M&S changes direction with new menswear campaign

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 1, 2019

Marks & Spencer admitted its menswear fits were “out of sync with the market” as it unveiled on Wednesday a new menswear marketing push.

‘Slimmer, Sharper, More Stylish’ is M&S’ new menswear promise, which aims to highlight the ‘new and improved fit’ of its men’s clothing collection. 

“M&S Menswear is changing – as a team we’re focused on restoring style, fit and value for our customers as we adapt to the changing way men want to dress today,” said Wes Taylor, menswear director.

Indeed, this season, shoppers will find product has been slimmed down and reinvented for the “busy family aged customer”, with a clear shift towards casualwear to meet the needs of the growing population of men who dress less formally for work.

This has involved offering fewer suits and ties and increasing the number of number of leisurewear lines by 12% and knitwear by 4%. Suits and formalwear have actually been decreased by 14% to reflect this.

“We know the fits we offered were out of sync with the market – so, we’ve done a lot of work on our product and making it easier for men to shop with us – with fewer, better choices,” Wes Taylor continued.

“But we have to tell our customers about these changes and this campaign shouts about our new and improved fit on our hero Autumn/Winter categories of knitwear and outerwear. This season, we have a substantial amount of new product for customers to really notice a change in our products as slimmer, sharper and more stylish.” 

The menswear campaign will feature as press ads in eight national papers, as well as out of home billboards across the UK including roadside and rail stations and social media activity.

M&S said the imagery will reach around half of its target menswear audience, with people expected to see it on average three times during 29th October and 7th November.