Greg will be back in the saddle next week, but for this special UK edition of Source[De]coded I’ve been asked to take the wheel.

It’s been a busy few days on our side of the world. We’ve just moved into a new office in Farringdon, which feels like the right home for the next chapter of the UK team. If you find yourself nearby, do pop in and say hello. There is usually coffee on, and occasionally something stronger.

Hot on the heels of that move, we also received the news that SourceCode has been shortlisted for both B2B Agency of the Year and Technology Agency of the Year at the PRmoment Awards. Recognition like that is always appreciated, particularly when it reflects the work our team is doing every day with clients who are building genuinely interesting businesses.

Beyond our own news, this week’s stories offer a useful reminder that marketing fashions come and go, but fundamentals tend to endure. Mark Ritson offers a timely reality check on the industry’s enthusiasm for micro influencers, McDonald’s demonstrates the power of leaning into real customer behaviour, and the broader conversation continues around how brands balance cultural relevance with long term brand building.

With that, let’s get into it.

Giles Peddy

Micro influencers work. But they do not build brands alone

TL;DR: Major brands from Urban Outfitters to Sephora are building micro influencer armies to reach fragmented younger audiences. The data shows strong engagement and short term ROI, but Mark Ritson argues that these programs work best alongside mass reach media that actually builds long term brand memory.

Takeaway: Ritson’s argument is not that micro influencers fail. It is that marketers are confusing activation with brand building. Micro influencer networks deliver engagement, targeting and cultural relevance, but they struggle to create the consistent, high frequency signals that drive mental availability over time. When thousands of creators each interpret a brand in their own way, distinctiveness erodes and salience weakens. That matters because the strongest brands grow by being easy to recall in buying situations, not just by generating engagement metrics. The bigger risk is measurement. Engagement rates look impressive, but they rarely map cleanly to long term brand growth. The smartest marketers will use micro influencers as amplification and community engines, while still investing in broader reach channels that build fame, consistency and brand memory.

Consider:

• For marketers, are your influencer programs driving brand memory or just short term engagement spikes

• For communications leaders, how do you balance creator authenticity with protecting the consistency of your brand narrative

International Women’s Day: A moment for the women the industry admires

TL;DR: The Media Leader asked women across the industry to name the women who helped shape their careers, turning International Women’s Day into a conversation about advocacy, mentorship, and everyday support rather than surface level celebration. Several contributors framed progress as interconnected, not competitive, and one noted that women still hold less than a third of leadership roles across adtech and martech.

Takeaway: There is a useful editorial pivot here. The strongest part of this piece is not the tribute format. It is the reminder that careers are built through sponsorship, candour, and visible advocacy, not just formal mentoring schemes. Multiple contributors describe support as practical and ongoing, from opening doors to giving honest feedback to backing ideas in the room. That matters because too many organisations still treat inclusion like messaging when it is actually an operating system. The tension is obvious. Everyone says they value talent, but talent compounds faster when someone with influence actively accelerates it. 

Consider:

• For marketers, where in your team or organisation are high potential people still expected to figure it out alone

• For communications leaders, are you just talking about inclusion externally or actually creating visible pathways internally

McDonald’s turns fans’ camera rolls into a campaign

TL;DR: McDonald’s built a campaign using real customer photos pulled from phone camera rolls, highlighting spontaneous late night McDonald’s moments and turning authentic fan behaviour into the creative itself.

Takeaway: This campaign works because it flips the usual brand storytelling model. Instead of creating a polished narrative and asking audiences to believe it, McDonald’s elevates behaviour that already exists. Camera roll photos carry a level of intimacy and credibility that professional content often cannot replicate. The brilliance is not just authenticity but participation. Consumers see themselves reflected in the work, which strengthens cultural relevance and shareability. The tension is control versus credibility. When brands lean into real behaviour, they sacrifice polish and message precision. But the reward is resonance. Campaigns like this signal a broader shift where brands increasingly curate culture rather than manufacture it.

Consider:

• For marketers, what existing customer behaviour could become the foundation of your next campaign

• For communications leaders, where could real user content strengthen credibility more than brand produced assets

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