Marketing Insight

When A24 was founded in 2012, the major studios were focusing on big franchises and rubbing their hands at the cash cow of yet another superhero movie. Oh, and actually, the superhero from that movie over there is gonna be in a movie with this superhero over here and isn’t that just fucking marvellous. As A24 co-founder Daniel Katz said, “Films didn’t seem as exciting to us as when we started our careers and that signalled an opportunity.”

And so, the big bet was born. A24 didn’t try to compete with far bigger studios by playing it safe and aiming to pick up scraps of franchise movies that would appeal to a mass audience. It focused instead on the not-so-small audiences that were craving something radically different: better storytelling, weird & colourful storylines and films that won’t be turned into sequels, prequels and origin stories. The evidence was already quietly there that A24’s bet stood a good chance of winning. Films like Drive and The Master were building loyal cult followings whilst Letterboxd, launched in 2011, was turning millions of under-35s into obsessive cinephiles.

Looking at the titles distributed across those early inception years – Spring Breakers, Under the Skin, Locke, Amy, Ex Machina, Swiss Army Man, The Lobster – we see films that tick the boxes that A24 was looking for. But more than awards and five-star reviews, these films were shaping something more powerful: a brand that people who really loved cinema could trust.

Accelerating Growth

In 2016, A24 moved from solely distributing films into producing them, starting with Moonlight. That film, not La La Land, would go on to win Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, marking the start of A24’s reputation as a real contender in Hollywood.

By 2023, A24 received a record-breaking 18 Academy Award nominations across six films, taking home nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once. It was the most successful night for any studio that year and the moment A24 went from indie darling to industry leader.

So now, audiences can probably spot an A24 film before the logo appears. And in an era of algorithm-driven blockbusters that kind of trust, built on years of taste-led decisions and smart risk-taking, might just be the most valuable brand in cinema.

Together with RAW London, we have worked with leading sight loss charity, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), to launch its new appeal with the TV ad ‘For Every Question’. RNIB offers practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. The charity raises awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people, and campaigns for change to make our society more accessible for all. Created by RAW London, the 90-second fundraising spot is based on real life stories of people living with sight loss and the impact that a diagnosis can have on their independence.  

Philippa Marlow, Head of Supporter Acquisition at RNIB, said, “This is RNIB’s first-ever Regular Giving advert crafted from scratch, and it was so important to us that it was informed by the real-life experiences of people who’ve been through a sight loss diagnosis. 

“As well raising awareness of the emotional and practical questions that people face when told they’re losing their sight, the advert highlights vital support provided by RNIB including our Helpline, which is often the first port of call for anyone looking for support and advice around sight loss.  

“Regular Giving plays a hugely important role in supporting RNIB and the work we do towards ensuring every person with sight loss can live the life they want to lead, without limits.” 

The ad opens with a woman sharing the emotional and practical questions that arise at different stages of living with sight loss; from ‘can I still work?’ to ‘can I still be a good mother?’ RAW London worked closely with research partner, Humankind Research, to understand audience perceptions and motivations. It then worked with RNIB and lived experience councils to listen to real stories and stress test concepts. This carried through to production, working with a lead actress from the sight loss community. 

Charlotte Harris, Managing Director at RAW London said, “This has been such an interesting project to be a part of, and an exciting new partnership with RNIB. There’s been a hugely collaborative spirit throughout, which has helped to shape a new and exciting chapter in RNIB’s regular giving activity. We’re proud to be a part of it.”  

The campaign is designed to stop audiences in their tracks and propel them to donate. It will run across TV from today the 15th July. Media was planned and bought by MI Media. 

Richard Slater, MD at MI Media says, “Having worked with RNIB for over five years on its Legacy product, it’s been great to expand our relationship to support them in developing a new Regular Giving product and help them raise the donations that are essential to their work.”  

Marketing is always split testing. It’s the same in comedy. They explained, “we are testing the choices of our audiences – which different storylines, spice level, messaging, will attract different individual’s attention – and we need people who think bold, but also people who think preserve.” It is difficult to rationalise a creative idea unless you test it. What advertisers are doing is behaviour observation. Instead of arguing the statement, let’s just test out.

For Wendy Chung, one of our digital account managers who attended the talk, she agrees that we as advertisers occupy a part in storytelling, delivering them to the right people through channels, targeting and a mixture of creatives. The constant split test is indeed essential. However, in digital marketing it’s not only what the consumers like, but also what the engine algorithm likes. It’s tricky because you can’t always explain machine learning based on human thoughts. But still, that’s what we are trying to do, for both audience and engine. What are they favouring? What is the message they want? What story is the best seller? Doing this is where the value sits in advertising: evoking people’s feelings and resonating with them.

Unsurprisingly AI came up time and again across the three days at MAD//Fest. When it comes to workplace trends, Ekaterina Golovanova, Digital Director at L’Oréal, said that when AI tools are tested and piloted, “there is potential to scale up and smoothen sessions.” At L’Oreal, one of the ways they apply AI tools in the workplace is during brainstorming, using AI alongside physical interaction. For example, takeaway notes and audio recording can save people’s time. But you must keep in mind that these need human review. You have to input your own thoughts and not just rely on what the machine tells you. At MI, we agree that notes functions and recording are helping to save time, but we need to continue to add in our own further thoughts to avoid losing our critical thinking.

Today, we’re speaking to digital account executive, Tom Salter, who joined MI at the end of last year. Our conversation sees Tom tell us why you shouldn’t put pressure on yourself to make everything perfect straight away and shares the reasons he looks to both his personal and professional life for role models.

What led you to a career in media?

I graduated from university and started working as a Teaching Assistant at a local secondary school. I really enjoyed my time there and met some amazing people, but after a year I knew that I didn’t want to go into teaching. I started thinking about what I wanted to do next and got chatting with one of my colleagues, whose husband worked as a creative director at a marketing agency in London. In her words, her husband was crazy, intense & deeply passionate about his work and she thought my calm, rational approach to problem-solving would complement his energy. She suggested I look at client-facing roles within the industry, so I started researching different types of marketing and gravitated towards the digital space.

Soon after, I joined an AdTech startup called Glui (formerly Playrcart), whose technology allows users to perform an action (like a purchase, or donation) within a digital ad without leaving the page they’re browsing. I joined the business as a Sales Executive and, after a few months of cold emailing and familiarising myself with the tech, I started working more closely with media partners and independent agencies to launch marketing campaigns using Playrcart’s technology. I really enjoyed working with the indie agencies and it gave me the desire to work in a similar environment in the future.

Unfortunately, my role at Playrcart was made redundant due to the company facing challenging circumstances, so I moved to Epsilon where I worked on the business’ on-site marketing service. However, my interest remained in digital marketing, and I wanted to experience agency life which is what led me to my role as a digital account executive at MI!

What does a typical day look like for you?

Every week starts with pacing, going into each engine and making sure our spend levels align with the budgets in our plan. I spend a lot of time building campaigns across Google, Meta and LinkedIn. Another key part of my role is pulling and feeding back performance reports to clients. In these reports, we focus our analysis on top-performing channels and audiences (suggesting areas for budget optimisation), as well as creative analysis, to help identify which ads are resonating with users so that similar, high-performing content can be produced.

I have a lot of day-to-day contact with clients, handling specific requests as they come in and ensuring they’re actioned efficiently. This includes everything from sharing more detailed performance updates, to coordinating changes to our clients’ reporting dashboards with the help of our data team. If there’s anything we need to do to improve our clients’ reporting dashboard, such as enhancing it with a new report or including a new conversion metric, I’ll work closely with our data team to map out and complete that project, sharing the final version with the client for feedback.

What mistake have you learnt the most from?

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is the importance of asking for help. When you’re stuck with a problem, it’s easy to spiral trying to figure it out on your own. Reaching out for support can save time and help you understand the problem if you encounter it again in the future.

I’ve also learned that things don’t have to be perfect straight away. Putting too much pressure on yourself to get everything exactly right from the beginning can actually slow you down. Especially with client work, it’s often better to create and get feedback on many iterations of a piece of work to improve it. Big projects can feel overwhelming at first but breaking them down into little pieces makes them much more manageable.

Who’s your role model?

I don’t think I have one role model. There are loads of people in my life who I look up to and whose qualities I try to emulate both professionally and personally.

Within my family, my Dad has an amazing work ethic. He’s been retired for a few years now but still works a job that sometimes requires him to be on call throughout the night. My Mum is incredibly organised and is extremely generous with her time. Another person I look up to is my aunty. She’s currently taking on a challenge to walk the length of the UK in four weeks and her mindset & determination is next level.

Then with the people at MI, Wendy is the most supportive manager I’ve ever had. She’s always checking in on me and asking me if there’s anything she can do to help. Hannah’s fantastic with clients; she has this amazing aura on calls. If a client has a question or if they’re not happy with something, she can handle it immediately. And George has a crazy knowledge of data and the digital space. I learn from each of them every day.

Adapting channel selection for an aging population

Within channels, there are some generalisations that can be applied. An older audience will prefer an influencer who is a trusted expert in their field; a medical or finance professional over a niche TikTok star. And they prefer messages from trusted media brands or sources, such as email newsletters.  Audience segments which use digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and programmatic video should be served personalised dynamic creative. In radio, sponsorship formats can work well (e.g. “brought to you by…” around news or weather segments). Messaging that leverages nostalgia on TV by tapping into previous decades can resonate emotionally. For the 70+ audience, accessibility is key. Calmer, slower-paced voiceovers and larger font or high contrast designs; longer video formats (this audience typically has the time and patience); include phone numbers and clear CTAs.

An approach that is not simply based on age but that builds in nuances and is informed by data – as we would for any other age group – is essential. Success will come not from chasing trends blindly, but from understanding the aging population’s preferences and behaviours.

Today, we’re speaking to joint managing director, Richard Slater, one of the first employees at MI Media. In this Day in the Life, Richard talks about the value of shared responsibilities when growing your team and why a governor at his child’s school should be an international diplomat!

What led you to a career in media?

When I left university, I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I decided to take a year trying out work experience in different industries. I did a broad range of placements; everything from financial hedge funds with a more data analytical lens, through to consumer PR.

At the end of the year, I’d found that I enjoyed the marketing side of PR but wanted to be able to incorporate some of the more analytical aspects of my other experience. I talked to my mum who worked in marketing and she put me onto the idea of looking at media agencies. I applied for a few different agencies (and got knocked back from a couple!) before ending up at what was then MediaCom. I loved it from day one and I’ve been in media ever since.

I did a good stint at MediaCom, by the end managing teams across RBS and Direct Line Group brands. I was doing well, but I could see that there was a limitation on how much of an impact I could make while working at a big agency on big brands. I knew the founder of MI Media who was just getting the business started. Having talked to him about looking at all sorts of options, I realised that there was a huge amount of potential for my development in working at a small media agency. All the skills and training I’d acquired at a big agency could be applied to clients where it would make more of a difference. Working at a small agency would also give me exposure not only to client-side stuff but how businesses are developed and how you determine what kind of agency you want to be; from proposition to who you recruit.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Every day starts with me getting my son to nursery on the back of my bike. A cycle to work is a great way to start the day, it certainly wakes your brain up navigating London traffic with a two-year-old on your bike!

As a joint managing director, my role covers the client side of the business, making sure clients get what they need and that we’re practicing what we preach as an agency. To do this, much of my day is spent having conversations with and connecting the right people.

To make sure I’m on top of what’s going on, I’ll usually speak with our head of data & digital, George, or group client services director, Gary, to understand our current areas of focus and any support that’s needed. I will undoubtedly want to talk to our new business director, Nicole, about current opportunities and ongoing pitches to ensure that the right senior support is involved and that junior members are coached through the pitch process. Finally, having worked together at MediaCom before sharing ten years at MI, I have a close working relationship with my fellow joint managing director, Jamie. It’s great to have a colleague that you trust who can both challenge and validate you and I always find it worthwhile having a conversation with him to do just this.

I’ve always been keen to retain a level of involvement client-side as it’s client work that got me into the job in the first place. It’s interesting to think about our clients’ challenges and new ways to solve them. It also gives me a chance to keep in touch with broader team by understanding what they’re working on and how they’re approaching it.

All of that will take me to the end of the day and I’m back on the bike to rush to nursery!

What mistake have you learnt the most from?

Early on in my career, I would say it wasn’t understanding the value of developing your team through sharing responsibilities. When we started off as a three-person company, we were doing almost everything ourselves. As we grew, my behaviour didn’t change quickly enough. I saw delegation as senior peoples’ excuse for getting other people to do the work for them. But, if you do it in the right way, it’s not only hugely beneficial for you but for the rest of your team.

The first time I went on paternity leave, I was away for three months. It forced me to give responsibility to other people. When I came back, my team had progressed massively. I had a moment of realisation that I hadn’t been thinking about delegation properly. People who take pride in their work often want to hold onto it, but it’s so important to learn the skill of delegation.

Who’s your role model?

Its not a big celebrity or personality people would know, but there’s an amazing woman who is a governor at my child’s school. She has an incredibly difficult job dealing with families from every walk of life. So many people with so many different agendas could create a chaotic situation. But she has a natural ability to communicate in a way that works across the board.

From a leadership perspective, the ability to bring everyone together without just paying lip service to one group of people or alienate anyone is such an incredible skill. She will never pander to any one group but will always give the right answer, even if it’s a difficult one. She will always take the time to make sure that people understand why a decision is being made for the overall benefit of the school. I always come out of meetings thinking, I have no idea how she just did that. She should be an international diplomat!

Marketing Insight

Aldi is no stranger to toeing a thin line between the branding of its own products vs. those of other household names as part of its ‘Like Brands, Only Cheaper’ platform. You couldn’t be blamed for looking down the confectionary aisle and getting easily confused between a ‘Racer’ and a ‘Snickers’ bar.

Its challenger brand image appeals to most working families in the UK and beyond, with a growing percentage of young adults doing their weekly shop at Aldi. Using its position in the market, Aldi has taken the strategy of challenging household names by making a like-for-like product at the same price point, something it has successfully done for years.

However, in 2019 when Aldi launched ‘Cuthbert the Caterpillar’, drawing inspiration from a close competitor, the reaction was far bigger than it may have anticipated. M&S’ ‘Colin the Caterpillar’ had been on shelves for over 30 years and the supermarket didn’t take kindly to Aldi’s copycat approach. M&S’ reaction put Aldi’s brand at risk. It faced criticism in the press and a legal case from M&S.

Accelerating Growth

Aldi’s news sentiment score grew by 8.5% and purchase consideration grew by 6.8% during the court battle.

While the controversy was legally settled between the two supermarket giants in 2022, Aldi continued to capitalise on the public’s interest in the spat in 2023 with the launch of a new advert. The ad was a fun play on the caterpillar cake rivalry, depicting a party attended by all the supermarkets’ caterpillars. When Colin arrives a scuffle breaks out with Cuthbert before ending with the line ‘Aldi. Like M&S. Only cheaper.’

Our planning & buying remit will cover above-the-line and performance channels. We will work in partnership with Goodstuff’s G-Force team for TV buying. 

Richard Slater, MD at MI Media said, “During the last 21 years, up to 70% of ancient woods have been lost or damaged. Our woodlands play an important part in our environmental futures and not nearly enough is being done to save and restore them. Alongside the obvious environmental benefits, research has proven the benefit of green spaces for our health and wellbeing, so we’re determined to drive the memberships and donations needed to help the Trust protect our woodlands and grow more trees.” 

Marketing Insight

The aim of Rockstar Games at its inception was to disrupt and revolutionise the gaming community. It wanted to create games that imprint themselves culturally and stamp its name in pop culture.   

In the 2000’s, Rockstar Games had a major release: Grand Theft Auto (GTA): San Andreas, selling over 27 million units worldwide. Whilst the game was praised for its expansive open world play and influential gameplay, it also faced massive backlash with its controversial ‘Hot Coffee‘ mod to the game. This led to legal issues and damages to brand reputation. Despite retaining a loyal fan base regardless of the backlash, Rockstar Games wanted to branch out of its niche gaming appeal to achieve mainstream success.  

Accelerating Growth

Rockstar Games’ anticipation strategy has Accelerated Growth for the brand even before its latest game has been released. Although the last GTA was released back in 2013, more than 210 million units have sold worldwide as of the end of 2024. Today, Rockstar Games releases reach cultural icon status. 

So far, this series has taken a look at the lives of our client-facing teams. Today, we’re changing things up and speaking to our finance manager, Jeffrin Antony. In this Day in the Life, Jeffrin talks about the importance of communication & storytelling in a finance role and the life lessons he’s learnt from the inimitable Arsène Wenger. 

What led you to a career in media?

I’ve spent my education training for a role in finance. I wasn’t necessarily looking to work in the media industry. During my ACCA exams I gained three years of practical experience in practice: accounting firms that do tax returns for individuals and businesses. After I completed my exams, I wanted to make the jump to industry. In practice, it’s a lot to do with year-end activity; whereas in industry the work you do is tailored to the industry you choose to work in. There’s variety in budgeting, forecasting and month end work.

It was this search for a role in industry that led me to my role as a finance manager at MI Media. It has been great to learn more about an industry I didn’t have any experience in and develop my understanding of how advertising works. Now when I walk down the street and see a billboard, I know that’s an OOH campaign!

What does a typical day look like for you?

My role as a finance manager is unpredictable and involves a lot of problem solving. I collaborate with every department across the business, from client services to the managing directors. Externally, I also build relationships with various stakeholders from suppliers to rebate partners. Every day there will be questions to answer, whether it’s about credit insurance or media owners. Once each query has been dealt with, I can get on with my day-to-day work which can involve anything from proactively managing accounts receivable and account payable to optimise our cash flow, to delivering detailed variance analysis and financial reporting to support the Finance Director in providing key insights to our senior leadership team. My job is definitely about finding the right balance between dealing with requests while managing people’s expectations.

What mistake have you learnt the most from?

In finance you will make mistakes as part of your career. Understand that it’s bound to happen as part of your development. What you should be doing is learning from them. Sit back and reflect on what you got wrong. Don’t let it affect your day but understand how you made the mistake and implement changes for the future.

I could tell you 50 or 100 mistakes I’ve made but what has helped me the most is reflecting on my mistakes instead of shying away from them. Even directors make material mistakes, everyone does it!

Who’s your role model?

Arsène Wenger is like a father figure to me. Not just because he used to manage the team I support. It’s who he was and how he represented the company he worked for. He wasn’t afraid to show his ambition.

One of the only books I’ve read in my life is Wenger’s Red and White. The early chapters are about his obsession with football growing up. He discusses how the road to success is a lonely one, you have to make sacrifices. For Wenger, that meant watching tapes of football games while others were at the pub. But those sacrifices lead to him changing the culture of football when he came to England.

There’s a quote by Arsene Wenger during an interview: “Don’t be scared to be ambitious. It’s not a humiliation to have a high target and to fail. For me, the real humiliation is to have a target and not to give everything to reach it.”

You should always be setting targets and striving to develop your skills. If you want to be a CFO, don’t be afraid to set that ambitious target. Some people may doubt you but take the risk and believe in yourself. Even if you fail, you tried. That’s what matters.