Sophie Baillie, Associate Director and Head of Client Services:

• When should you develop a new marketing strategy?
• How to approach a new marketing strategy
• Learn from successful brands like Nike, LEGO and Glossier

As the seasons shift and we embrace the energy of spring, it’s the perfect moment to take a fresh look at how your brand is communicating. Just like you might declutter your home or reorganise your calendar, a thoughtful “spring clean” of your marketing strategy can breathe new life into your brand. It’s a chance to uncover hidden opportunities, refine your narrative, and ensure your platforms and tactics are working as hard as they should be.

The truth is, marketing activity that performed strongly last year may no longer reflect your evolving audience, goals, or business landscape. That’s why now is the ideal time to step back, take stock, and ask the big questions.

Here are the five essential questions every brand should be asking to spring clean their communications.

Does our messaging reflect who we are now?

Brands evolve and your messaging should too. Take a moment to review your brand’s language, tone of voice, and key messages. Are they still relevant? Do they reflect your organisation’s current purpose, values, and goals?

Look at Nike, for example. The brand has successfully evolved its messaging over the years, from “Just Do It” inspiration to becoming a loud advocate for social justice and inclusivity. This alignment with their evolving brand identity has kept them relevant and influential.

Are we engaging the right audiences in the right way?

Audiences shift, interests change, and new demographics emerge. Reassess your personas: who are they, where do they spend their time, and what do they care about? Are you meeting them where they are?

Take LEGO. Once a brand largely focused on children as its primary audience, it recognised the rise of adult enthusiasts and so it launched targeted campaigns like the LEGO Ideas platform and adult-focused sets. The pivot not only expanded their audience but significantly increased engagement.

Are our platforms working for us?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of spreading yourself too thinly across every platform, but not every channel will serve your strategy equally. Re-evaluate what platforms are driving the most engagement, leads, or conversions, dependent on your business objectives and don’t be afraid to hit pause on the ones that aren’t delivering.

Glossier, the beauty brand, built a cult following almost entirely through Instagram, focusing energy on where its community was most active, rather than trying to do it all.

Are we reactive… or strategic?

In a fast-moving digital world, it’s tempting to always chase the next big thing. But a thoughtful, proactive strategy will always have more impact over knee-jerk content.

Spotify offers a masterclass in this. Its annual Wrapped campaign isn’t just a reactive clever marketing moment; it’s a well-planned data-driven strategy that strengthens user loyalty, drives social sharing, and earns huge media coverage.

Are we measuring what matters?

Metrics are everywhere, but not all data is created equal. Are you focusing on vanity metrics, or those that reflect true success? Big numbers don’t always mean big wins and that is why we created our own measurement tool, CC Insight, to measure and track audience awareness, affinity and action and give our clients statistics and data that matter. 

Netflix is known for using highly sophisticated performance data to guide everything from content creation to marketing spend. The platform doesn’t just track views. It evaluates completion rates, re-watch behaviour, and subscriber retention to understand what content truly connects.

Spring isn’t just a time for cleaning cupboards, it’s a time for clearing cobwebs from your strategy. By taking the time to ask the right questions, you can refocus your marketing, spark creativity, and ensure your marketing and communications creates results.  

So, should a new season mean a new strategy? Not necessarily a full reboot. But a well-timed refresh? Absolutely.