BBC 5 Live Interview - M&S Brand Reputation
- Matt Davies
- May 1
- 2 min read
This morning, I had the honour of joining BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast to discuss the unfolding impact of the recent cyberattack on Marks & Spencer. It's a story that’s far from over - and the implications for the M&S brand go well beyond lost sales or downed systems.
Marks & Spencer has long stood for British quality, competence, and heritage. These attributes have built deep reservoirs of trust with its customers. But in the wake of this highly disruptive cyberattack, that trust is being tested - not just in operational terms, but in emotional and reputational ones.
Trust Is the Real Casualty
What’s at stake here isn’t just digital infrastructure; it’s customer confidence. The attack has exposed two forms of brand trust:
Functional Trust – "Can I buy what I want, when I want it?" With systems down, online orders paused, and empty shelves in stores, this core promise is in jeopardy.
Emotional Trust – "Do I feel safe with this brand?" As customers worry about compromised data and service instability, they begin to feel uneasy — even betrayed.
Silence Isn’t Strategic
One of the most concerning elements of this crisis is the vagueness of M&S’s communication - especially as the incident has dragged on. While it's understandable that details must be carefully managed during an investigation, the absence of clear, reassuring messaging opens the door to speculation and fear.
In the digital age, brands must over-communicate when under attack. People don’t expect perfection, but they do expect honesty and empathy. M&S must now:
Reassure customers their data and experience are being prioritised.
Explain clearly what happened (when they can), what they’re doing now, and how they’ll ensure it won’t happen again.
Do this all in a tone that reflects the trust and heritage the brand is known for.
Goodwill Has a Half-Life
M&S’s reputation does buy it some time. Customers may initially be forgiving - especially given the brand’s long-standing emotional equity. But goodwill erodes fast if people feel ignored, inconvenienced, or at risk.
And no, consumers won’t soften their expectations just because it’s M&S. They want certainty. They want safety. They want to know the brands they rely on are competent custodians of their information and experience.
Cybersecurity Is Now a Brand Issue
This isn’t just an IT problem. It’s a reputational event that touches the very core of what a brand promises. M&S has an opportunity now — not just to recover, but to lead. To show that it handles crisis with the same competence and integrity it’s known for in calmer times.
Because reputation isn’t defined by how a brand performs when everything is going right - but by how it behaves when everything goes wrong.
