Luke Smith

Do you want digital insights… or do you want to see how they’re actually applied? At Thrive Online Group UK, a lot of what we do sits behind the scenes, building, refining and scaling SEO, PPC and web strategies that deliver real results. Our articles bring that thinking to the surface. They cover the structure, the approach, and the decisions that sit behind high-performing digital campaigns across ecommerce, lead generation and multi-market growth. If you’re looking for practical insight you can actually take away and use, it’s all here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMw-r9ws #SEO #PPC #DigitalStrategy #Ecommerce #GrowthStrategy #ThriveOnlineGroupUK

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🎬 Production at the Centre of a Growing UK Ad Market Latest data from the Advertising Association and WARC shows the UK advertising market is continuing its growth trajectory, with total spend forecast to rise sharply and push towards the £50bn mark by 2026. That is strong momentum, even in a muted economic backdrop. 📈 Why this matters for production 🎥 More investment in creative execution As overall ad budgets grow, brands will need high quality production across formats, from long form storytelling to fast turn digital content. 📱 Digital and VOD leading growth Search, online display and VOD continue to dominate, but premium video, cinema and TV remain critical for brands looking to build real cultural impact. 📺 Craft still matters The continued investment in film, TV and experiential formats shows that production value and storytelling are still central to performance, not separate from it. 💡 Resilience despite uncertainty Even with economic headwinds, advertisers are backing creativity. That is a strong signal that great ideas, executed well, remain one of the most reliable drivers of brand growth. For producers, directors, editors and creative teams, this is not just a headline number. It is a reminder that production sits at the heart of how brands connect with audiences and that the opportunities are growing for ambitious work. If you have got any bids that could use support, give me a call. 2.0 FILM service productions in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Northern Italy and Austria, fast turnarounds, top tier crews, and stunning locations. #Production #Advertising #Storytelling #CreativeEconomy #MediaGrowth

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JICMAIL's Response Rate Tracker 2025 is out. Now including response rate, ROI, CPA and AOV data from 3,800 campaigns measured by fifteen industry organisations, this year's release highlights the increasingly important role that the mail channel plays in acquiring new customers. Cold DM response rates grew 24% year on year in 2024, while Door Drop ROI grew 41%. With more data, it's the new planning variables which have got me the most excited however. There are some really interesting learnings emerging around repeat sends and message reinforcement: Repeat Cold DM mail sends achieve 37% higher ROI and 2.5 times higher response rates than new campaigns, along with greater Average Order Values and lower CPAs. Get your message out, and then get it out again. Nothing wrong with making yourself heard in an increasingly crowded attention economy ;-) Topline results available here: https://lnkd.in/eUTsDm9i ....and in depth sector level insight available via JICMAIL Discovery to all subscribers. Thanks to Join the Dots, Epsilon, The Letterbox Consultancy Ltd., Ginger Black , DBS Datamarketing Ltd, Whistl UK Ltd, Paperplanes UK, choreograph, PSE, The Specialist Works, Go Inspire Group - A Xerox Company, Herdify, PDV Ltd, Go Direct Marketing for all of your submissions this year.

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This is a great summary of 2024´s digital advertising spend in the UK.  Worth £35.5bn in investment, the industry has grown 13% . Channels like Retail media and BVOD have grown 23% and 17% respectively. Really worth listening..

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What will it take to unlock the full potential of retail media? Dan Larden from ISBA joined #RetailMediaThursdays to unpack the answers from the inaugural UK Digital Retail Media Study, produced in partnership with MediaSense. With input from 25 advertisers, retailers, and technology companies (including Skai), it’s the most in-depth look at the UK ecosystem to date. 🔍 His takeaways include: - Merging commerce, trade, and media teams is *still* messy - Off-site and in-store are the next big retail media opportunities - JBPs/JMPs vary - brands want one plan, one goal, one budget - Reporting needs “customizable standardization” (not an oxymoron!) - Verification and measurement still lag, but change *is* coming 🎥 Watch the full episode to see how UK brands are rethinking retail media: https://okt.to/Fyx4j3 Get the full report: https://okt.to/j0wMW1

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Scaling Facebook lookalike audiences often comes down to smart percentage adjustments. When dealing with webinar opt-ins, one can fine-tune the percentage to match the data's granularity. For example, fewer opt-ins may warrant a narrower lookalike audience, ensuring higher precision. It's about aligning the audience size with the data quality for optimal results. #FacebookAds #LookalikeAudiences #DigitalMarketing #WebinarStrategy

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Meta’s Q2 results show AI’s growing impact, from more relevant targeting to higher conversion rates. Proving what’s possible when optimisation, data, and delivery are tightly integrated inside Meta’s ecosystem. But the bigger picture is clear: advertisers now expect this level of performance and accountability everywhere, without sacrificing transparency or control. AI isn’t just about smarter optimisation, it’s about creating systems where every outcome can be verified, every transaction benefits advertisers and publishers, and crucially, where control doesn’t slip away into a black box. FutureWeek https://lnkd.in/eGkxfc-F

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25 Years Of Google Ads: Was It Better Then Or Now? Search Engine Journal looks at how performance marketers have adapted (and sometimes struggled) as Google Ads evolved from manual control to machine learning dominance. At Todays, we see value in both worlds: strategy and human insight remain the true performance levers; AI just makes them faster. Read more here👇

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Beauty brands: get closer to your customers. In-store experiences matter—but in today’s market, digital touchpoints like branded apps are where loyalty is built. From personalised recommendations to AR try-ons and exclusive content, apps keep your brand in their pocket and their heart. 💄📱 Great work Sue Azari

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Check this out - a completely new way of driving sales performance. DM me if you need to have an in-depth conversation on how this can work for you org.

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"Advertisers are under increasing pressure to deliver measurable outcomes. As budgets tighten and scrutiny increases, media buyers are prioritising placements that clearly drive attention, engagement, or conversions — not just passive impressions. As a result, traditional display ads are no longer enough. Advertisers are seeking premium environments and formats delivering demonstrable value. Forward-thinking publishers are responding with interactive ad formats such as quizzes" Holy words, as this is a trend I predicted a long time ago. Display advertising hasn’t worked for a long time, but only recently has shrinking traffic from Google (to publishers) made it a well-known problem. Now the traffic is too small to keep relying on ad income from relatively cheap classic programmatic ads. Quizzes (like QuestPass) and quests are interactive, so they guarantee deep attention, not just fleeting glances at ads. As a result, publishers’ income is much higher. And the effectiveness of #questvertising is scientifically proven, as shown in this peer-reviewed article in "Frontiers": https://lnkd.in/dn_hWxBM Quote is from the International News Media Association (INMA) blog by Sam Guest. https://lnkd.in/dEhmCPes

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💭 The future of great ad products is built around the customer Publishers face extraordinary uncertainty, and for many, charting a clear path to success is becoming increasingly challenging. At Immediate we’ve long believed in the importance and value of direct customer relationships with digital consumers. We’re delighted to elevate the impact of this work by collaborating with Permutive and Ocado to connect our customer cohorts with Ocado’s shopper intent signals. This partnership brings together the UK’s leading food site and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket. All within our first-party data platform, Prism. 📝 What does that mean? 1️⃣Our direct customer cohorts are enriched with Ocado’s vast shopper intent data 2️⃣Matched seeds are modelled on the fly across thousands of behavioural Prism cohorts 3️⃣Clients can reach their next set of customers with targeting powered by high-quality intent signals. All in premium, safe, open web environments Combining our industry-leading expertise in food with Ocado’s exceptional intent data is a major step toward delivering a full-funnel solution, without compromising on quality or transparency, two concerns that are increasingly top of mind across other platforms. https://lnkd.in/e-mQskWh

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UGC is set to overtake professional content in ad revenue for the first time in 2025, according to WPP’s latest forecast. The era of polished brand campaigns is giving way to the rise of authentic, scalable user voices. What’s powering this shift? Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs). Unlike traditional influencers, KOCs are everyday users who generate authentic, trusted content at scale—often without the price tag of big-name creators. But what’s more exciting is how automation is turning KOC-driven UGC into a repeatable, high-ROI engine for brands. Here's how KOCs are automating UGC creation: - AI-matched creator campaigns via platforms like Passionation - Product seeding programs integrated with affiliate links (Duomai, Pinduoduo, Shopify Collabs) - UGC templates and auto-editing using CapCut, Canva, or TikTok’s Creator Hub - Trend-based content prompts powered by AI tools - Repackaged UGC for paid ads, optimized through tools like Motion or Vizard This shift is especially powerful in markets like China and India, where KOC ecosystems on platforms like Xiaohongshu, TikTok, and ShareChat are already deeply integrated into retail media. As retail media grows toward 18% of global ad revenue by 2030, KOC-driven UGC isn’t just a tactic—it’s fast becoming a core growth strategy. Are you leveraging KOCs in your UGC strategy? What tools or platforms have worked best for you? https://lnkd.in/gEFwA_Ry #UGC #RetailMedia #KOC #DigitalMarketing #CreatorEconomy #MarketingStrategy #AdTech #Passionation

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Fixing the Leaky Revenue Pipe Between Brands and Publishers I’m excited to share my latest article for AdMonsters, where I dig into the broken ad tech supply chain and what we need to do to fix it. In this piece, I explore why it’s time to rethink the ecosystem and prioritise smarter, fairer and more transparent tools that are built with publishers in mind. Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/emCqGiPm Would love to hear your thoughts  #Publishers #Brands #Mantis

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UK's HFSS restrictions may seem limiting, but David Spinner, Industry Director for CPG at Teads, shows how marketers can use them as a springboard for smarter, more creative festive campaigns. Read the full article:

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