Ex-marketing directors in consultancy start-up move
Marketers from Britvic, Red Bull and Häagen-Dazs form consultancy with public relations company Weber Shandwick.
The former marketing directors of Britvic, Häagen-Dazs and Red Bull have joined forces with public relations company Weber Shandwick to form a consultancy called Creative Capital.
The new venture will be chaired by former Britvic category director and past president of The Marketing Society Andrew Marsden, while former Häagen-Dazs commercial director Simon Esberger and former Red Bull marketing director Anoushka Feiler will sit on the advisory board.
Creative Capital aims to fuse the ability of marketers to create “brand capital” with Weber Shandwick’s know-how in PR and social media to develop ideas that deliver a revenue stream for a brand and reinforce engagement. It is already working with three unnamed brands.
The consultancy will be headed by Weber Shandwick chief innovation officer Ben Padfield.
Marsden says a key trend appearing in marketing communications is “building things that can be owned by the brand rather than sponsored or receive third party endorsement”.
Padfield adds: “We believe that the highest form of engagement happens when a consumer is so moved by an idea he or she is willing and eager to pay for it.”
Creative Capital is not exclusively focused on creating content for digital properties but does see major opportunities in online communications.
Marsden says: “All marketing directors are looking for cleverer and more innovative ways of spending their budget. Online is certainly an area we are all trying to look at and explore.”
