Gerety Awards Presents: Gerety Talks Retail Advertising LIVE In London

Nov. 14, 2023

With special thanks to host MSQ Partners the Gerety Awards are delighted to celebrate the 2023 winners with a champagne cocktail and Gerety Talk panel.

Few sectors evolve as quickly or present as many challenges and opportunities as retail. From much-loved bricks-and-mortar mainstays to emerging online brands, marketers and agencies have to constantly innovate if they’re to stay close to their customers – and attract new ones. As part of an in-depth study into the world of retail, join us to hear from industry experts on what’s new and what’s next in this fascinating space. 

Moderated by Alex Reeves Deputy Editor at Little Black Book the panel includes:

• Cressida Holmes-Smith, CEO, Lucky Generals
• Bonita Samuels, Senior Associate Director, EssenceMediacom
• Jamie Peate, Global Head of Retail & Effectiveness, McCann Worldgroup
• Kit Altin, Chief Strategy Officer, The Gate London

Cress is a down-to-earth Yorkshire lass, despite the long name. She studied at Oxford University and art school in Paris before joining WPP on the highly competitive Ogilvy Fellowship Graduate Scheme. After three years she joined BBH helping to win multiple Cannes Golds for Unilever's Lynx, and to bring Britain's largest retailer Tesco back to growth, winning Campaign Magazine's "Brand Story of the Year" as well as Cannes Gold and IPA Effectiveness awards. She added motherhood and an online EMBA to her CV before joining as a General in 2017 to lead our largest account, Co-op. Cress has since been promoted five times, and led multiple brand transformations, most recently for GambleAware and The Guardian.

Jamie has helped to drive a culture at local, regional and global levels that holds creativity and effectiveness central to all of the agency's output. His strategic approach to the Aldi account exemplifies his approach long running campaigns such as Like Brands and Kevin the Carrot have reaped benefits for the client and helped redefine the grocery sector.

A proud northerner and champion of creativity in Manchester, Jamie got his first taste of retail at his parent's shop near Blackpool. He first joined McCann Manchester as a recent graduate before forming his own insight and innovation agency Blue Banana in the early 1990s. When the agency became part of McCann Manchester 20 years later, Jamie returned as Director of Strategy and Insight.

He is now a key part of the McCann UK Aldi leadership team and also leads the CPG and Retail Practice for McCann World group which supports, promotes and shares best thinking, approaches and practice for retail globally. He also is the Head of Effectiveness for MWG UK.

Bonita, a senior associate director at EssenceMediacom working with clients across partnerships, influencer and social dedicated to creating a more representative media landscape. EssenceMediacom is GroupM’s newest and largest agency, committed to delivering marketing breakthroughs for brands have disrupted the old models across media, creative, innovation and analytics to find new opportunities for advertisers and deliver truly integrated media solutions. Born out of two pioneering agencies, EssenceMediacom fuses Essence’s performance, data, analytics and creative technology DNA with MediaCom's scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.

Kit is Chief Strategy Officer at The Gate London which she transformed from zero to hero in just 5 years. She is Campaign's Global Strategic Leader of the Year 2022.

Kit brings over 20 years of defining creatively and commercially effective strategies for brands including McDonald's, the BBC and Tide, and most recently The AA, the mobile network SMARTY and retailer The Very Group.

She is especially renowned for her innovative approach to data and insight, and has won Most Effective Use of Data and Insight at The Marketing Society Awards for the last 2 years. Other recognition includes a Gold APG Award for Childline’s "Nobody is Normal" and a Gold Effie for long-term effectiveness for Anusol’s "Bum’s The Word".

Kit is a teacher and mentor as well as practitioner. She teaches for D&AD, the IPA and the APG, designing and delivering masterclasses for individuals and companies, and speaking worldwide on effective and creative communication.

The Gerety Awards will be in London on Wednesday, November 22nd.  

To get your invite RSVP at https://mailchi.mp/geretyawards/london