exclusive collection via Priority from O2 from Monday 9th September! 🏉 ⚡

I've always loved working with retail clients and seeing how much consumer trends impact even the most established brands. Just this week we see the final closure of troubled Ted Baker stores across the UK, at the same time as Wilko rises from the ashes, announcing a seventh store opening, yet again leaving mixed messages about the fate of the high street. With the ever-growing options for online retail, and the rising costs of everything from rent to utilities the reasons to write off bricks and mortar are stacking up now more than ever. Why add a whole building, and staff, to your bottom line when Gen Z are shopping direct from TikTok and influencers are driving click throughs to your website in droves? And yet. Just when we all started to write off the high street there’s a quiet but significant resurgence in brands building a physical presence to enhance their online success. Missoma, having built a cult following online, opened its first permanent store last year. Sephora, launched online in the UK, is quickly rolling out stores across the country, each drawing the type of queue an online drop can only dream of (with a little help from M&C Saatchi Talk!). So, if the high street is back does this mean the internet is dead? Of course not. And perhaps the mistake retailers and marketers alike have made is assuming that one can’t survive if the other succeeds. The brands that are flourishing with bricks and mortar are those who understand that stores are part of the eco system. That footfall and clicks are not metrics to be pitted against each other, but to work together and drive growth. A store is a destination, a home, a place to build affinity and connection.  As AI content makes it harder to assess quality (or even if something exists!) from a picture, the presence of a physical store brings comfort and connection that can’t be seen through a screen. The Missoma store on Monmouth street includes a piercing studio, in-store welding service and consultations on layering and stacking jewellery. All take up valuable space, but they create a destination. An experience. A reason to plan a visit that a website simply can’t provide. From a comms point of view, our mindset needs to follow suit. We can get caught up in whether the objective is to drive footfall or web clicks, but we should be pursuing growth with everything at our disposal. By working with retailers to support stores designed for experience, we add a huge weapon to the marketing arsenal. Blending the online with the physical by creating experiences for influencers and media, hosting events that engage those who influence customers and even consumers themselves. Even building a social strategy around the people working in the stores can add the personality and connection today’s consumers seek from the brands they buy from. Real estate is pricey, but with the right space and the right comms strategy you can work every square foot extremely hard to get your money’s worth.

VERY proud day today as we reveal our latest Ballantine's Stay True Icons limited editions, featuring the very iconic Elton John and John Lennon. Pairing iconic music with iconic whisky and celebrating those who Stay True, both artists, renowned for their unparalleled contributions to global music culture, have inspired the new collectible Ballantine’s Finest bottles which will be available across the world. As well as negotiating the partnership deals with both artists, we landed exclusive use of their collaborative track "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" by John Lennon ft Elton John on backing vocals and piano- check it out 👇 This second release in the True Music Icons series follows the success of our inaugural volume last year, which paid homage to rock and roll legends AC/DC and Queen. This comes hot off the heels of Ballantine’s celebrating a decade of its True Music platform, building on its rich heritage in music culture by celebrating artists who forge their own path, stay true to who they are, and do things their own way. 😎 🎸 🎹 🥃

Helping Aussies find the perfect fit. We're proud to partner with BIG W on their bold new campaign that challenges the standard of fit in clothing. Through creative storytelling and strategic partnerships, including their first-ever TikTok collaboration, we're showcasing BIG W's commitment to providing well-fitting basics for all Aussies. This campaign is more than just fashion—it's about empowering everyone to feel confident in their clothes. #creativestorytelling #creativepartnerships #collaboration

We're delighted to unveil our new campaign with National Grid has launched to drive awareness of The Great Grid Upgrade, the largest overhaul of the UK electricity grid in generations 💡 This latest campaign burst aims to drive greater awareness of The Great Grid Upgrade and the benefits it will bring to the whole country, as well as showcase National Grid’s commitment to enabling a clean and affordable energy future, as it decarbonises the UK grid. Read about it in Campaign UK: https://lnkd.in/em75GNMX Well done to the team involved in bringing this to life 👏