Retailer GO Outdoors has launched a new TV advert as part of the theme ‘Discover Freedom’, starring a zest-for-life parakeet called Billy. 

The bird, voiced by actor Will Mellor (No Offence and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisp), dreams about freedom and spending his days in the outdoor world. So the moment he realises his cage door is unlocked, he seizes his opportunity… and heads straight to the GO Outdoors flagship store in York, the brand’s biggest in Europe.

Set to the disco track ‘Mighty Real’ by Sylvester, the little escapee dances through a series of products at the 125,000 sq ft store at Vangarde Shopping Park, sashaying passed a Stanley flask and moonwalking between Garmin watches, “providing a running commentary of his greatest adventure along the way”.

Carly Czuba, group marketing director for GO Outdoors, said: “Our new TV advert is a step forward in our Discover Freedom idea… with our hero Billy…experiencing the joy of outdoor shopping in our award winning York store.”

The ad is the second part of the Discover Freedom campaign, which highlights the group’s focus on “spending time outdoors to liberate yourself from the everyday grind”. The retailer worked with the Manchester-based creative agency driven to create the advert, which encourages customers to #BeMoreBilly. 

With growth “accelerating”, Swedish customer experience platform Voyado has appointed Thomas Harris as chief revenue officer, effective 22 April. 

Based in the UK, Harris will lead the purpose-built-for-retail platform, continuing its expansion across the UK&Ireland and Europe, “building on its strong Nordic foundation”.

With over a decade of experience in the Martech and SaaS space, Harris “has built and led high-performing revenue teams, helping customers grow and succeed in competitive markets”. 

He joins “at a pivotal time as Voyado continues to demonstrate the platform’s resilience and impact in a turbulent market”. With operations across the UK, Nordics, Benelux, and now Germany, Voyado “is evolving from Nordic leader to European challenger — on a mission to become Europe’s most beloved retail partner”.

Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO at Voyado, said: “Bringing in someone with Thomas’s experience and strong focus on customer success gives us a real advantage. He knows what it takes to succeed in this space and is the right person to lead our next phase of international growth. Most importantly, he’s aligned with our mission to make every retailer feel like a frontrunner.”
 
Voyado’s growing customer base includes Ellis Brigham, Brora, Bestseller, Pour Moi, Cutler and Gross, Silver Cross, H&M, Luca Faloni and Jigsaw.

Expanding London-based luxury cashmere brand Les 100 Ciels has appointed social-first digital marketing agency SAMY. And its wide remit will cover organic and paid social media marketing, design/art direction, new collections and in-store activations.

Further, the agency has been charged with driving footfall to Les 100 Ciels’ stores, which include Knightsbridge, South Molton Street, and St John’s Wood in London, as well as traffic online, with sales “a key campaign KPI”. 

SAMY will also “build awareness of the brand and communicate its quiet luxury credentials, including via targeted influencer activity”.

To cater for its growing global client base, Les 100 Ciels opened its first overseas retail outlet in Abu Dhabi at the end of March, with the agency also supporting its new store performance.

The agency will support the brand by producing “relevant content for key moments such as new store openings, new collections and gateway items to the full collection”, including the ‘100 Cap’ collection.

Meanwhile, a range of upcoming in-store events will focus on luxury, wellbeing, sustainability and exclusive artisanal themes, “potentially involving influencers and collaborations”.
 
Darren Hampton, brand director at Les 100 Ciels says: “We have ambitious plans … but we have to ensure that our growth respects the core principles of the brand that we have carefully built over time. SAMY showed us that they understood the careful alignment of messaging required to both promote the Les 100 Ciels brand and take our story out to a discerning audience who may not yet have heard of us, all while respecting our core values and exclusive approach. We are very excited by what lies ahead.”