Nov 25th This Week in Brands

Check out how brands master agility and immediacy to lead

25 NOVEMBER 2025

Ready to dive into a week of smart, strategic shifts from brands across different sectors? This week’s core theme is all about Agility and Immediacy, highlighting how quickly we, as marketers, must pivot our strategies to meet evolving consumer needs and react instantly to real-world circumstances.

Quick Commerce: Superdrug Jumps on the Speed Train with Just Eat Partnership

Superdrug has formed an exclusive UK partnership with Just Eat to offer ultra-fast delivery of over 8,000 products, including beauty and pharmacy essentials, in as little as 30 minutes. This move is a strategic commitment to the "Quick Commerce" space, driven by the insight that Superdrug was the most-searched high street retailer yet to join the Just Eat platform. Read more here.

You really can’t believe how fast the consumers landscape can evolve and now Immediacy is a hygiene factor across nearly all retail categories.

Nostalgia Marketing

Vodafone (with Leo UK) executes a powerful emotional strategy by tracing four decades of mobile history for its festive spot. The campaign leverages deep brand heritage and intergenerational casting (Roman & Shirlie Kemp) to frame connectivity as the unwavering constant, tapping into universal emotional resonance during the holidays.

This move is a strong example of how heritage brands can use nostalgia and a platform-native social push to drive relevance and cut through the seasonal noise. More details here

Reactive OOH

Fitness First demonstrated brilliant creative and media agility with its "Fight, no Flight" billboard, placed directly next to a competitor's provocative ad. The rapid, contextual response reassured Londoners of local self-defence classes, directly challenging the rival's fear-based messaging.

This is a masteclass in hijacking conversation; turning a high-traffic, competitive OOH placement into an earned media victory and a hyper-local, high-impact marketing moment. Check out here

Fitness First UK takes on GymNation in billboard war

CX Innovation : Co-op Live's Apple Wallet Ticket is UK's First Smart Digital Journey

Co-op Live has become the first arena in the UK to launch the enhanced Apple Wallet ticket experience, offering fans a smarter, more intuitive digital journey both before and during live events. This move strategically integrates the customer experience (CX) directly into the mobile device, leveraging technology to streamline entry, reduce friction, and enhance in-venue service potential. It sets a new benchmark for live entertainment CX.

More details here

CX Innovation : Co-op Live's Apple Wallet Ticket is UK's First Smart Digital Journey

Insights and Industry Moments Spotlight
Data, trends, and moments shaping brands and consumers

Connected Packaging: How 2D Barcodes Unlock Data and Engagement

Sun Branding led a crucial roundtable with Prolific North, bringing together senior leaders from brands including Dole plc and AG Barr to explore packaging's evolving strategic role. The discussion highlighted how connected packaging, supported by 2D barcodes, can unlock richer consumer engagement, improve traceability, and deliver actionable data for brand and marketing teams.

Participants shared insights on how packaging is becoming a critical strategic touchpoint, enabling better consumer experiences, transparent sustainability communication, and essential brand differentiation—while addressing operational and compliance challenges.

Check out details on Prolific North

Retail Slump Confirms Q4 Trading Will Be a Battle

Official figures confirmed that UK retail sales unexpectedly fell in October, with clothing, supermarkets, and online mail order companies all reporting declines. This slump was primarily attributed to consumers deliberately delaying purchases while awaiting the deep discounts of Black Friday. Read more here

Takeaway for Marketers: This reinforces the urgency for strong, value-driven Q4 messaging. Campaigns must focus on immediate, compelling value propositions or loyalty rewards to counter the pervasive "wait-for-the-sale" mindset and unlock consumer spending now.