Josephine Walters

365 days of connecting brands with their customers IRL with Spacefor, while growing DEPARTMENT LTD 22% YOY. It's been a busy year with plenty of wins, challenges, lessons and observations. Some key insights and 'truths' from this journey: - Focus & energy are more important than time - Plan effectively and create routines - Delegate more - Say no - Make unconventional decisions - Include people on a journey 'Need to explore further' - an outtake from my weekly highlights back in May 2021 - is how it all began.

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Over the weekend and after my post about our newfound role within the world of brand advisory, particularly in working with brands seeking higher multiple exits, I received an email from a colleague in the creative industry. They asked how I felt about the ‘relegation’ of ‘creative’ within our business. This could not be further from the truth, albeit it I understood their false perception. I firmly believe that the bridge we've built between traditional agencies and professional management consultancies is grounded in the idea that true success, transformation, and enhanced exit multiples FUNDAMENTALLY RELY on great creative thinking being deployed at the heart of a clients business. In short,and as a DIRECT result of our move into this space the creative output we are currently delivering is not only significant but more critical than EVER before. It is our ongoing commitment to creativity that drives our achievements and sets us apart in the market. Propaganda Agency Ltd Management Consultancies Association #CreativeThinking #BrandAdvisory #BusinessTransformation #CreativeImpact #HigherMultiples #Innovation

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This morning, I had the pleasure of participating in the judging session for the UK Search Awards, once again reviewing an impressive array of high-quality campaigns from across the Search Marketing industry highlighting that our industry continues to overflow with exceptional ideas and results. Now, this year marks a milestone for me, as it’s the 10th consecutive year that I’ve supported Don't Panic Events as a volunteer judge. Over the past decade, I’ve had the honour of judging several Don’t Panic Events awards, including the UK and EU Search Awards, Ecommerce Awards, and Agency Awards, to name a few. Each time, I’ve carefully reviewed countless entries, diving deep into campaign strategies, execution, objectives, and results to ensure that the most deserving work gets recognised. This process has taken quite literally hundreds of hours of my time over the years, unpaid, but I’ve never hesitated to contribute. And that got me thinking. Why do I continue to do it? I’ve heard all sorts of misconceptions over the years about awards, from claims of influence to “pay-to-win” setups, often from those who haven’t experienced the process firsthand. The truth is, as a judge, there’s a HUGE amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. We scrutinise every detail, validate results using industry tools, and benchmark campaigns against one another – all with rigorous attention. Multiply that across numerous judges and no single judge can sway the outcome. It’s a truly robust process and I am proud to help ensure honesty and impartiality continues to exist within these prestigious awards for our industry. I also remain committed to giving my time because I believe that great work deserves recognition. Beyond the marketing benefits for the winners, it’s about seeing the genuine excitement and pride on the faces of winners - knowing their hard work is being celebrated. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of that moment. It’s also rewarding to know that the winners will leave the awards ceremony incredibly motivated to keep pushing their work and our industry forward. For me to be able to play even a small part in contributing to the growth and support of our industry, as a judge, motivates me to keep doing my part. Best of luck to all the entrants in this year’s UK Search Awards, the shortlist will be announced this Friday! 🏆 #searchawards #uksearchawards #seo #ppc #sem #digitalmarketing

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Our new Braving The Backlash report has launched: How sports brands can take a stand on social. 2024 promises to be a banner year for sport, with Euro 2024 and the Paris Olympics headlining. However, our research shows that with major sporting events comes a surge in hate speech. Our new report outlines step-by-step guidance for brands to tackle online hate. This report looks at two forms of discrimination that we know, sadly, based on historic data, will spike this summer - racial discrimination at the Euros and discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and gender identity at the Olympics & Paralympics. We explore how the conversation around these topics of online hate have changed over the last few years, as well as how sports brands can stand up to the hate with a three step process. In a society that increasingly experiences key issues through the lens of social media activity, brands staying silent online in the face of hate is no longer enough. Neither is a catch all statement. We worked with industry experts, focus groups, and individuals from the affected communities to produce this report - including Troy T. Head of Player Engagement at Kick It Out, Liz Ward, Global Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and former Director of Programmes at Stonewall, and Aby Hawker, CEO of TransMission PR. It is crucial that brands listen to the voices from the affected communities, their athletes, and industry-leading experts before they devise their own anti-hate policies and prepare for the headline sporting events of the summer and beyond. A huge shout out to the amazing team who made this happen: Daniel Parker Oona Hewitt, Gabriel Noble, Shannon Stocker, Tom Smith, Lauren Underwood, Emma Pinkus, Amy Thompson, Paul Greenwood, Stef Koutroumanidis, Michael Ubani, Robbie Hancock, Emma Michalcova, Jenni Smit, Joe Weston, Seun Areoye and Charlie Cottrell 🙏

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Fascinating interview with Gymshark's Chief Brand Officer and a couple of key observations: 1) Keep your brand building blocks SIMPLE - Gymshark focus purely on the "We Own The Gym" space. Too many brands today try to become "everything" but in the end land up being "Masters Of None" when trying to articulate their brand story! 2) Sometimes, as an employee it pays big not to have any association with the sector or industry you're in but create it by being a CUSTOMER first and foremost! 3) Regarding Social Media strategy you don't always need to create a viral post - tap into the conversations and just follow and add to the richness to achieve success! By doing No.1 above simply it will help accelerate your Social Media growth and following (Point 3). #brand #socialmedia #marketing

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Not exactly guerrilla marketing, but the WHOOP sign is brilliantly placed right in view of everyone seated at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park. With their HQ just across the way, they’ve found a way to capture major exposure—likely saving a considerable amount in sponsorship fees. What’s the best example of guerrilla marketing you’ve come across? #marketing #sponsorship #Whoop #Boston #advertising #guerillamarketing

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Extremely proud to announce SECRET SALES won Best Retail and eCommerce Campaign last night at the #performancemarketingawards with Jack Felstead. ALOT of work has gone into creating one of the best PPC accounts in the market these last few years with incredible work from our extremely agile, talented team (with some new innovation this year being lead by Matt Nuttall - another key reason for the success these past few years). Want to know how? Without giving too much away, in short we have managed to combat CPCs & arbitrage across PMAX, created systematic stock/product set management within the account and quick test/learn frameworks that unlocked us optimise to SKU level profit. A quick thanks to Shoptimised and ProfitMetrics.io on the roles they have played and the indirect impact on brand mix anchors via Steven Lammertink's business Cirqle. There's a lot of 'academic best practice' on LinkedIn at the moment and being able to cut through the S*** and create detailed plans that have an actual commercial impact (vs look nice on a slide) has been key to us. A huge moment not just for the business leading in how to approach digital marketing but one personally for me that I've always wanted to win. A huge thank you to the wider team here to making it a reality. Since I couldn't make it in person - I had AI image replicate what could of been (got a bit carried away on the image myself and this system really does not know what a chihuahua or sausage dog is so only dusti the cavapoo made the cut)! European search awards next!!

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As Q4 kicks off, it's great to see a write up our festive insights in Performance Marketing World. If you'd like to access the full report, you can download it here: https://hubs.li/Q02NmRxd0

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Fascinating and important. The specialization of in-house is a blessing and a curse as inhouse career paths are inherently less developed than agency - where does a senior manager of in-house media go after 5 years? Hard to develop. And inhouse hiring is subject to constraints that agency isn’t. It’s a complex change with arguably less resilience than a properly arranged and supported agency model.

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Hands up—who hasn't lost a couple of hours on Temu, filled a basket, and not had 'check-out anxiety' when it came to completing the transaction as it was so cheap - I know I have! Well, then, we have all contributed to Temu’s owner, PDD Holdings, soaring profits and revenue for the first quarter ending March 31 - when profits rocket 275% year on year! But what I also found very interesting was a Forbes article by Cyrus F. that we are buying so much from SHEIN & Temu that the Air Cargo industry can't keep up - these two giant eCommerce sites ship the equivalent of 88 Boeing 777 freights of cargo worldwide a day! (This equates to 9,000 tons every day!) This doesn’t sit so well with me … Marjorie Leonidas Nirali Patel Minnie Ryder #retail #ecommerce

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"Brand Patience" It's hard to understand the importance of patience and consistency when there are short-term pressures on brands and their marketers because of this there's often an urgency to find an idea that can break through the clutter and land the brand on the cultural map. However, there's another way. Create a powerful platform for the brand and consistently execute against this over time. It requires discipline and patience, but it's a little like compound interest- the consistency pays off and reinforces the brand's position. Take VCCP and its work for Cadbury built on a platform of generosity- which, of course. \allows them to do great advertising, but also. supplement it with smart ideas like this one. Creating a breakthrough cultural hit isn't easy. However, having the discipline and patience to stick to a strategy and platform for years is a different kind of challenge.

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Nike's CEO, Pret's CEO, MHR's CEO - what do all these people have in common? 🤔 They started at the business as an intern, grad or apprentice, and now hold the top position at the company. At Delphi we sat down with MHR's CEO, Anton Roe, to hear his thoughts on the topic. Anton has been with the company for 20 years, working his way through different departments and roles until he got to CEO, and he has used this experience to pen a Letter to the FT sharing his personal take on the company lifer debate (link in comments).   Anton believes, "Taking on the CEO role isn’t about having a set idea of what success looks like, and little idea about how your people, customers and processes work. Protecting and nurturing high performance from your workforce depends on who you choose to surround yourself with, ensuring there is a democratisation of thinking, influence and lived experience to act as a catalyst for innovation."   Anton has certainly made me see the conversation in a different light, perhaps his thoughts will do the same for you 💡

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Brands drive economic growth - and let's face it the UK needs as much of that as it can. This is an article by my colleague Rob Allen about how we can ensure the success of British brands. #BritishBrands #immersivebranding #branding

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倫敦辦公室同事實在太厲害～ 有人看HBO的繼承人之戰（The Succession) 嗎？裡面那個爸爸的角色被譽為影史上最恐怖的老闆。倫敦同事幫ASICS做的新campaign 利用這個惡老闆來呼籲，在工作中抽出15分鐘遠離辦公桌來運動才能在混亂的工作世界裡，維持心靈健康！ 超酷的案子啦！ 走吧～出去運動一下吧！ Your desk can be a danger to your mental health. But just 15 minutes of movement can help to reverse the effects. Incredible campaign with #client ASICS and Brian Cox, playing the world's scariest boss, urging office workers to “take a desk break and move for your mind” this World Mental Health Day. The campaign is supported by global research that highlights the powerful impact of 15-minutes of movement on your mental health. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to take a #DeskBreak to move your mind. 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️   https://bit.ly/4efPjU3   #GoAllIn 

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Dear Carole Bildé, When I first saw the Bold initiative by Veuve Clicquot, I knew I needed to get my brand and campaign agency, Aphra, on your radar (www.weareaphra.co.uk). We share a very similar ethos and mission of wanting to encourage, empower, and support women into entrepreneurship. It is one of the three leading pillars of our work this year, and a key driving force within our wider parent group, The Metamorphose Group, under which we have a number of aligned projects. I figured I could either send you a few irritating DMs asking for a meeting, or pester your team to somehow get me a diary invite... or I could just use my initiative, be proactive, and show you what we are capable of. So I set about creating this campaign video - which was a combination of both self-funded and hustled for by myself - and created with a team of talented individuals who I brought together to bring my vision to life. My hope, which I am manifesting to the universe with this post, is that I can meet with you to present you with the finished piece of artwork. The bottle tells the story of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, whose story blew me away when I began to research her more. I've lost count of the amount of glasses of Veuve Clicquot I have drank over the years (maybe I shouldn't admit just how many!), but I never knew the powerhouse of a woman whose story sat behind the brand - or how much she innovated within the champagne industry. I had no idea that when she took the helm, women could only run businesses if they were widows. Layered over the life of Madame Clicquot on the bottle in this video is the next part of this story - the one being written by you and your team through Bold as we speak. The one that will have an impact that can be passed on to the next generation of young girls, like my daughters (the eldest of which I managed to convince, with the bribe of 4 new key-rings, to play a small part in this video - but who also was SO inspired to come on set and see what Mummy does for a job! The power of inspiring young girls via entrepreneurship!). The women featured on the bottle are shaping the future. I hope you and your team enjoy this video. There are dozens more ideas where this came from! And for anyone else watching this, I hope you are inspired to share it with your networks and learn about the work of Bold: https://lnkd.in/eUCqSbbc. CC: Julie Delmar, Ruben Kazumian, Aude Leparmentier, Gallot Jean-Marc, Leonia Frescobaldi, Salomé Pilpoul, Sonia Crocker, Katie Mossop, Rose-Marie Effa, Iris Decamps, Anna Birolli Coty, Brune Failliot, Caroline Laurent, Anne-Sophie Lecoanet, Pascale Callari (...and many others at Veuve Clicquot) Thank you - and hope to see you in Paris soon! Grace - MD The team behind the magic: Agency: Aphra Script and creative concept: Grace Carter Art direction and artist: Tommy Lloyd Steward Voiceover: Kayleigh Rattle Cinematography: Dan Hugo, Seb Marshall Editing: Sarah Drage Project management: Kirsty Laifa

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Hot off the press: new research by SheSays on what work should be like. Favourite highlight: "the biggest thing that’s missing from current workplaces is truly fair and flexible work policies". Emphasis on flexible which should not be confused with hybrid. #futureofwork Great work Charlotte Read and the whole SheSays team

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If you are interested in Retail Media insights 🛒 and seeing if Tesco Media and Insight Platform crystal ball 🔮 was accurate. Take a look at the latest update to our 2024 predictions. #retailmedia #CPG #advertising #CTV #DOOH #programmatic #socialmedia

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🤔 💡 Building in flexibility for moment planning is key — BUT, it only works if you have a strong foundation and consistent and disciplined brand building approach. #marketing #strategy #advertising #brand

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Meta net income up 35%, shares down 3.8% Crocs, Inc. sales up 9%, shares down 18.5% Both brands delivered in their core business, yet the market penalised them for falling short in other areas (Meta's investment in AI, Croc's HEYDUDE brand). For brands that are built on innovation, these reactions from the public markets can be be a roadblock to building lasting value. Going public comes with a price - even when you're winning on fundamentals. The pressure to increase shareholder value often leads to aggressively chasing short-term growth, often at the expense of long-term success. Mosaic Brands Ltd is a cautionary tale of how the public markets can crush a business. Once trading at $4.99, the share was last at 3.6c before a trading halt and subsequent collapse into voluntary administration. Far too tied to an antiquated business, they were unable to evolve as tastes changes and competition grew. For retail brands, staying private means freedom to double down on what matters—building brand equity, elevating customer experience, and driving real innovation—without the scrutiny and volatility of public markets. Paul Waddy and I dissect this and more on Episode 62 of "This Week In Ecommerce" Link in the comments

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