Cécile Blanc

Trust is everything, and our new UK report with London Research shows just how powerful it is, especially in the finance sector. 78% of UK consumers are influenced by customer reviews, and our reviews can make a big difference. In fact, ads with Trustpilot signals are 14 times more likely to be clicked, and websites using them see an increase in trust, brand affinity and conversions. Check out the full report: https://lnkd.in/d5pe4-77.

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"AI shouldn't replace creativity—it should remove the manual, less fulfilling parts of the job so teams can focus on strategy, interpretation and better brand experiences." Our EMEA Head of Integrated Media, Jack Chape, joined The Drum's latest podcast to dig into what responsible AI really looks like in marketing. It’s not just about using the tools, it’s about using them with intention to unlock better work and more meaningful brand impact. 🎧 Listen in: https://bit.ly/45jlYog

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We’re thrilled to announce Brave Bison’s acquisition of leading strategy and insights consultancy MTM!         With an impressive client roster featuring the likes of Google, Samsung Ads, Figma, Formula E, England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Sky Sports and BBC, MTM is a trusted audience strategy and insights partner for major global businesses. 🌎      MTM helps some of the biggest names in technology, entertainment and sport scale new business models, evolve products, shape positioning and reframe their relevancy in line with rapidly evolving consumer behaviours, cultural trends and commercial realities. As they join the Brave Bison universe, we become “uniquely positioned to help tomorrow’s super brands capitalise on complexity,” as our CEO and Executive Chairman Oli Green puts it.       Operating alongside but independently from our existing marketing and technology divisions, MTM will form our new insights and consultancy division. This will combine MTM’s depth of industry knowledge and breadth of research methodologies with our agile operating model and proprietary AI tooling across Brave Bison, SocialChain and Engage Digital Partners.      Welcome to the herd team MTM! We can’t wait to get started together on this new chapter. 🤝    Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ejHDNS93

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How should brands navigate AI search? 🔎 In the latest episode of The Media Leader Podcast, Paul Bland, Chief Digital Officer at Havas Media Network UK, unpacks how AI-driven search is rewriting the rules of brand visibility. This conversation follows the launch of Brand Insights AI, Havas Media Network UK’s custom-built tool designed to help brands understand and optimize how they appear across leading AI platforms. Listen now and discover how to stay visible in the evolving search landscape https://lnkd.in/e6RmgHrj 🎧 #HavasProud #AISearch #AI #ConvergedAI #BrandInsightsAI The Media Leader UK | Havas Media UK

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‘Reacting fast isn't the whole story’: UK ad industry on the latest AA/WARC report The opening quarter of 2025 saw UK adspend increase 8% year-on-year (YoY) to a total of £10.6bn. Narrowly ahead of previous forecasts, performance strategies such as search and online display supported budget expansions. PMW spoke to a panel of experts for their takes on these latest AA/WARC figures. Read the full feature via the link in the comments. With insights from: Paul Evans V2RSION Dan Black Teads Sarah Lawson Johnston Vudoo Edward Bristow Adlook Marko Johns Seedtag Nick Waters Making Science Philip Duffield The Trade Desk Elie Kauffmann Audion Sarah Flannery Jellyfish Sam Holland UniLED Software Will Frappell Charlie Oscar Tilman Harmeling Usercentrics David Mandeno Revving Sara Vincent Utiq Tom Curry Yahoo Michael Isaacs-Olaye Happydemics Saj Nazir Disruptive Lab Tom Jameson WPP Media Ben Putley Alkimi David Sargant SBS Cameron Russell Marketreach Advertising Association WARC #research #data #performancemarketing #AI #adspend

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It’s never too early to start planning for the festive season. In episode one of our new series with Campaign UK, we sit down with Kate Osborne, Planning Director at Spark Foundry, to talk about why the most successful marketers are planning for peak shopping season *now* and how Pinterest can help you deliver results that matter. ✨ Ready for insights you can put to work right away? Watch the full episode on Campaign UK: http://spr.ly/6046fqgs0

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“The only cases we have seen where huge transformation with AI doesn’t also deliver significant double-digit year-one savings are when the client isn’t looking at a big enough piece of their business to transform.” A great piece in The Drum from Brandtech Partner and Head of Emerging Technology Rebecca Sykes on the big conversations she’s having with brands as they scale Gen AI across their marketing. Link in comments 👇

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"𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂" Pete Markey, former CMO of TSB Bank & Boots UK, shared this insight during his conversation with Amina Folarin at The AI Advantage: Tech & Talent Aligned for Growth event, and perfectly captured the real challenge facing marketers today. With 51% of CMOs struggling with demand management, the pressure to adopt AI is real. But this transformation isn't just about the tech, it's about choosing the right partner to navigate it with you. Our new blog series extends this conversation, starting with a practical framework for evaluating AI transformation partners. 📖 Understand the framework in our first blog: https://hubs.li/Q03Jv-mL0 #AITransformation #InHouseMarketing #GenAI

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💡 The agency world has never been tougher. With 25,000+ independents in the UK alone, squeezed margins, short-term briefs, and in-house teams taking more work — it can feel like agencies are running faster to stand still. That’s why Episode 2 of The Art of Sales Podcast is a must-listen. I sit down with Ellie Olliff (née Ring) (Head of Growth, BBH) and Oli Richards (Chief Growth Officer, Saatch & Saatchi)) to talk candidly about what it really takes to win work today. Ellie shares: “Winning without pitching isn’t about shortcuts — it’s about relationships, proof of effectiveness, and being in the room before the brief even exists.” And Oli adds: “Stop ambulance chasing. The key is knowing your right to win — and having the courage to say no when you’re not.” If you’re an agency leader, new business director, or creative struggling with pipeline pressures, this episode offers practical ideas, cultural shifts, and a much-needed confidence boost. 🎧 Watch the trailer below, then listen in full here: 👉 Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/eMGWYEx5 👉 Spotify link - https://lnkd.in/eNEufugE 👉 Website link - https://lnkd.in/e4tjxJPz #TheArtOfSalesPodcast #AgencyGrowth #NewBusiness #SalesLeadership

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Barb has officially added YouTube to its TV-set audience measurement framework - but does the data tell the full story? In his latest thought leadership piece for The Media Leader UK, Director of Data, Tech & Product, Graham Swallow breaks down:  📊 Barb’s reporting covers just 200 of YouTube’s 4.6M+ monetising channels - what does that mean for accuracy?  🧠 How panel-based TV measurement stacks up against YouTube’s real-time platform data  🚀 The bigger question: how to reach audiences effectively across formats, screens, and viewing behaviours With over 1,000 social channels under our global network, Graham shares insight into how measurement must evolve to reflect YouTube’s true scale, speed, and fragmentation. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/duV2Kzcb

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The classic marketing funnel is disappearing - and retail media is replacing it 🛍️ In this episode of ‘Futurescape: 2030 & beyond’, James Chandler, IAB UK’s Chief Strategy Officer, is joined by Claire Trbovic, Group Business Director - Incubation Hub, SMG, and Simon Andrews, Founder & Publisher, FIX. They discuss the opportunities and challenges of this retail-first world: how brands can collaborate with competitors without losing their distinctiveness, why cross-retail data access will be key to growth, and how to balance commercial growth with customer experience (plus, a surprising example involving cheese) 🧀 Listen now on The IAB UK Podcast 🎧 https://lnkd.in/e5qJUBwh  Or watch the full episode on YouTube 📺 https://lnkd.in/evJujivv

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In an interview with MediaCat UK, our group head of strategy, Emily Fairhead-keen, and strategy partner, Dan Holt, explore how brands can reconnect with real people in an era dominated by data and automation.    As marketing has become increasingly distanced from the people on the other side of the screen, Human Experience (HX) offers a reset. A way to design media that’s empathetic, useful, and trustworthy.   At the heart of HX are five core human levers that brands should engage with: 🌱 Growth 🏆 Esteem ❤️ Love 🎭 Distraction 🔒 Certainty    These levers reflect the underlying needs that media should serve, not just target. A great example is our work for Ocado Retail’s #LifeDelivered campaign, where we prioritised high-attention, positive channels like cinema and podcasts to deliver entertaining and useful media that resonates deeply.   HX is our call to rethink how we connect, communicate, and create value through media.   Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/drJjvepq #HumanExperience #HX #MediaCatUK #MakingMediaMeanMore #CloserToPeople #CustomerCentric #MediaStrategy

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This week, Google dropped AI Mode on the UK - and it could very well change how brands are discovered 🧨 Our Managing Partner of Digital Implementation Matt Whelan breaks down what this means for you as a marketer, some watchouts, and practical steps to futureproofing your brand 🧠 #TheSpecialistView

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He may not be a strategist or a marketer, but Andy Murray might just be one of the most distinctive brands in the UK. No workshops. No frameworks. Just a clear, consistent identity and a brand that’s still growing post-retirement. Our Head of Strategy, Mark Cullen, breaks down what marketers can learn from Murray’s playbook, and why brand distinctiveness is game, set, match for the ultimate competitive edge. So what can you learn from Murray’s playbook? Find out right here - https://lnkd.in/eXcybc2W #Distinctiveness #BrandDistinctiveness #BrandStrategy #MadeBrave

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The hybrid work divide is real – and it's creating some surprising fault lines in adland. New research from Campaign UK reveals only 45% of advertising professionals are happy with their company's hybrid arrangements. The most affected? Younger employees, parents, and those who relocated during the pandemic. The culture cost of policy U-turns: "Some of the bigger organisations have flipped from 'we're cool and we're going to be fully flexible' to 'you need to be in four days a week' and that totally undermines a company's culture." Henry Daglish, CEO & Co-Founder, Bicycle London Your culture isn't what you say in onboarding presentations. It's what you do when business pressures mount. Companies that built their employer brand on flexibility are now discovering that pulling it back is far harder than giving it in the first place. Be intentional about the promises you make. Your people remember them. Read the full story Campaign in the link below 

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