1. Describe 2022 in three words…
Back to normal (ish).

2. Plug those words in What3Words for your 2023 holiday destination. Where are you going and what’s the vibe?
Somewhere just outside Boston… So I’ll be hiring a car and heading to Cape Cod to live on lobster rolls and chowder for a couple of weeks.

3. Asda, ALDI, John Lewis, Boots or someone else? Which Christmas ad won your heart and mind in 2022?

Our National Lottery brand ad of course! I am so proud of the ad, which is the hero of our biggest-ever Christmas campaign. There is not a single member of the Camelot Marketing department who hasn’t worked on this project. It has been an ambitious and exciting campaign – alongside the hero brand ad, we have created complementary festive Lotto, EuroMillions and Scratchcards ads, are hosting free Love Actually screenings in hundreds of cinemas across the country and all of this will culminate on New Year’s Eve with an incredible party, ‘The National Lottery’s Big Bash’, on ITV that was recorded and attended earlier this month by 8,000 National Lottery players.

4. What’s your favourite ad/campaign of 2022?

There are very few ads I see as a consumer vs. a marketer. However, I love Just Eat’s re-incarnation of their ad – following up on Snoop Dog could have been tough, but I love the Katie Perry brand ad, as well as their activation work. I think they bring across an incredible brand personality and their distinctive assets across all of their touchpoints.

5. Mark Zuckerberg has asked to create your perfect Christmas in the metaverse. Where are you, who is cooking and what entertainment have you got lined-up?

I’ve always wanted to experience Christmas in a hotel… So I’d be somewhere beautiful, maybe with Raymond Blanc cooking (so why not Le Manoir?) with the metaverse creating the absolute perfect Christmas entertainment for my son, i.e. everything he’s ever seen on a film/in a picture – a Christmas tree with a steam train running round it, candy canes, glistening snow, Christmas pudding with the sauce and holly on top, jingle bells, sleigh bells, church bells, carol singers, roaring fire, snowmen and probably Kevin from Home Alone with whom he could create chaos!

6. What do you want in your Christmas stocking in the old fashioned real world?

There are so many glamorous things I could wish for, but I really appreciate simple things like socks and a great book.

7. Elon Musk has gifted you a place on twitter’s board for Christmas. What would you do to turn it around?

I believe every successful business/brand can be turned around by going back to its roots – why was twitter great in the first place, what benefits did users get from it, etc. And then work out how to get back those fundamentals.

8. What’s going to be hot in marketing in 2023?

Building brand value – consumers’ disposable incomes are going to continue to be under pressure, which means marketers need to go back to basics and make sure every part of their brand/product experience is worth their customers’ hard earned cash.

9. How can marketers and brands ride the storm in 2023?

We need to help our wider business stakeholders understand that marketing investment is for the long term. Due to the macro economic environment, some of us will have fewer customers next year (on the flip side, other brands will benefit!). By investing in the long term, when our target consumers have more disposable income, they will buy back in. I’m a huge fan of Les Binet and he covered just this in a recent IPA webinar. The reality for lots of marketers will be tighter marketing budgets if recession kicks in, so prioritisation will be key.

10. 2023 is the Chinese year of the water rabbit, which symbolises longevity, peace and prosperity. What are you hoping for in the year ahead in the world of marketing and advertising?

That we make our peace with purpose! I’m lucky enough to work on the National Lottery brand which has purpose at its core. National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for Good Causes that benefit the whole of the UK. I think we need to accept that not every brand needs purpose, but those that can authentically connect their consumers to a purpose should continue to do so.

11. Top tip for 2023: What brand should we all be looking out for next year?

I think tough times bring innovation into the market… so that brand may not even exist yet!

And finally…

12. Mince Pies - Christmas food heaven or hell?

I used to work on Mr Kipling… Now that I don’t have to taste mince pies for the nation anymore in April, definitely food heaven!

Rachel Moss is Head of Marketing Planning and Strategy at Camelot and will be a speaker at MAD//Fest London on 4-6 July at the Old Truman Brewery.