Yonder officially launches with a deep mix of expertise

Consultancy Yonder has opened for business after delaying its original April launch plan.

The launch is a merger of four independent businesses: the research and consulting expertise of Populus; the brand and business strategy of BrandCap; the insight-led innovation of Decidedly; and Populus Data Solutions, which will be rebranded as Yonder Data Solutions and continue to offer data capture.

Yonder offers a wide range of services, combining research, data, analytics, strategic consulting, culture and innovation experts to provide a more rigorous and rounded view of client opportunities, along with the strategies to act on them. Such offerings help clients respond to the needs of businesses who hope to drive business performance in response to changing customer and market dynamics.

The new business will be led by co-CEOs Manfred Abraham (previously CEO of BrandCap) and Michael Simmonds (founder and CEO of Populus Group).

“Consumer behaviour is changing more radically than ever before. Through this period of extreme disruption, it is the tech companies who have been the most successful by harvesting data and continually observing and responding to customer behaviour," said Manfred Abraham, co-CEO of Yonder.

"We have listened to our clients and created Yonder to help them better understand their customers, their markets and the wider socio-economic landscape; and to explore and act on the most relevant opportunities for their business," he added.

Originally planned to launch in April 2020, Yonder has a network of 175 people based in London, New York and Hong Kong. Its clients include Amazon, BT, Costa Coffee, Formula 1, Lane Crawford, Marks and Spencer, Nationwide, Premier League, Oriental Bank, RBS, Rosewood Hotels and Toyota.

“For a long time, we have noticed that clients are demanding more from us all. Bringing the companies together, with blended teams and not a silo in sight, enables us to be better placed to meet the needs of our clients today, and in the future," commented Michael Simmonds, co-CEO of Yonder.