Unraveling the Journey: M&S's Marketing Director uncovers the coveted 'sweet spot'

M&S has been a long-standing presence on the high street, but over the past 15 years, it has faced a notorious cycle of both success and challenges, as stated by Anna Braithwaite, the marketing director. During Our Website's Festival of Marketing, Braithwaite emphasized that the company has redirected its efforts towards a relentless focus on style, which has paved the way for consistent growth.

She admitted, "We had completely lost our direction. The brand, the products, the value, and the quality all posed immense challenges. Style emerged as the biggest obstacle to our progress; if we couldn't excel in women's fashion and style, we wouldn't succeed in anything else." Consequently, Braithwaite pointed out that although it has taken time to accomplish this internally, the brand is now approaching everything "through the lens of style."

M&S has recently enlisted actress Sienna Miller as the ambassador for its latest campaign, aiming to transform public perception of its style. Once this transformation is complete, Braithwaite believes that the brand will have a significant opportunity to increase consumer consideration across various categories. Consequently, M&S has made significant efforts to enhance its visibility and influence, extending the duration of its marketing campaigns to ensure that it remains prominent in consumers' minds.

M&S's long-standing presence in retail has given it a lasting legacy, which Braithwaite refers to as "magic". She quoted M&S's CEO, Stuart Machin, saying, "We must preserve the magic while modernizing everything else."

In pursuit of this goal, the brand is investing in personalization technology, working behind the scenes with the data of the 16 million consumers who choose to share it.

She mentioned that M&S had acquired an exceptional company called Thread, which provides personalized clothing recommendations based on body shape and size. The company has already witnessed a threefold increase in conversion rates since the acquisition. This success is attributed to their focus on personalization.

Additionally, M&S utilizes their Sparks card first-party data in collaboration with Google and Meta data to maintain a consistent level of addressable advertising in their digital campaigns. This strategy has resulted in significant growth for the brand. She also emphasized the importance of leveraging data to optimize marketing spend and ensure its effectiveness in reaching a wide audience.

Never just a department store

When questioned about the recent inclusion of other clothing brands in M&S stores, Braithwaite mentioned that as of the week starting on October 2nd, the store has introduced Adidas and Sweaty Betty products on its shelves.

The decision to include other brands has been a source of intense internal discussion. However, M&S recognized two key strategic reasons for doing so. Firstly, it was to address a gap in the market. As an example, the availability of Mamas & Papas baby products did not have a negative impact on M&S as they do not offer their own-brand products in that area.

We had completely veered off course. The brand, products, value, and quality had all become quite challenging to manage.

Anna Braithwaite from Marks & Spencer highlighted the potential for enhancing a particular category. She emphasized the success of their own-brand activewear and pointed out that incorporating non-M&S sports shoe brands into their selection would encourage customers to explore the entire category without any competitive limitations.

The speaker acknowledged that M&S food and fashion operate as separate entities within the same company. While she believed it was currently necessary to keep them separate, she expressed admiration for the progress made by the food side and stated the need for the fashion side to catch up. However, she highlighted that the brand as a whole is united on issues like sustainability and coordinated during seasonal events like Christmas.

Regardless of the department in question, Braithwaite emphasized the brand's obsession with value, which forms the foundation of its appeal. She quoted her boss, Richard Price, the managing director of clothing and home, who is passionate about selling at the right price. Overall, value holds great significance for the brand, as it is the source of trust. M&S is recognized as the most trusted brand, and this reputation is built on its history and legacy.

Last year, the marketing campaign for M&S's 'Remarksable' collection of affordable to mid-range products was driven by this focus, aiming to increase awareness of the brand's home range. According to Braithwaite, this was not a one-time effort, as M&S is committed to highlighting its value in the long term. "M&S's sweet spot lies in offering style, quality, and value. We may not sell the cheapest products, but when you purchase a coat, we want it to be the highest quality coat available at that price."