It's Not Just Marketing, It's M&S Marketing

Marks and Spencer’s recent financial success is a result of classic good marketing. First point to make though is, no matter how good the marketing, you won’t get very far unless you can deliver a good product. M&S, already excellent at food, have done a great job at improving the quality of their clothing.

Their advertising campaign exploited this very well. On the food side, the slogan ‘it’s not just food, it’s M&S food’ hits the button, and the advertisements make the food look positively sexy. On the clothing front, the use of Twiggy, Erin O’Connor and other top models in stylish advertisements makes M&S instantly fashionable- and appealing to a wide age range. The campaign is said to have driven an extra 18 million people to the stores.

Then there’s the Offer. Let’s not underestimate the power of the ‘3 for the Price of 2’, ‘Buy one get one half price’ offers and the introduction of many good quality products at low prices.

Finally there’s the spend. We love the idea of the underdog triumphing but the truth is, the biggest army nearly always wins the war. With the second biggest advertising spend of any retailer- over £60 million and a third up on the previous year- M&S were bound to make an impact.