River Island | Case Study
Giving leadership clear visibility of marketing’s commercial impact
Summary
River Island implemented a new measurement framework to better direct media investment to commercial outcomes. LEAD helped with the creation, implementation and communication of the measurement framework.
Results at-a-glance
Strengthened confidence in marketing across senior leadership
Secured a seven‑figure out‑of‑home budget for a flagship store refit.
Annual media planning made use of LEAD’s measurement framework.
Service Area:
Media Measurement
Client Snapshot
River Island are a family‑owned UK fashion retailer operating over 200 high‑street stores as well as an e‑commerce operation.
Challenge
River Island were struggling to balance pragmatic media budget decisions with ambitious sales targets. The existing measurement process was misaligned with the business objectives, limiting how clearly marketing performance could be communicated to senior leadership.
Solution
We delivered a measurement framework to enable River Island to consistently communicate how marketing activity drives profitable customer growth.
Measurement Framework
We identified marketing metrics that demonstrated a strong correlation with core business metrics. Building on this, we then conducted a causation analysis to define individual metrics that could be used within marketing activity. Together these layers give teams a single source of direction for planning and for reporting back to senior leadership.
Implementation Roadmap
Alongside this framework, we delivered a roadmap to ensure the successful rollout of this new framework. For this we used the “Educate, Align, Enable, Iterate” framework:
Educate teams on the framework’s purpose and everyday application.
Align everyone on shared objectives and priorities.
Enable adoption by supplying the tools, data and support each team needs.
Iterate the framework through regular reviews to keep it current and effective.
Outcome
The framework strengthened confidence at senior leadership level, enabling the marketing team to secure a seven-figure out-of-home budget for a flagship store refit. LEAD has since been re-engaged to use the framework in annual planning, making sure media investment is directed towards the activities most likely to move commercial KPIs.
If you’re reviewing how marketing drives growth
If you’re working to improve how marketing performance is understood across your organisation, we can help you build a measurement framework that connects activity to business outcomes. We’re happy to talk through what this could look like for your team.
Find out how we can help…
Read our other case studies
-
![]()
River Island | Giving leadership clear visibility of marketing’s commercial impact
River Island implemented a new measurement framework to better direct media investment to commercial outcomes. LEAD helped with the creation, implementation and communication of the measurement framework.
-
![]()
Equiti | Scaling global marketing with a modern Martech stack
Equiti built a modern marketing technology stack to support the launch of a new B2C product and scale global acquisition. LEAD supported the design, onboarding and integration of the full stack.
-
![]()
Holland & Barrett | Gaining a single customer view across all channels
Holland and Barrett rebuilt their marketing technology stack to gain a single, connected view of the customer and improve targeting across digital channels. LEAD led the mapping, selection and implementation process.
-
![Silhouettes of three people standing near large windows with a cityscape view and overcast sky.]()
HSBC Private Bank | Developing Best-in-Class Website Strategy
HSBC Private Bank established a clearer strategy for how their website should attract and convert qualified leads. LEAD delivered the competitor benchmarking and implementation roadmap to support this shift.
-
![]()
OANDA | Auditing agency fees to reduce spend by $750k+ per year
OANDA reshaped their agency model to reduce costs and improve transparency. LEAD audited all existing contracts and recommended a new structure that brought key channels in-house.
-
![]()
HSBC Global | Using Digital Maturity to unite 13 markets and deliver $86m growth
HSBC created a unified digital-maturity approach across 13 global markets to raise marketing performance and support growth. LEAD helped bring the programme together, improve visibility and deliver playbooks and dashboards used by teams worldwide.
