Nov 4th This Week in Brands

Nov 4th 2025 - Industries trend, brands move, stories and inspiration

4 NOVEMBER 2025

This week across industries

Here comes another week of brands in motion! As the Halloween buzz fades, the marketing world shows no sign of slowing down! Bold rebrands, new insights, and fresh ideas everywhere you look. Grab your coffee (or a leftover sweet or two) and catch up on what’s been happening across industries.

Retail & eCommerce

The Manchester-born, Asian-inspired lifestyle brand, KENJI is celebrating its tenth birthday with a new push into TikTok Shop, teaming up with brand communications agency IF. Known for its playful homeware and gifts, KENJI is bringing that same quirky energy online. It looks like shopping on TikTok is about to get a lot more fun. Read the full story here

Roger Burnley, who previously led Asda, will be joining Marks & Spencer as a non-executive director this December. His appointment ties into M&S’s “Reshaping for Growth” strategy, bringing in his strong retail and supply chain experience to support the company’s next phase. Read full article here

Financial Services

Barclays has rolled out a major new brand campaign, “Moments of Progress”, developed with agency VCCP. The campaign aims to reframe the bank’s image, from a traditional high-street player to a “positive force for progress” in people’s lives, capturing those moments when individuals and businesses choose to move forward.

My takeaway: Financial services marketing is increasingly shifting toward cultural and behavioural storytelling, rather than focusing purely on products or features. Read full story here

Professional Services

Consultancy.uk highlights how consulting’s long-standing hire-or-fire cycle is failing the industry. As major firms plan thousands of layoffs, BenchBee CEO, Hassen Hattab argues that constant swings between over-hiring and job cuts are unsustainable, and that a more flexible “benching” model could help firms keep talent ready for demand without the costly churn. Let’s take a look at the argument here

In that sense, would outsourcing, getting the right agencies’ support, or using AI helps? If you are a marketer in Professional Services, share your thoughts with us via this Survey. Let’s help shape the industry.

Fashion & Beauty

Australian womenswear label Outcast has officially launched in the UK, unveiling a dedicated website, mobile app, and local warehouse and marking the occasion with up to 70% off. With over 2 million social followers and 100,000+ UK orders already, the brand is bringing its signature festival-casual energy and faster delivery to British shoppers. (Read full details here)

The Body Shop has opened a new flagship on Oxford Street, blending its ethical beauty roots with interactive technology. From an AI-powered skin analysis tool that spots up to 14 skincare concerns to a playful “Scent Piano” for discovering fragrances, the space turns beauty shopping into a personalised experience.

It’s exciting to see The Body Shop reimagining what in-store beauty can be. A store where tech meets self-care. I’d honestly love to try this new wave of personalised, feel-good beauty shopping! Take a look here

The Body Shop's new flagship on Oxford Street

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

Why Challenger Brands Need to Stop Playing Nice
Richard Midgley, co-founder and strategy director at brand communications agency IF, shares how challenger brands stand out by being bold and purposeful, not by blending in. Playing it safe or trying to please everyone, he says, can dilute what makes a brand different.

Instead, real impact comes from what he calls “intelligent disruption” — being brave enough to challenge norms while staying true to a clear point of view.
Let’s read his full insights here

BCG’s latest Consumer Sentiment Snapshot (October 2025)
The report finds that UK consumers remain cautious despite easing inflation. Nearly 1 in 4 households plan to spend more on food and utilities (+25%), while 40% say price increases are still the main reason their budgets feel tighter. Spending patterns are splitting by income: higher-income households (over £83k) are more willing to spend on travel and leisure, whereas lower-income groups (under £63k) continue to cut back on most non-essentials.

The UK’s spending rebound isn’t one-size-fits-all. I think brands need to tailor messaging around value, reassurance, and confidence to match different consumer realities. (Read the snapsots here)

Prolific North Live is coming soon!
Well, if you’re keen to hear more fresh insights straight from marketing experts, don’t miss Prolific North Live, the biggest marketing event in the North. It’s happening on 6 November 2025 at UA92 in Manchester. A must-attend/must watch, for anyone in the industry.