M&S’s marketing masterclass: a brand analysis
Author:
Categorised In:
Share:
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of Britain’s most stand out retail brands, with a strong market position in food, clothing, homewares, and more. Over recent years, the company has gone through a transformation – repositioning itself to stay relevant in a fast-changing retail environment, especially among younger consumers. Key parts of this transformation are their social media innovation, the M&S Insiders program, and the blending of traditional media with digital-first tactics.
In this blog, we will
- Look into how M&S is successfully using social media (especially TikTok, Instagram, and employee-generated content).
- Dive into the Insiders programme and specific campaigns that stand out.
- Look at how M&S integrates traditional advertising (TV, print, outdoor) with modern digital methods to reach broad, cross-generational audiences.
- Draw lessons other brands might learn from their strategy.
Brand position and challenges
To understand M&S’s marketing moves, it helps to recognise the background. M&S has always been known for quality, British heritage, good value, especially in food and day-to-day basics. Over time, the challenge was losing relevance among younger consumers, being seen as more traditional or even outdated compared to fast-fashion brands or digital-first competitors. The brand needed to come up with a new strategy, to modernise, fit in with the new style, relevance, and general innovation without losing its heritage or distancing themselves from their older loyal customer base.
With that in mind, M&S has gone to make some new strategic marketing decisions to revitalise its image and reach out to different demographics.
1. The Insiders Programme
One of the most distinct digital/social innovations from M&S is their Insiders Programme. Key details:
- The Insiders are a network of colleagues (store-based or from support centres) who post about M&S Clothing & Home products.
- As of publication, there are 19 Insiders, soon to become 22, covering various categories. Their combined following across social channels is over 300,000.
- Performance: Posts by Insiders have a 10% higher customer sentiment and 30% more customers choosing to shop via those posts compared to an expected influencer post.
- The programme drives wide visibility: in one recent year, M&S welcomed over 1.4 million new customers to M&S.com, with the Insiders strategy generating 21 million impressions across social channels.
Why it works:
- Authenticity: customers view store staff or employees as more trustworthy than paid influencers, as they know product details, material background, etc. Marketing Week
- Reach & credibility: combining real employees with product expertise helps build style credibility and signals that the brand “gets fashion” and “gets what customers want.
- Cost-effectiveness: compared to large-scale influencer campaigns, Insiders is relatively cost-effective, but with high potential value in conversion and brand awareness.
2. TikTok and trend-first content
M&S has also leveraged TikTok as a growth driver:
One case: the Valentine’s Day “This is not just…” style campaign. The ads ran on TikTok ahead of Valentine’s Day, using humour, familiar voiceovers, and the “Albatross” soundtrack. TikTok For Business
- Achieved more than 18.5 million impressions across the campaign. TikTok For Business
- Average watch time was over 4 seconds, and click-through rate (CTR) was over 15%. TikTok For Business
Another example: M&S used TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX), partnering with the agency Nonsensical to produce fashion-first content.
- They analysed TikTok trends + user behavior, worked with creators to produce “native-style” content (e.g. “How to layer for autumn,” “Get Ready With Me”).
- Results: more than double CTR and view-through rate (VTR) compared to past seasonal campaigns. Also boosted watch time.
M&S also runs store-level TikTok accounts (approximately 600 stores) to give local flavour, create virality, and surface product “hero” moments.
The “M&S Man” campaign is a recent push targeting male shoppers aged 18-34. It includes a new Instagram account, celebrity ambassadors, and weekly YouTube content.
Under marketing director Sharry Cramond, M&S has emphasised a “vast social media structure” combining:
- Ambassador/Insider networks
- Store accounts
- A-funded social content
- Long-form social video / content series (e.g. “Love That” series on YouTube).
They aim to communicate more product stories, styling advice, behind-the-scenes content, so customers understand what to wear, how to style, and also see authenticity.
Traditional and digital blend
M&S doesn’t abandon traditional media, instead they combine it with digital media to maximise reach and effectiveness.
TV / Mass Reach Advertising: M&S continues to produce high-quality, engaging. TV ads whilst using traditional media (print, outdoor) to uphold their ‘traditional’ brand and ensure they continue to reach their loyal audiences who may not interact digitally. These help with brand awareness and for key seasonal events like Christmas.
Loyalty: M&S uses its Sparks loyalty programme, a 20 million+ customer database, to personalise shopping experiences for their customers through marketing offers.
Digital First When it Suits: When it comes to fashion and style content, trends, wanting quick feedback, and testing new creative formats, M&S lean more on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. For bigger, more emotional campaigns (like food, Christmas, or heritage), they stick with traditional channels. Using both approaches means they can stay agile while still building brand trust with their wide range of audience.
Key campaigns and highlights
Here are some specific campaigns that highlight M&S’s strategy well:
Valentine’s Day “This is not just… / Albatross” TikTok campaign
- M&S combined humour, strong creative tone, voiceovers, which were all built for the end goal of going viral – TikTok For Business
- Good reach and engagement metrics. This was a great example of using a social media platform like TikTok for awareness and conversion.
TikTok creative exchange / Autumn fashion content
Working with Nonsensical (a TikTok specific agency) to produce native-style fashion content. Testing formats like GRWM (Get Ready With Me) and offering styling tips. TikTok For Business.
This demonstrated the value of experimenting with creative agencies and trends to reach a younger audience.
M&S Man Campaign
New push to appeal to their male audience who are wanting to be more stylish (18-34), by working with celebrity ambassadors, and producing dedicated social content. Retail Gazette
Social structure and “Love That” series
M&S used The “Love That” weekly video series (YouTube / digital) to offer styling advice, new product stories, and behind the scenes. Early episodes yielded strong reach and positive sentiment. Marketing Week
Impact and performance metrics
From available data, several measurable outcomes suggest the strategy is working:
- The Insiders campaign was a success, with it driving 21 million impressions in a year and helped bring in 1.4 million new customers to M&S.com. Marks & Spencer
- M&S’s TikTok campaigns have achieved very high impressions, doubled CTRs compared to past content, and increase user engagement through the time spent watching the content.
- The Insiders campaign posts had a 10% higher than conventional influencer posts, and higher conversions and click-through from those posts. Marks & Spencer
Also, usage of store-based social accounts and ambassador networks provides reach and local relevance, helps virality, and makes products visible across many channels.
Challenges and considerations
Although the majority of this has been successful, there are of course, more challenges that can come along the way when utilising new marketing strategies.
- Creative resources: producing high-quality, trend-based content at a large scale takes investment, planning, and time. M&S executes this seamlessly from the forefront (e.g. via Creative Exchange) but it’s still a heavy workload.
- Maintaining consistency: balancing heritage and quality may limit how far some “edgier / viral” content can go without risking the brand image.
- Measurement & ROI: reach and engagement are easier to track; conversion to sales and long-term effects on “style perception” are harder and take time.
- Keeping up with platform changes: TikTok, Instagram, and social algorithms change rapidly. What works today might not tomorrow.
Why M&S’s traditional and modern blend works
Putting everything together, several strengths explain why M&S is succeeding:
Heritage and trust
Traditional advertising (TV, print, etc.) taps into established brand trust, which is especially important for food & quality for M&S, and in general.
Authenticity and employee voices
The Insiders programme adds legitimacy and closeness: customers often trust “people like me” more than performative adverts.
Trend-aware digital strategy
Engaging in TikTok trends, user behaviour, and creator-led content helps M&S stay relevant.
Omnichannel and loyalty focus
They bring together online, in-store, email, and loyalty (Sparks) so their marketing works as one, rather than in isolation.
Flexibility
Willingness to experiment (with content formats, influencers, virtual personas) but also to lean on safe channels when needed.
Lessons for other brands
From M&S’s journey, here are some takeaways:
- Employee-generated content and internal influencer programmes can deliver value in both trust and conversion.
- Native content (i.e. content specifically made for the platform, and not repurposed from other channels) matters, especially on apps like TikTok.
- Having a multi-channel approach (TV + social + loyalty + store presence) helps reach across multiple demographics.
- Be data-led: use trends, CRM tools, test formats, measure date-based performance to guide what to scale.
- Authentic storytelling, style advice, relatable personalities matter – especially for fashion and home sectors.
Conclusion
M&S has managed to modernise while keeping much of the heritage that has defined it to be who it is today. Its Insiders programme, strong use of trend-focused content on TikTok, and an evolving social structure (ambassadors, store accounts) have helped them engage younger audiences. At the same time, their traditional media investments (TV, advertising, loyalty programmes) help maintain awareness, trust, and reach among less digital-first customer segments.
In blending tradition with innovation, M&S provides a strong case study for how a heritage retailer can remain relevant, agile, and effective in a rapidly shifting marketing landscape. Other brands looking to do the same could learn much from M&S’s mix of authenticity, high production values where necessary, readiness to experiment, and multi-touchpoint strategy.
