Discover the latest IMA news and stories, industry news & views from our expert team
01/09/2026
3 min
For years, we’ve talked about bringing brand and performance closer together. We’ve built full-funnel strategies, shared measurement frameworks and debates about where brand ends and performance begins. Yet, in practice, the two often still operate as separate worlds: different teams, budgets, KPIs and definitions of success. Ultimately our job is to help our clients to be more buyable, which we do by removing silos and thinking holistically in order to improve both mental and physical availability.
21/07/2026
3 min
M&S (Marks & Spencer) has launched its new brand platform, Love That, this week, with the legendary Gillian Anderson. This comes hot on the heels of the retailer retaining its crown as the UK’s strongest brand in the YouGov Best Brand Rankings 2026. This is more than a win for the store; it is a masterclass in brand resilience. M&S has now maintained an uninterrupted reign as the UK’s healthiest brand since 2022, and they are comfortably ahead of the second place brand on the list, IKEA.
21/07/2026
3 min
The IMA Buyability Index ranks brands on how easy they are to buy and how ready people are to buy them. The Buyability Index is determined using IMA’s M.O.R.E. buyable framework to determine how effective brands are across four pillars; Meaningful, Outstanding, Reachable, Easy. Using consistent, repeatable data points to provide clear direction on how to get customers to buy into the brand as well as physically buying the brand to drive business growth. Be More Buyable.
20/07/2026
5 min
This blog acts as IMA’s first SEO thought leadership piece, setting the foundation for how we talk about organic visibility in a rapidly changing search landscape. As search evolves beyond traditional rankings, with AI Overviews, LLMs, core updates and GEO reshaping how audiences discover brands, this piece creates a strategic entry point for IMA’s wider SEO perspective.
03/06/2026
4 min
Despite Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI believing ads would be a last resort to his business model, ChatGPT ads were inevitable. Especially when the platform needs to fund infrastructure deals. I believe OpenAI currently needs a measly $1.4 trillion. How Altman was planning to cover these costs without ads is a mystery, I’d love to see his business plan without ads in the mix.
03/06/2026
2 min
Global full service agency IMA has launched ‘Kwit for Good’, a pro-bono campaign marking the launch of Kwit, the global quit smoking app, in the UK.
28/10/2026
3 min
Health and beauty retail is evolving as shoppers rethink how they discover products, spend their money and make purchasing decisions. From promotion-led shopping in South Africa to digital beauty discovery in India and enriched online experiences in the UK, changing shopper expectations are creating new opportunities for brands and retailers.
22/10/2026
5 min
How brands can prepare for Singles’ Day 2026 in Thailand through clearer offers, useful social commerce and a simpler path to purchase.
01/10/2026
3 min
International retail solutions specialist Smollan is strengthening its brand presence in Germany and bringing all point-of-purchase activities under one unified global brand. Effective 1 October 2026, Combera GmbH will officially operate under the Smollan name. This marks an important milestone in the Group’s strategic development, enabling it to offer retailers and brand manufacturers a seamless, cross-border portfolio of services.
15/09/2026
3 min
With shoppers able to discover, compare and buy in seconds, and brands and retailers able to reach them long before they walk through the store door, online retail is hard to beat. Digital may win the clock. But does it win the shopper?