Source: © Marks & Spencer

Last week, Marks & Spencer launched its innovative ‘Spend it Well’ campaign, in which its seeking – for the first time – to combine both its food and clothing divisions under a single tagline and philosophy. It’s an attempt to make it more than just a tagline.

When Marks & Spencer approached me, to take a look at its new campaign, I realised it ties in with what I’m trying to do more of, on my blog: to encourage people to reach for a bit more, in life.

I quite like the idea behind the ‘Spend it Well’ campaign, which is, “a call to action – designed to inspire and enable people to make every moment special by focusing on the quality experiences, people and things that really matter.” I can’t see anything wrong with that!

M&S says that “‘Spend it Well’ is based on the insight that, in a world of abundance, people increasingly seek out what is important: the quality experiences, people and things that make life special.”  It adds that, “M&S exists to help its customers make the most out of every moment, every minute, and every mouthful.  ‘Spend it Well’ is about grabbing life, burning the nice candles, wearing your best coat, breaking out the best biscuits, saying no to food that doesn’t take you to extraordinary places”. It’s also about never settling for uncomfortable knickers!

It’s good to see M&S teaming up with popular bloggers, with equally popular Instagram channels, such as Emily Johnston with fashionfoiegras and Poppy Loves with poppy_loves_london, for its #makeitmatter day, on June 1st. Poppy says, “I'm working with @marksandspencer to remind us all to stay present and make every moment count”. She added, “I find that changing one small thing can make a huge difference to my day, when there's a familiar pattern to them all... perhaps I'll try a different coffee shop on the way to work, make a phone call to a dear one on my journey home, or maybe I'll take a different route, making time to stop off for a little mooch around a gallery I've never been to before... Little things. They make our worlds go round.”

Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Executive Director of Customer Marketing & M&S.com, hit the nail on the head, for me, when he said: “To remain relevant and attract new customers, we need to get people thinking differently about M&S and recapture our position as a pioneer in culture”. He added, “That’s why the energy, swagger and spirit of ‘Spend it Well’ is so important – it’s about empowering our customers to say no to the ordinary, so they can say yes to the best.”

I have to say that I can empathise with Vicki Maguire, Chief Creative Officer, Valenstein & Fatt – the creatives behind the campaign – who said: “More than just a retailer, M&S is a brand that touches almost all of the population – over 60 million pairs of women’s knickers are sold every year. ‘Spend it Well’ is an attitude they share with their customer – and I should know. I’ve been their biggest fan and biggest critic for years. It’s a shared attitude that strikes a chord whether you’re 18 or 80.” She believes “M&S has taken this to heart, across products, services, innovation, marketing and culture”; and added, “For me, it’s the excuse I need to wear the nice knickers or crack open the good wine –  I’m a firm believer in life’s short, so spend it well”.

Remember, we only get one life, what could you do today, to make the ordinary feel extra-ordinary?  Let me know, in the comments below.

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