But here’s the truth: the best ideas in media don’t start with an award entry. They start with an insight, a business challenge a brief that asks not just for reach but for disproportionate results.

And it’s often at peak spend periods: Christmas, Black Friday, Back to School – where the stakes are highest, and the difference between predictable returns and standout growth is made by one thing: creative media thinking.

The Myth of Media as “Just Placement”

Media has long been pigeonholed as distribution. Buy the right spots. Optimise the numbers. Reach enough people. Tick the box.

Think of John Lewis’ Christmas campaigns. The TV spots grab headlines, but the ripple effect comes from how media amplifies the creative: partnerships, experiential, retail tie-ins, social storytelling.

Or consider Spotify’s “Wrapped.” Yes, it’s a digital-first product experience, but the brilliance is in how the campaign exploded across social, PR, and OOH. The medium itself – data-driven personalisation – was the message.

Peak Spend Doesn’t Reward Safe Plans

Every brand fights for attention in the same high-pressure moments: November’s retail frenzy, Christmas gifting, the summer of sport.
But here’s the trap: in those moments, the gravitational pull is toward the obvious. “We’ll just spend more.” More impressions, more TVRs, more CPMs.

And yet, more often than not, the brands that cut through aren’t those who spend the most, but those who think of the customer AND the data. The magic is created when the customer is kept front-of-mind when interpreting the data.

Take Aldi’s Christmas work in the UK. They’ll never outspend Tesco or Sainsbury’s. But year after year, their media choices: nimble, witty, culturally tuned, help them punch above their weight. According to Kantar, Aldi overtook Morrisons in 2022 to become the UK’s 4th largest supermarket, partly powered by these disruptive strategies

Creativity in Media is Measurable

There’s a lingering scepticism that ‘creative media’ is fluff. But the data tells a different story.

• The IPA’s landmark “Media in Focus” study shows campaigns that balance creativity in both media and message are 60% more effective long-term (IPA, Binet & Field, 2017).
  
• Attention research from Lumen demonstrates that creative placement and context can double memory encoding versus standard inventory (Lumen, 2023).
  
• And Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) consistently reveals that smartly designed media moments deliver outsized ROI relative to spend.

In other words, creativity isn’t a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a multiplier.

Awards Aren’t the Point (but They’re a Signal)

The hardest sell for a CMO isn’t the consumer. It’s the board.

When agencies pick up trophies, what’s being celebrated isn’t the case study deck. It’s our thinking that turned ordinary budgets into extraordinary results.

That should matter to every brand, especially in 2026 where growth budgets will face tougher scrutiny, and “efficiency” alone won’t win.

Because the real test isn’t what judges think, it’s what the market does. Do people notice? Do they care? Do they buy?

Four Questions to ask in Peak Periods

As you prepare for the next awards cycle, or the next Christmas, the next cultural moment, here are four questions worth asking:

1. What problem are we solving? Not the media plan problem. The business problem.
   
2. What context can we own? A moment, a mindset, a cultural cue that’s bigger than inventory.
   
3. How can distribution become the idea? Media as part of the creative, not the afterthought.
   
4. What’s the disproportionate upside? If we’re not making a small budget feel bigger, or a big budget work harder, are we really being creative?

Closing thought

At the heart of every standout case study isn’t scale, or spend, or even creative brilliance alone. It’s media thinking that refuses to be average.

Because in the moments that matter most – whether it’s a campaign launch, a cultural event, or the peak trading season – creative media thinking is what separates those who merely spend from those who truly win.

Need a partner who thinks can build your brand? Let’s talk : +44 (0)20 7257 2600 or hello@smithfieldagency.co.uk (https://smithfieldagency.com/contact/)

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: most brands don’t fail because they didn’t spend enough. They fail because they didn’t plan to win.

Planning is more than allocating budget lines and booking channels. Planning is deciding where the brand will compete, how it will matter to people, and how the team will defend their choices in the boardroom.

As we head toward 2026, the context for CMOs is more complex than ever. Inflationary pressure, consumer fragmentation, media disruption, and cultural volatility aren’t going anywhere. Planning has to do more than keep up. It has to lead.

Here are four principles to help ensure your next plan isn’t just a spending spreadsheet, but a winning strategy.

1. Balance Now and Later (the tension that never disappears)

Marketers have been debating brand vs performance for decades. Les Binet and Peter Field famously argued for a 60:40 balance between long-term brand and short-term activation (IPA, 2018). The evidence is clear: long-term brand building drives growth, short-term activation harvests it.

The problem is, boards don’t want balance. They want results. Fast.

Look at Airbnb. During the pandemic, they famously cut their performance marketing spend by more than half, yet bookings rebounded strongly as travel reopened. Why? Because years of brand investment (“Belong Anywhere”) created resilience that performance spend alone could not deliver (CNBC, 2021).

2. Plan for Attention, Not Just Reach

Reach still matters. But reach without attention is noise. And in a fragmented media landscape, noise is expensive.

Lumen’s attention data has shown that creative context matters as much as media weight. A high-attention ad in a lean-in environment can outperform a low-attention ad in prime-time TV (Lumen, 2022).

That means planning shouldn’t just be about “where can we reach the most people?” but “where can we earn the right to be noticed?”

Think about Duolingo. Their TikTok presence doesn’t just reach Gen Z, it captures them through absurd, funny, consistent content. According to Adweek, Duolingo became one of the most downloaded apps among young people thanks in part to this strategy (Adweek, 2022). It wasn’t about shouting louder. It was about holding attention.

By 2026, media planning will be less about buying spots and more about designing moments. The principle is simple: if no one notices you, you don’t exist.

3. Plan Up and Down the Ladder

One of the most damaging myths in marketing is the idea that brand and performance live in silos. In reality, the best work ladders up and down: from brand to action, and from action back to brand.

Gymshark is a perfect case study. The brand began by working with fitness micro-influencers on Instagram, creating grassroots authenticity. Those same brand cues (community, aspiration, hustle) later scaled into global campaigns, outdoor formats, and sponsorships. The small-scale social assets didn’t just drive sales, they created a brand platform strong enough to expand into traditional channels (The Drum, 2020).

Planning in 2026 has to reflect this ladder. Campaigns should be designed to move fluidly between awareness and conversion, between feed and screen. Success isn’t a one-way funnel. It’s a feedback loop.

So ask yourself: does your brand creative ladder up into something bigger than the moment? And does it ladder down into action that converts?

4. Plan for the Boardroom, Not Just the Market

The hardest sell for a CMO isn’t the consumer. It’s the board.

Spencer Stuart’s 2022 report found the average tenure of a CMO is just 40 months – the shortest of any C-suite role. The reason isn’t lack of creativity, it’s misalignment. Too many boards still see marketing as cost rather than investment.

Winning in 2026 means planning with the boardroom in mind. That means translating marketing metrics into business impact: share of market, pricing power, margin protection.

Look at how P&G reframed its investment story. Instead of talking about GRPs or reach, it began talking about “constructive disruption” and how marketing spend fuels innovation and shareholder value (Forbes, 2019). That’s language the board understands.

Planning to win isn’t just about what’s in the market. It’s about what travels upstairs. The CMO’s job isn’t just to get buy-in once a year. It’s to continually narrate the link between brand, media, and growth in terms that reassure investors and executives.

The Call to 2026

The brands that thrive in 2026 won’t be the ones who simply outspend competitors. They’ll be the ones who outplan them.

They will:

• Balance now and later, treating brand and performance as one engine.
  
• Plan for attention, not just reach.
  
• Ladder their creative up and down the funnel, creating a feedback loop of growth.
  
• Build plans that persuade the board as much as they persuade consumers.
  

Because growth isn’t about media spend alone. It’s about the courage to plan differently.

Don’t just spend. Plan to win.

Need a partner who thinks like a start-up but plans like a strategist? Let’s talk : +44 (0)20 7257 2600 or hello@smithfieldagency.co.uk (https://smithfieldagency.com/contact/)

Growth brands don’t play by the old rules.

They need to develop/adapt/live in the moment, not to wait six months for a post-campaign report. They need to see the impact media and creative are having on their business, not wade through media plans built to impress procurement. They want partners who bring them ideas and tactics to help them grow their brand, not glossy creds and big network logos.

What do they really want?
Speed, clarity, courage, and partnership.

And yet – too many media agencies are still operating like it’s 2013.

1.They Want You in the Room, Not on the Roster

Growth brands don’t want a supplier. They want a partner: someone who’s in the trenches with them and lives their brand like they do. Who can move as fast as they do, and isn’t afraid to speak plainly.

When Liquid Death (yes, the canned water brand with death metal branding) launched, they didn’t hire a traditional agency. They built a team of misfit creatives and growth hackers, and scaled with performance-driven, unorthodox content. Why? Because they needed people who got them, not a holding company that billed them.

Your job as an agency today? Be embedded. Be honest. Be useful.

2. They Want Performance Without the Binary

For years, media has been split into two camps: brand vs. performance.

Growth brands know that’s a false choice. They don’t see media as a funnel,  they see it as a flywheel. Every impression is a chance to build the brand and drive action.

Take Duolingo, a brand that’s mastered this balance. Their TikTok strategy is pure brand storytelling: irreverent, weird, highly memorable. But it drives real results: 82% of Duolingo’s Gen Z users say TikTok ads influenced their decision to download the app (source).

Your media should convert. But it should also compound. One without the other is just wasted potential.

3. They Want Fewer PowerPoints, More Progress

Growth brands don’t need 86-slide decks. They need answers, direction, movement.

As Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said in the early days of Facebook: “Move fast and break things.” Most agencies still move slow and duplicate things.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the brand you’re pitching in Q1 might not even have the same priorities by Q3.

Speed wins. Simplicity wins. Real-time learning beats rigid planning.

4.They Want to See You Take a Risk

Not on their budget – but on your thinking.

In a world where everyone has the same tech stack, the same CPMs, the same targeting tools…your point of view is your power. What do you believe about how growth works in this category?
Where are you willing to challenge the brief?
What are you prepared to stand for?

5. They Want You to Understand Their Pressure

Growth brands aren’t just fighting competitors. They’re fighting investors. Time. Burn rate. Hype cycles. Category fatigue.

They need media partners who get the stakes, and who operate like business allies – not channel guardians.

When Gymshark launched in the UK, they didn’t focus on big-budget TV. They focused on community-building through paid social, micro-influencers, and razor-sharp measurement. Their agency understood what mattered: scale, sure, but with accountability.

So What Do Growth Brands Really Want?

They want:

• A partner, not a pitch machine
  
• Ideas that ladder up and down – from brand to action
  
• Progress over process
  
• Opinions, not just optimisation
  
• Commercial fluency, not channel fluency
  

They want agencies who are built for today and ready for tomorrow – not still playing by yesterday’s playbook.

And here’s the good news: you don’t have to be the biggest agency in the room.

You just have to be the one that moves fastest, thinks bravest, and cares most about growth.

Need a partner who thinks like a start-up but plans like a strategist? Let’s talk : +44 (0)20 7257 2600 or hello@smithfieldagency.co.uk (https://smithfieldagency.com/contact/)

We sat down with Smithfield’s Head of Clients, Brandi Stevens, to reveal five ways Cannes may occasionally fall out of step with the evolving media landscape and some reflections on where the industry might look next.

1. It champions creative, but often sidelines distribution.
Big ideas rightly get attention but too often, the focus stays on the idea and not how it reached people. In the day-to-day reality of marketing, distribution is a major factor in determining success. Creative without strategic media placement is like a symphony with no speakers. Artist with no gallery to share.

2. Film takes centre stage, while functionality plays in the wings.

Cannes naturally gravitates toward cinematic work often with a strong emotional punch. But some of the most effective campaigns come from quieter, less glamorous formats: the perfectly timed paid search campaign, the well-planned proximity of an OOH execution, or the integrated media plan that delivers sustained mental availability.

“I want to see more of why that billboard campaign resonated so well or what targeting made those social ads succeed,” says Brandi. “That’s what drives results in the real world.”

3. Media innovation deserves more of the spotlight.

While Cannes Lions now includes a Media category, it can still feel overshadowed by the more visible creative showcases. Yet some of the most exciting innovation in our industry is happening in media, in how we earn attention, build trust in a privacy-first world, and plan for fractured, distracted audiences.

“Clients today are thinking about formats, but there is bigger discussion about how a campaign shows up in people’s lives,” says Brandi. “That kind of strategic thinking deserves just as much celebration.”

4. Risk-taking looks different in media.
Cannes loves boldness but it tends to reward a particular flavour of bravery: cinematic storytelling, star power, high production value. Today’s most courageous work sometimes looks more subtle: resisting hype cycles, challenging default media mixes, or pushing for a more evidence-based approach.
It’s not always loud, but it’s brave in its own way

5. It’s a rear-view mirror, not a crystal ball.
The work awarded at Cannes often took place many months ago. Meanwhile, media continues to evolve at breakneck speed. Formats, platforms, and human behaviours shift quickly — and success today requires constant adaptation.

Final Thought

Cannes remains a vital celebration of what makes this industry special: ambition, creativity, and optimism. But it’s worth remembering that modern media success also depends on strategy, effectiveness, adaptability and clarity of thinking.
As we admire the work honoured this year, let’s keep asking the quieter but critical questions:

• Did it reach the right people?
• Did it resonate in the moment?
• Did it deliver what mattered?

The answers may not win trophies but they do build brands.

For decades, the unspoken rule in brand marketing was simple: if it’s not on TV, it’s not real brand work.

That idea still echoes through boardrooms and budget meetings — like a hangover from the 90s. But today’s consumers aren’t living in that world anymore. Neither should your media plan.

As Sarah Coften, Head of Innovation and Digital Strategy, puts it:

It’s Not Just Reach – It’s Remembered Reach

The platforms have changed, yes. But so has attention. And attention, right now, is everything.

As Sarah explains:

“Lumen’s studies back it up: if no one notices you, you don’t exist. Gen Z gets this instinctively; they notice the brand that makes them laugh at 7am more than the one airing at 7pm.

For Gen Z, attention is currency – and they spend it wisely. They reward consistency, creativity, and cultural fluency. You’re not buying airtime anymore, you’re earning relevance.”

The best ads aren’t just those people see. They’re the ones people remember. And those impressions are just as likely to be built in Stories, Reels, or YouTube Shorts as they are in an ad break during Bake Off.

Creative Consistency > Channel Comfort

It’s time to break the binary. The idea that brand and performance are on opposite sides of the spectrum is not only outdated – it’s limiting your effectiveness.

As Sarah puts it:

“Brand and performance aren’t separate campaigns, they’re different stages of the same journey. We’ve found that when brand cues carry through into activation assets, conversion gets easier, faster, and cheaper. It’s not just top-down; it’s inside-out.”

Consistency isn’t a tone of voice exercise,  it’s a commercial advantage. Because when the brand you build is the brand people recognise at the point of conversion, you’re not spending, you’re compounding.

From Feed to TV and Back Again

TV isn’t obsolete. But the path to it is changing.

In fact, some of the most effective brand platforms today don’t start on TV – they earn their way there.

“We’ve found that some of the most effective creative platforms start in social, where ideas are pressure-tested in real time. When something resonates there, it often earns the right to scale into bigger brand formats, including TV.

Done right, brand building moves both ways – from the feed to the sofa, and back again. When creative is connected across formats, channels, and funnel stages, you’re not just laddering up to TV, you’re laddering down to action.”

That’s what modern planning looks like. Not silos, but systems. Not formats, but flows.

Planning for Attention, Not Assumption

Forget the decades-old CPM benchmarks. Planning today means knowing where attention lives, and earning it creatively.

“Lumen’s attention data shows what we already feel as planners: the right creative in the right context outperforms legacy assumptions. High attention doesn’t have to mean high spend – it just has to mean high relevance.”

“We proved the business impact through our MMM study for a Smithfield client, where high-attention formats delivered outsized ROI relative to cost.”

What worked on TV in 2012 might underperform on TikTok in 2025, not because the creative’s bad, but because the context has changed. Attention isn’t bought. It’s won.

So What’s Holding Us Back?

Not data. Not channels. Not platforms.

“The media mix isn’t the issue – mindset is. If you still think brand means telly and digital means sales, you’re not planning, you’re time-travelling. And you’re taking your growth ambitions with you.”

We’ve never had more tools to build brands that scale across platforms and performance curves.

“Brand isn’t a TV ad. It’s a pattern of consistent impressions, emotions, and actions – stitched together across screens, formats, and contexts.”

The Takeaway

Brand building isn’t dying. It’s evolving.
It’s not about choosing TV or TikTok. It’s about designing systems that work across both.
It’s not about big vs. small. It’s about what builds memory, earns attention, and drives action – wherever it happens.

The truth is: TV didn’t define brand building. It just dominated it – until now. Because today, the brands that grow are the ones who know: It’s not where you show up. It’s how and how often.

Rainbow-washing – the act of performing support for the LGBTQ+ community with little meaningful action behind it – has become a well-known term for a reason. And audiences are savvy to it. Especially the LGBTQ+ community themselves, who are increasingly vocal about whether brands are walking the walk or just riding the wave.

But this isn’t a finger-wag. We believe that brands can do Pride brilliantly and that real allyship doesn’t require big budgets, just big-hearted intent.

Here’s how brands can move from performative to powerful, with real-world examples to inspire us all.

1. Start from the inside out

Before you go rainbow on LinkedIn, take a closer look at your culture.

An inclusive campaign starts with an inclusive team. But many companies don’t know where to begin. Here’s how to create a culture that genuinely supports LGBTQ+ colleagues – with care and clarity.

Practical steps:

• Educate everyone: Run regular training on inclusive language, unconscious bias and allyship (check out Stonewall’s workplace guides, OutRight’s training, or GLAAD’s media reference resources).
  
• Update policies: Ensure your employee handbook explicitly protects against LGBTQ+ discrimination. Include gender-neutral language, healthcare benefits for all family structures, and support for trans and non-binary colleagues.
  
• Make space to listen: Create employee resource groups (ERGs), anonymous feedback tools, or listening sessions where LGBTQ+ employees can share experiences safely.
  
• Celebrate year-round: Recognise days like Trans Day of Visibility, LGBTQ+ History Month and International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia – not just Pride.
  

Example: Salesforce
Salesforce supports internal ERGs like Outforce, provides inclusive benefits, and publicly tracks workforce representation. Their external messaging is backed by a robust internal culture – making it authentic, not performative.

Takeaway: Authentic Pride starts with a workplace where LGBTQ+ people feel safe, seen and supported — not just featured in a campaign.

2. Avoid the rainbow rinse

Pride isn’t a seasonal trend. Representation should live beyond June and be integrated throughout the year in your people, your content, your media choices and your campaigns.

Example: Skittles
Since 2020, Skittles has removed its signature rainbow for Pride Month, giving it back to the LGBTQ+ community, and partnered with GLAAD to elevate queer artists on packaging and social. The campaign makes space for others to shine, rather than centre the brand.Takeaway: It’s not just about showing up during Pride. It’s about showing up for Pride, consistently, consciously, and collaboratively.

3. Put money (or resource) behind your message

Support can’t just be symbolic. If you’re celebrating Pride publicly, ask yourself: where is the value going? Are you donating to LGBTQ+ organisations? Are you platforming queer creatives and suppliers?

Example: The Body Shop
For Pride 2024, The Body Shop donated 100% of profits from their Rainbow Soap to Switchboard, a helpline supporting LGBTQ+ people. They also trained their staff on LGBTQ+ awareness and collaborated with grassroots queer creators across social.

Takeaway: If you’re profiting from Pride, find a way to give back to the people behind it.

4. Speak with, not just about, the community

Representation shouldn’t be designed in a vacuum. Involve LGBTQ+ voices from the start – as creators, consultants, strategists, and storytellers.

Example: Absolut
Their #BornToMix campaign brought together LGBTQ+ talent to co-create events, content, and community conversations, not just be featured in an ad. The result was a campaign that felt alive, intersectional and co-owned.

Takeaway: Inclusion is a process, not a checkbox. Partner with people who live the experience.

5. Be brave enough to evolve

We all get it wrong sometimes. Pride is, at its heart, a protest – a movement for change. Brands need to embrace the same mindset: listen, grow, and do better.

Example: Lego
When Lego launched its “Everyone Is Awesome” Pride set, it wasn’t just about rainbow bricks – it was about celebration without corporate branding. More importantly, Lego responded publicly to feedback about leadership diversity, committing to measurable internal change.

Why it matters – and what the data says:

• McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for ethnic and gender diversity on exec teams are 33% more likely to outperform peers on profitability.
  
• Harvard Business Review reports that inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time.
  
• Cannes Lions awarded 2023’s top campaigns not just for creativity, but for inclusion — showing that better ideas and better returns come from representative teams.

Takeaway: Diversity isn’t just morally right – it’s commercially smart. Be open to feedback, commit to progress, and reap the creative and cultural rewards

So… how can we all do better?

At Smithfield, we work in an industry built on influence. That comes with responsibility. As communicators, we help shape stories, spend media money, and choose who’s seen and heard. Pride is a chance – not just in June or July, but always – to use that power for good.

Let’s not be afraid to ask ourselves the hard questions:

• Is this campaign reflective of the real world, or a filtered one?
  
• Who’s behind the lens, behind the brief, behind the strategy?
  
• Are we doing Pride, or are we living our values?
  

With empathy, openness and collaboration, brands can move from rainbow-washing to real-world impact – creating not just campaigns, but communities of care.

Retail media, measurement evolution, and the changing economics of advertising

At this year’s Performance Marketing World, industry leaders delivered a clear message: the media landscape is changing rapidly, and not necessarily in ways that benefit advertisers. Three dominant themes emerged across the sessions:

• Retail media is booming, but it benefits media owners more than advertisers.
• Attribution models remain flawed, with a growing need for triangulated measurement approaches.
• Advertising costs are rising, forcing brands to rethink investment strategies.

With insights from Dr Grace Kite, Les Binet, and Eric Seufert, the discussion focused on how brands can avoid costly mistakes and adapt to the shifting economics of digital advertising.

Retail Media: A Profitable Model—But for Who?

Dr Grace Kite: Retail Media is a One-Sided Transaction

Retail media is experiencing rapid growth, but Dr Grace Kite challenged the idea that it is driving true business growth for advertisers. Her analysis suggests that retail media is not adding incremental sales—it is simply shifting costs from one place to another.

The Hard Numbers Behind the Retail Media Boom:

• 50% of all product searches online now go through Amazon.
• 70% of Amazon’s top search results are now paid ads.
• 50% of Amazon sellers’ revenue goes directly to Amazon.

This trend is not limited to Amazon. Platforms like Deliveroo and AutoTrader are following a similar model:

• A leading food brand now spends millions on Deliveroo ads—for placements they previously received for free.
• AutoTrader controls 75% of UK car search time, making it an unavoidable cost for dealerships.

These findings raise a critical question: Is retail media a true driver of growth, or just an expensive necessity?

Kite argued that brands are increasingly paying rent just to maintain their position in the digital landscape, rather than gaining incremental sales.

The Measurement Crisis: Why Attribution is Still Broken

Les Binet: Moving Beyond Performance Attribution

Les Binet’s keynote reinforced a point that many marketers have long suspected: most attribution models fail to measure the true impact of advertising.

The Key Problems with Existing Attribution Models:

1. Last-click measurement is fundamentally flawed. It prioritises short-term conversions while ignoring long-term brand impact.
2. Retail media’s effectiveness is overstated. Studies show that attribution models overestimate the impact of high-intent search ads by 3x.
3. Performance-only strategies create diminishing returns. When brands over-invest in lower-funnel tactics, they saturate audiences and exhaust their customer base.

The Future of Measurement: Triangulation:

Binet argued that brands must adopt a more holistic measurement approach, combining:

• Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) to assess long-term media impact.
• Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) to optimise digital performance.
• Geo Hold-Out Testing to validate true incrementality.

At Smithfield, we apply this approach through AI-driven attribution models, ensuring our clients measure real business impact rather than misleading proxy metrics.

The Role of Brand and Creative in Performance Marketing

The Shift from Mass-Reach TV to Multi-Touch Digital

The fragmentation of media consumption means that traditional brand-building strategies must adapt. However, brand investment remains critical to long-term growth.

Key Shifts in Media Strategy:

1. High-attention, high-impact formats continue to drive superior ROI.
2. Social and search advertising budgets are increasing, but attention spans are shrinking.
3. Advertisers must balance immediate conversions with long-term brand-building efforts.

The Smithfield Take: What This Means for Brands

The key message from Performance Marketing World is clear:

1. Retail media is not a guaranteed growth driver. Brands must evaluate whether their investment is truly delivering incremental sales or simply maintaining their position.
2. Measurement must evolve. Linear attribution remains flawed, and brands must embrace advanced analytics and triangulated measurement approaches to get a full picture of performance.
3. The cost of advertising is increasing. Brands that rely on short-term performance tactics alone will face diminishing returns unless they integrate long-term brand-building strategies.

At Smithfield, we help brands build sustainable media strategies that prioritise effectiveness, brand strength, and long-term commercial growth.

If your marketing strategy is focused solely on maintaining visibility rather than driving real growth, it is time for a rethink.

Read more on our latest insights & speak to our team today.

Search is becoming more diverse. As regulators examine market dynamics and new platforms gain traction, brands face a critical question: How do we optimise our presence across an expanding digital landscape?

At Smithfield, we see these changes as more than just regulatory headlines – they’re opportunities for smarter, more diverse digital strategies. Let’s explore what’s really happening in search and digital advertising, and how forward-thinking brands can turn market evolution into competitive advantage.

Understanding the regulatory landscape

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a significant investigation into Google’s practices under its new Strategic Market Status (SMS) powers, while the European Commission continues implementing the Digital Markets Act (DMA). At the heart of these investigations is a fundamental question: How do we ensure fair competition in digital markets while preserving innovation?

Google’s position in search is substantial, with over 90% market share in the UK. The CMA’s investigation specifically examines how Google presents search results across various verticals including shopping, travel and local business listings. Meanwhile, the DMA could require changes to how major platforms display and rank search results, with potential fines of up to 10% of global turnover for non-compliance.

These developments matter because they could reshape how brands appear in search results and how digital advertising functions. Google remains an invaluable platform for advertisers, offering sophisticated targeting and extensive reach. However, as the digital landscape evolves, brands have an unprecedented opportunity to diversify their strategies and explore emerging channels.

The changing face of digital search

The regulatory spotlight has highlighted several important trends in digital advertising:

• Evolution in search result presentation and ranking
• Growing competition in specialised search verticals like shopping and travel
• Increased focus on transparency in platform operations
• Emergence of new search behaviours and platforms
• Innovation in advertising formats and targeting capabilities

These changes create both opportunities and considerations for advertisers. While Google’s tools and reach remain powerful assets in any digital strategy, brands now have more options than ever to connect with their audiences.

Strategic opportunities in a diverse digital landscape

At Smithfield, we believe in leveraging the strengths of all available platforms while maintaining independence in our recommendations. Here’s how brands can build robust, future-proof digital strategies:

1. Embrace platform diversity

• Explore the unique advantages of various search platforms, including Google, Microsoft Bing and emerging search alternatives
• Consider the growing role of social platforms like TikTok and Meta in search behaviour
• Evaluate specialised search opportunities in vertical-specific platforms

2. Strengthen data foundations

• Develop robust first-party data strategies as the industry moves away from third-party cookies
• Implement comprehensive tracking solutions across platforms
• Utilise advanced APIs and integration tools to ensure accurate performance measurement

3. The power of true partnership

• Deploy sophisticated multi-touch attribution models
• Integrate marketing mix modelling for a comprehensive view of performance
• Maintain platform-agnostic measurement frameworks

4. Explore emerging channels

• Consider the growing potential of retail media networks
• Evaluate opportunities in connected TV and digital audio
• Assess the role of digital out-of-home in your media mix

5. Build brand equity

• Balance performance marketing with brand building
• Create strong direct relationships with customers
• Invest in omnichannel marketing strategies

The Smithfield difference

As an independent agency, Smithfield’s strength lies in our ability to provide unbiased, platform-agnostic recommendations. We recognise the continued importance of established platforms like Google while helping brands capitalise on emerging opportunities across the digital landscape.

Our approach focuses on:

• Objective performance assessment across all platforms
• Strategic diversification based on business objectives
• Data-driven decision making
• Long-term sustainability in digital strategy

Want to explore how your brand can build a more robust, diversified digital strategy? Let’s start a conversation about your unique opportunities in today’s evolving media landscape.

Great media strategy is both an art and a science – a fusion of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. While data has become the cornerstone of effective media planning and buying, success isn’t just about crunching numbers. It’s about understanding the human story behind the metrics.

At Smithfield, we embrace what Mark Ritson calls ‘bothism’ – just as brand-building and performance marketing must work together, data-driven decision-making needs to be both analytical and creative. Through our work with leading brands, we’ve discovered that transformative results come from combining structured data analysis with creative interpretation and strategic thinking.

“Understanding our audience through data is key,” explains Sarah Coften, our Head of Digital Strategy. “While data analysis is often seen as a purely logical, left-brain activity, true insight requires creativity – reading the data, interpreting human behaviour, and finding the right jump-off point for strategic thinking.”

Let’s explore how this balanced approach unlocks the full potential of media strategy.

1. Less noise, more signal

While the instinct to gather more data is natural, the real advantage comes from asking the right questions. Success lies not in the volume of data, but in its strategic application.

The opportunity: Build a focused data strategy that drives action.

• Identify the key metrics that directly connect to business outcomes
• Create clear frameworks for turning insights into action
• Establish a unified view of performance across channels

Best practice: As Garett Farell, our Head of Planning, emphasises: “The key is to start with a clear goal. Understanding what question we’re trying to answer or what challenge we’re solving keeps us grounded throughout the analysis process.” This focused approach ensures insights are not only accurate but meaningful and actionable.

2. Attribution that actually makes sense

As consumer journeys become more complex, our approach to attribution must evolve. Modern attribution goes beyond basic models to capture the full impact of media investments.

The opportunity: Embrace sophisticated attribution that reflects reality.

• Implement multi-touch attribution to understand the complete customer journey
• Use incrementality testing to measure true media impact
• Develop dynamic scenario planning for optimal budget allocation

Best practice: Build attribution models that account for both immediate impact and long-term value creation. This balanced view enables more strategic investment decisions.

3. When brand meets performance

Today’s most successful strategies recognise that brand building and performance marketing work in harmony. This unified approach delivers both immediate results and sustainable growth.

The opportunity: Create seamless integration between brand and performance efforts.

• Measure how brand activities influence conversion patterns
• Track engagement metrics that indicate long-term brand health
• Optimise for customer lifetime value while maintaining efficiency

Best practice: Develop measurement frameworks that capture both immediate performance and brand building effects, enabling truly integrated media strategy.

4. The power of true partnership

The most effective data strategies emerge from strong collaboration between brands and their agency partners. When both parties bring their expertise to the table, the results can be transformative.

The opportunity: Foster true data partnership.

• Align on clear data governance frameworks
• Integrate first-party data strategies with media execution
• Conduct regular collaborative reviews of measurement approaches

Best practice: Create open dialogue about data quality and measurement, ensuring all stakeholders contribute to continuous improvement.

5. The human edge in AI

As Sarah Coften notes, “The era of the ‘black box’ dictating performance is over. Algorithms process vast datasets in real time to determine probabilistic outcomes, but it’s humans who define what success looks like.” While AI and automation offer powerful capabilities, their true potential is realised when guided by human insight and creativity.

The opportunity: Leverage automation strategically.

• Use AI to enhance rather than replace human decision-making
• Ensure brand safety through careful oversight
• Apply machine learning insights to fuel creative innovation

Best practice: View automation as an enabler of human creativity and strategic thinking, not a replacement for it.

6. When data ignites creativity

The most compelling campaigns arise when data insights inspire creative thinking. This synthesis of art and science leads to breakthrough results.

The opportunity: Let data fuel creativity.

• Use consumer insights to inspire new creative approaches
• Identify emerging opportunities through data signals
• Foster collaboration between media and creative teams

Best practice: Integrate data throughout the creative process, using insights to unlock new possibilities rather than simply validate existing ideas.

The Smithfield difference

Success in modern media comes from combining analytical rigor with human insight. At Smithfield, we believe in:

• Turning data into strategic and creative advantage
• Building comprehensive measurement frameworks that drive growth
• Unifying brand and performance for sustainable success

Want to explore how data can transform your media strategy? Let’s start a conversation about unlocking your brand’s full potential,  contact us at hello@smithfieldagency.co.uk.