Can more foodporn and Alexa Chung save Marks and Spencer?

We all love a bit of Marks and Spencer in the UK don’t we? I challenge anyone to not have a little treat on payday and do ‘the little shop’ there in the food department. BUT, the big question is, how many of us actually regularly shop there?

Not many, it would seem, as they have been struggling sales-wise for a number of years now as a whole business; the food sales are now up, but sales on their clothing have continued to decline. Their global customer director Nathan Ansell is harnessing his interest in the brain and neuroscience and trying to employ the same tactics he’s used turning around the food division, in their clothing department. Speaking at Advertising Week Europe;

“Every day I think about how the brain works and what it means for [M&S],” he said. “We’re trying to rewire people’s brains.”

Their marketing team have had a total reshuffle and they’re moving away from a basic strategy of “sell more stuff”, towards a more sophisticated and forward-thinking approach.

“As we get much clearer on the clothing side about what we stand for and what we believe in, a journey we’re on at the minute, I don’t see any reason why we can’t have both engines running.”

There has been so far, a lukewarm response to the Marks and Spencer Alexa Chung collection, but it will certainly be interesting to see what happens next in the M&S story.