FT Consulting names marketing veteran Yvonne Low as advisor

Business consultancy FT Consulting has named marketing veteran Yvonne Low as its advisor for brand and marketing innovation, effective 1 May. Low (pictured) has more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing and was previously CMO of OCBC Bank's group marketing, global consumer financial services before leaving to set up her own resistance bands company, Band of Sisters, last year.

As the advisor, she will work closely with the consulting team to advise and offer counsel to regional SMEs on strategies and best practices in brand innovation, digital, and performance marketing, as well as social media strategy. Before OCBC, Low was senior director of marketing for menu and digital innovation at McDonald's for more than five years. She also worked at Courts Asia, DDB and McCann Erickson.

Founded in 1991, FT Consulting specialises in business growth and go-to-market strategy; innovation and IP management; as well as transformation, mergers and acquisitions. It has offices in Southeast Asia and Japan and has worked on projects including Ascott Group, Old Chang Kee, EtonHouse, and Sushi Tei.

Low told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that FT Consulting's group managing partner, Winston Chan, is a long time friend who approached her with a full-time opportunity several years back. However, Low had just started on a new job back then. When the duo met again this year, Chan asked if she would consider a part-time advisory role because he knew Low had just started Band of Sisters.

"I hope that with my many years of MNC experience in building global and regional brands, I hope to contribute back to the growth of well-loved local brands with strong heritage by joining a local consulting company such as FT Consulting which has a strong network with local SMEs clients. #supportlocalbrands," Low added.

With SMEs, Low said that the area of branding and digital is something a lot have started to embrace much more positively in the past two years because of the pandemic. They do not lack the ambition or desire to progressively move their business and brand forward to cater to the changing and more demanding wants of consumers, Low added.

However, what many SMEs lack is the luxury of dedicated resources to run different aspects of marketing. In bigger MNCs, they would have a much bigger team focused on the different facets of marketing. "For example a team responsible for corporate and brand communications, another team looking at social engagement and performance, another team looking at lead-generation and strategic partnerships," she added.

Having gone from an agency leader to a marketer and now a brand owner, Low said her advice to companies, especially SMEs and start-ups, is not to be afraid to try new things but be very focused and purposeful on what they want to achieve from those activities.

"With very limited resources, it is important to go back to your brand mission and purpose and focus on things that build sustainable brand presence and values. Because, building a strong brand with a meaningful purpose is a journey and not a destination, and it is the little but impactful things you do that matter," she explained.

Meanwhile, John Ong, FT Consulting's group executive chairman, said Low's wealth of experience in branding and marketing for MNCs, spanning both traditional and digital media, will strengthen FT Consulting's capabilities as it helps is SME business partners transition to leverage growth opportunities in the digital economy. "My team and I look forward to working with her in charting the next course of our journey as Singapore's and the region's leading business consultancy," Ong added.

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