MEAMARKETS / Q4 2021 17 , Jul21553 Founded in 1997, Yellowwood Future Architects is a marketing consultancy quite unlike any other. Geared towards providing tools to its clients that enable them to drive sustainable top line growth, the firm’s reputation for diversity precedes it. We speak to the Managing Director Refilwe Maluleke and find out more about this remarkable outfit. Most Innovative Brand Strategy Consultancy 2021 With a vision and purpose to be renowned as leaders in strategic marketing, the Yellowwood Future Architects (Yellowwood) team consists of a diverse group of thinkers who use unconventional wisdom to drive sustainable growth. “We believe that marketing has the power to change businesses and human behaviour for the better,” remarks Refilwe. “Our values are originality as every person, challenge, and solution are unique. Humanity comes down to genuine compassion and understanding of people, and bravery by being unafraid to challenge or be challenged.” The consultancy serves a wide range of clients ranging from financial services providers, Information and Communications Technology as well as companies that handle fast-moving consumer goods. Yellowwood is renowned for valuing diversity in thought. “We pride ourselves in our diversity, we are a women led organisation and we recruit people from different disciplines ranging from journalists, economists and mathematicians to ensure diversity in thinking.” Refilwe states “Different perspectives produce work that is better for our clients,” From initially consisting of simply a strategy team and an insights team, the consultancy has evolved and transitioned to having four distinct capabilities that it believes are central to delivering against its vision. “Our goal is to use these four capabilities to deliver more customer-centric work that drives sustainable top-line growth for our clients across the African continent. Our divisions are core strategy, data insights, communication strategy and youth strategy” Refilwe tells us. Its core strategy discipline uses what the consultancy calls ‘unconventional wisdom’ to uncover ways to drive brand-led sustainable growth for its clients. The core strategy team will continue spearheading innovation in Yellowwood’s core capabilities of brand strategy which includes – but is not limited to – positioning architecture, go-to-markets, and brand internalisation. A data insights team is dedicated to driving innovation in how Yellowwood uses data to better answer the most pressing questions facing brands across the continent; whilst communication strategy uses data, insight and in-culture context to drive people-first creative and communications excellence for disruptive business growth. The communication strategy team will continue to work hand-inhand with the creative agencies inside the TBWA collective to enhance the quality and impact of communication strategies. The consultancy keeps its eye on the future by staying on the pulse of young people and the youth strategy team is geared to driving innovative approaches to developing marketing strategies for brands aiming to target the biggest segment on the continent, youth defined as those under 30. The two key assets in enhancing the way brands engage with youth are our annual GenNext study, which is in its 17th year, and our Junior Boards of Directors (JBoDs). Yellowwood has ambitious plans for the future in other areas too, which include continuing to deliver against its vision of using marketing as a tool to shape business and human behaviour for the better. It seems that Yellowwood is already well on its way to achieving recognition for its hard work as it was recently crowned Most Innovative Brand Strategy Consultancy 2021 in the African Excellence Awards – an accolade which is testament to the commitment and determination of the entire team. Contact: [email protected] Company: Yellowwood Web Address: www.ywood.co.za (left to right) Ntombizamasala Hlophe, Strategy Director | Refilwe Maluleke, TBWA\SA Chief Strategy Officer & Yellowwood Managing Director & Hlengiwe Mkhize, Financial Manager
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