Ex-OCBC and McDonald’s marketing maven Yvonne Low to join Asia’s leading business consultancy FT Consulting as its Advisor for Brand & Marketing Innovation
Singapore, 27 April 2022 – Singapore-headquartered, Asia-centric business consultancy, FT Consulting, today announced that marketing veteran Yvonne Low will be joining as its Advisor for Brand & Marketing Innovation with effect from 1 May 2022.
Armed with more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing spanning industries from consumer financial services to retail to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), Low will work closely with the consulting team to advise and provide counsel to regional small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) on strategies and best practices in brand innovation, digital and performance marketing, as well as social media strategy.
Award-winning marketer
Low, a National University of Singapore alumnus, has worked for some of the world’s leading MNCs – and won countless awards – in her sterling marketing career. As Courts Asia’s Regional Marketing Director from 2009 to 2012, she developed and directed Courts’ marketing strategy for Singapore and Malaysia, as well as spearheaded the implementation of the Courts e-Shop. At McDonald’s (2012-2017) as its Senior Director, Marketing, Menu & Digital Innovation, Low was instrumental in McDonald’s winning a raft of more than 50 creative and media awards. She conceptualised and launched several iconic local product and promotional offerings such as the wildly successful SG50 Love Local and Hello Kitty promotion (2015) and the McDonald's Surprise Alarm App (2014), among others. She oversaw the marketing of McDonald’s flagship East Coast Park outlet in July 2016 that became a testbed for McDonald’s new products. Low’s achievements for the Golden Arches helped her scoop Marketer of the Year at the 2016 Singapore Media Awards.
As OCBC Bank’s Chief Marketing Officer (Group Marketing, Global Consumer Financial Services) from 2019 to 2020, Low led and launched the bank’s digital transformation brand campaign “Digital Unstoppable” for its consumer financial services segment. She planned, developed and implemented go-to-market plans in both digital and traditional media for OCBC’s diverse suite of products. More recently in November 2021, she added another feather to her cap by founding her own fitness and lifestyle brand, Band of Sisters, which advocates strength training for females using its eponymous creatively-designed resistance bands.
Building up bench strength to help SMEs capitalise on digitalisation
Founded in 1991, FT Consulting is one of Singapore’s pioneer business consultancy firms specialising in business growth and go-to-market strategy; innovation and intellectual property management; and transformation, mergers and acquisitions. With offices in Southeast Asia and Japan, and tapping on a global network of partners, FT Consulting has provided consulting services to develop more than 1,000 international business expansion systems across various industry verticals. Some of its prominent projects included Ascott Group, Old Chang Kee, EtonHouse, Sushi Tei and Nasdaq-listed WW International (formerly Weight Watchers).
Whilst the pandemic has affected businesses of all sizes, SMEs have arguably felt the greatest impact as traditional business models were disrupted and they had to quickly pivot online or perish. The sudden transition to digital has offered FT Consulting an opportunity to help these smaller firms leverage digital strategies for business growth and innovation. The appointment of a seasoned marketing professional of Low’s stature will build on FT’s established strengths in business consultancy to help Singapore and regional SMEs in their digital transformation.
“Yvonne’s wealth of experience in branding and marketing for MNCs – spanning both traditional and digital media – will strengthen FT Consulting’s capabilities as we help our SME business partners transition to leverage growth opportunities in the digital economy, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 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,” says John Ong, Group Executive Chairman, FT Consulting.
“The unprecedented pace of digitalisation in recent years has not just transformed business operating models, but also uprooted traditional modalities of advertising and marketing. Yvonne’s rich background in both traditional and digital marketing will help our SME business partners that are new to the digital space develop their digital marketing strategy and stand out from the competition,” says Winston Chan, Group Managing Partner, FT Consulting.
“I have had the opportunities to work at leading MNCs on memorable branding and marketing campaigns. Being familiar with both traditional and digital marketing, I hope to bring my knowledge and expertise to help FT Consulting’s SME clients innovate and grow their businesses in the digital economy. I am looking forward to tackling the challenges of the post-Covid-19 world with my new team mates,” says Low.