Out Smart Moves, Big Wins series was borne from our belief that smart, strategic moves that blend creativity with commercial intent, not ones that play it safe, are often the most successful. The kind that connect with people, capture a moment, and drive real performance.
That’s exactly why we created the Smart Moves, Big Wins series.
Over nine weeks, over on Black Lab’s LinkedIn, we spotlighted the brands making sharp digital decisions, but not just those flash-in-the-pan digital marketing campaigns, no. These were the long-term plays that made the scroll stop and the numbers climb. We’ve spotlighted campaigns from resale platforms to refillable deodorants and AI personalisation to video-led hospitality, these brands gave us something more than tactics and proof that smart still wins.
Here’s what stood out over the past nine weeks:
Week 1 – Vinted: From App to Avenue
Vinted’s “House of Vinted” pop-up brought fashion resale into a curated, scent-styled townhouse in South Kensington. This was second-hand, rebranded as first-class and it wasn’t just for show as every item was shoppable via the app, merging in-real-life (IRL) experience with digital scale.
Key takeaway: Vinted shifted the perception of second-hand fashion and built a cross-territory campaign that blended storytelling, curation, and commerce seamlessly.
Week 2 – Bloom & Wild: “Delay the Delivery”
Rather than focus on the immediate moment of a baby’s birth, Bloom & Wild’s ‘Delay the Delivery’ campaign tapped into what happens afterwards; the quieter weeks when new parents often feel forgotten. The idea was simple yet powerful: encourage gifting between one to three months after birth. Woven into the checkout journey and app experience, the campaign positioned Bloom & Wild not just as a florist, but a thoughtful companion through life’s emotional moments.
Key Takeaway: Sometimes, the thing you’re tempted to hide can be your biggest strength. By owning your quirks, you can create deeper, more authentic connections with your audience.
Week 3 – Trip Drinks: The Calm before the Scale
With the CBD drinks category approaching saturation, TRIP moved early. Their Mindful Blend range, featuring magnesium, L-theanine, and adaptogens, but no CBD, marked a shift toward emotional wellness. The launch was supported by their first UK TV campaign, UGC-led TikTok content, creator whitelisting, Calm app partnerships, and retail distribution through 30,000+ stores.
Key takeaway: TRIP made ‘calm’ the product and not just the ingredient, then, built a multi-channel rollout that felt consistent from inbox to shelf.
Week 4 – OVMS: Full funnel, One Focus
During one of the most competitive months in the UK automotive calendar, OVMS delivered a record-breaking performance by prioritising commercial intent. Working with us; Black Lab, they aligned paid media, SEO, technical performance, and content around real buyer search behaviour and not just ad spend. The result was uplift across every metric that mattered.
Key takeaway: OVMS proved that performance doesn’t come from pouring more in, but from joining the dots between visibility, experience, and intent.
Week 5 – Wild Deodorant: “You Don’t Need to Dump Us”
Sustainability often gets pitched through stats. Wild went emotional. Their ‘You Don’t Need to Dump Us’ campaign reframed refillable deodorants as relationship-worthy, casting single-use products as toxic exes in a bold, culturally relevant metaphor. Built around a satirical breakup film and rolled out across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and post-purchase moments, the campaign made commitment cool again.
Key takeaway: Wild showed that humour and storytelling can make sustainability both accessible and commercially powerful — without feeling worthy.
Week 6 – Monzo: When Banking Feels Like Belonging
Finance is rarely a space where feelings take centre stage and yet, online bank, Monzo changed that. Their campaign, ‘Money Never Felt Like Monzo’, built emotional resonance across every channel. It wasn’t about rates or features, but how Monzo makes customers feel. Surreal visuals, warm tone, and cohesive execution across TV, CRM, TikTok and Spotify all drove a consistent, emotionally charged message.
Key takeaway: Monzo swapped features for feelings and created a campaign that not only won awards, but delivered category-defining brand warmth.
Week 7 – Fallow: From Kitchen to Campaign
Fallow didn’t chase followers, they built fans. Using lo-fi, chef-led video content like their ‘Iconic British Dishes Challenge’, the restaurant leaned into storytelling and spontaneity. Shot in-house, natively edited for TikTok and YouTube, and built around their own team, the campaign resonated with a specific audience who valued craft over curation.
Key takeaway: Fallow proved that authenticity, when paired with platform-native execution, can be more powerful than polish, and, still fill tables, not just feeds.
Week 8 – Belstaff: AI with a Human Touch
Heritage brands often struggle with modernisation. Belstaff chose to evolve through subtlety, integrating AI-powered personalisation into their email strategy without losing their visual identity or tone. Through partnerships with Dressipi and Mapp, the team A/B tested, refined, and delivered scalable CRM journeys rooted in behaviour and intent.
Key takeaway: Belstaff balanced personalisation and performance with brand integrity, showing that automation doesn’t have to mean abstraction.
Week 9 – QVC UK: Retail that Resonates
QVC broke convention with a campaign that tackled the, historically taboo, subject of menopause with honesty and care. Partnering with Guardian Labs, they created a full content and commerce ecosystem encapsulating editorial stories, curated product hubs, QR-enabled shopping moments, and empathetic language across all platforms. The result wasn’t just engagement, but award-winning brand reappraisal.
Key takeaway: QVC showed that trust comes from tackling what others won’t, and that commerce can flow from real connection, not just convenience.
What We’ve Learnt from 9 Weeks of Smart Moves, Big Wins
Across every brand, brief and budget, four lessons kept coming back; loud and clear:
- Emotion is a performance lever: Whether it was finance, floristry, or functional drinks, the brands that won didn’t just explain, they connected. Emotional clarity drove commercial outcomes, not just awareness.
- Smart doesn’t mean complex: None of these campaigns tried to do everything. They did one thing well, then scaled it through the right channels. A strong idea, rooted in truth, executed with focus outperforms a cluttered multi-message approach every time.
- Technology works best when it’s invisible: From AI-driven CRM to QR-powered shopping journeys, the best tech applications weren’t centre stage, they were in service of the experience. It wasn’t about what the brand used, but how it felt to the customer.
- Modern marketing is layered, not linear: Across the board, we saw brands win by blending content, community and commerce, not just following a funnel. Editorial-led journeys, native creator content, emotionally-led ads…these weren’t steps, they were stories, which leads us into our next theme which we’ll be announcing next week.
You Decide…
Which campaign stood out for you? Head to our LinkedIn poll and cast your vote for your favourite Smart Mover of the quarter.
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