The super marketer driving growth for Money supermarket: Lis Blair

Moneysupermarket unveiled its ‘MoneySuperSeven’ campaign in 2022, fronted by Academy Award-winning actress and national treasure Dame Judi Dench. The price comparison site has increased its marketing spend by almost ten per cent to £182m in 2023, as it said this week that the advertising over the year “resonated better” with consumers. The brand has said that the 'MoneySuperSeven’ campaign had “resonated better with consumers than any we have done before, supporting in an uplift in direct to site traffic in the year”.

The campaign, developed by New Commercial Arts, saw the saving experts entrusted with helping seven different people across seven different cities save money. Dench plays ‘Eight’, the leader of the 'MoneySuperSeven', a team of special agents tasked with going to ‘extreme lengths’ to save people some ‘serious money’.

The Dame Judi Dench spots have focused on tackling the cost of living crisis and highlighting the brand’s loyalty scheme ‘SuperSaveClub'. Since then the group’s revenue has risen by 11 per cent from £387.6m in 2022 to £432.1m in 2023.

So who is the special agent behind Moneysupermarket’s marketing successes? Lis Blair. Our Marketer of the Week. “Saving the nation money during the cost of living crisis is no mean feat, but we relish the challenge,” Blair said when the campaign first launched in May 2022. Upon the release of the third instalment of the advertisement in April 2023, the marketer stuck to her guns, adding: “Just as the financial challenges facing households continue to grow, so too does the squad’s determination to save Britain serious money.” 

Blair, who has over 20 years of experience in commercial and marketing leadership roles, first joined Moneysupermarket Group in January 2022 as general manager of insurance, marketing and customer, before rising to become the CMO in July 2022. Prior to this, she was chief growth and marketing officer at Bulb, chief marketing officer at easyJet and held several senior leadership roles at Audi, Rapier London and Barclays. During her eight years at easyJet, Blair worked alongside Peter Duffy (the then chief commercial officer at the airlines) and was reunited with him at Moneysupermarket where he is now CEO.

As well as attempting to tackle the cost of living crisis in Moneysupermarket’s marketing, Blair has also championed inclusivity in advertising more widely. “We were delighted to learn that the previous instalment [of the 'MoneySuperSeven' campaign] scored in the top three per cent of ads for its positive portrayal of female characters. Kantar’s research also highlighted that the range of characters inspires others. We hope our new campaign will inspire more people to get the best value deals for their household bills.”

She has also driven marketing campaigns for Moneysupermarket Group’s brand Quidco and also launched the Moneysupermarket Household Money Index (HMI), a comprehensive exploration of daily money habits across the UK. “It's a unique study of how our daily financial choices impact our relationships, wellbeing, decision-making, and our outlook on the future,” Blair added.

The marketer’s relationship with New Commercial Arts has flourished in recent years and the success of the ‘MoneySuperSeven’ campaigns is a testament to this. James Murphy, founder of NCA, added: “Lis is as excited by, and exacting on creativity as she is on the analytics and effectiveness of what we do. It’s a powerful and very effective combination in this category."