±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Having finally seen off Philip Green's £9.1bn takeover bid, Marks & Spencer's new management is now free to focus resources on the Your M&S brand strategy unveiled last week by chief executive Stuart Rose (Marketing, 14 July).

Your M&S was conceived by Steven Sharp, the retailer's director of marketing, store development and design, who maintains that it will 'give ownership back to the customer'.

He is keen to exploit the strength of the M&S brand. 'There's not another company in the world where people are so wedded to the brand,' he says. 'You can't imagine Your Shell or Your McDonald's.'

The retailer is well aware that without the enormous reserve of goodwill it has with consumers, its current difficulties would be far worse. Despite the negative headlines, consumers last week voted it the most trusted retailer for quality, according to TNS Superbrands.

The creation of a single brand cleverly solves several problems for M&S as it tries to strengthen relationships with its 25m customer base, encouraging the 11m core customers who visit its stores on a weekly basis to increase their spend.

The strategy will be accompanied by a renewed focus on in-store marketing, including better signposting. For a firm eager to reduce costs, this represents an inexpensive way to modernise and reinforce its message to consumers, when compared with a total refit. Though store fascias won't feature the Your M&S logo, the updated message will appear on lorries, carrier bags, in-store signage and in its customer magazine.

Clear thinking

The key change expected of Your M&S, however, is clarity of direction.

'Sub-brands such as Per Una and Blue Harbour are a good way to differentiate our offer for customers,' says Sharp. 'But there has been massive duplication, which has confused people, with M&S losing what it stood for.'

Your M&S is intended to 'rebalance' its offering. The branding - described by Sharp as 'a headline rather than a new strapline' - will play a central role, while the sub-brands will be secondary. 'Ads for Blue Harbour will continue to be shot in a way that is true to that sub-brand, but it will clearly be a Your M&S range,' he explains.

The priority of the co-ordinated approach is to make the business operate as one shop, rather than as a series of brands. This is a U-turn for M&S, which just last month - under the direction of Vittorio Radice, the former director for clothing, home and store development - announced plans for clearer branded zones for flagship collections such as Per Una and Limited Collections.

Sharp is at pains to point out that while the introduction of Your M&S is not a rebranding exercise, it does represent the first time it has ever used its initials within its own ads. Until now, its brand design catalogue had outlawed the use of initials. 'My mum took me to M&S, not Marks & Spencer, when I was a boy,' he continues. 'That's how our traditional core customers see us.'

Sharp is intent on overhauling the retailer's advertising, though he has ruled out an agency review in the short term. Food, which he says has previously undersold its proposition, will be a priority. The 'Food love' campaign is set to be an early casualty. 'If you look at the old press ads for strawberries, they look like they could be bought from Budgens,' he complains. 'The new ad we've created, using a single strawberry, looks heroic and powerful. We're showing how beautiful our food can be.'

Sharp expects all future TV, press and outdoor ads to make a contribution to the brand by conveying the quality of its offer and its value for money.

Despite these big marketing gestures, budgets will stay the same. 'The marketing mix is being looked at, but the media we choose aren't the most important thing. It's what we say that will count.'

Some retail experts, however, are sceptical. Jo Kenrick, director of marketing for Camelot and former marketing director for Asda's George range, argues that without getting the products right, no amount of advertising will put M&S back on top. 'If you have the right product, people find it regardless of marketing,' she says.

Indeed, she believes encouraging people to visit the stores before M&S has fixed this problem could do more harm. 'If people come in to find it's no better, they'll be far more cynical next time,' she argues.

The Your M&S branding isn't scheduled to hit stores until September, but Kenrick is doubtful whether the product offer will have been put right by then. 'M&S has to order tens of thousands of products to get decent distribution and it uses slower British suppliers,' she says. 'I think it'll be February or March before it can make significant changes.'

TIMELINE - M&S STRATEGY

2000: Unveils the strapline 'Exclusively for everyone' and launches its first TV branding campaign, which features a naked woman. The ads are withdrawn after religious groups complain.

2001: Signs deal with George Davies to create Per Una range. Launches Simply Food stand-alone concept, whose roll-out will now be scaled back.

2002: Starts advertising The Collections clothing range in Harpers & Queen and Vogue.

2003: Introduces menswear range Sp, aimed at over-35s. The line is one of those now under review.

2003: Launches &more credit card with a £20m investment and rebrands financial services arm as Marks & Spencer Money. The M&S-branded division was sold to HSBC last week.

2004: Opens homeware concept format Lifestore in Gateshead. After under-performing by 30%, it was axed by the new management last week.

2004: Launches Limited Collection womenswear and reveals plans to create branded zones within stores, featuring different staff uniforms, changing rooms and identities. Although the range will stay, the store plans have been ditched. Instead, the Your M&S strategy will create more of a 'one shop' format.