Branding

My branding approach is grounded in both science and art, in all aspects of brand and communications planning; brand strategy, brand management and research. I am results oriented, from effectiveness awards to brand-business impact. I am a global brand strategist with over 2 decades of experience, across different categories from B2C (e.g. Fast Moving Consumer Goods/FMCGs, financial services, telecommunications) to B2B (e.g. energy management and automation). My last position is as a Global Brand Lead for Schneider Electric, a €30B Fortune 500 company - one of the most sustainable corporation in the world, 2023 Top 50 Most Innovative Companies by BCG, and 2023 Time100 Most Influential Companies.

Other services include: Designing and Delivering Training on Branding

Testimonials

  • “I started out my career in Planning with Yee Thong (YT) nearly 10 years ago, and what a journey it has been!

    If I had to describe work-YT in a word, I would say "devoted."

    From being an encouraging boss and work coach when I started out, to being a supportive leader when we worked together again at M&C Saatchi - YT is devoted to grooming people under him and the businesses and brands he has had an opportunity to work with. He's able to strike a great balance between boss and peer (as colleagues), and between advisor and friend (with clients). All this makes him a trustworthy and genuinely pleasant person to work with, even as he constantly pushes you to achieve even greater things.

    If I had to describe YT as an all-round person, I would say "grounded." (It may not be the most typical way to describe someone, but hear me out).

    Typical nice guy. Very well-travelled and well-exposed which makes him tell some really great stories. Genuinely interested in people. All in all, a very intellectual person who's also very accessible at the same time. That's "grounded" to me.”

    Alex Goh, Chief Strategy Officer, Naga DDB Tribal, Malaysia

  • “I had the pleasure of working with Yee Thong while leading Global Marketing for Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. Yee Thong brings a high level of professionalism and a unique blend of strategic thinking, creative design and portfolio building to the complex landscape of brand management. He provides a refreshing approach to marketing focusing on customer experience, brand expression and project management. In addition, Yee Thong is a results-oriented, proactive and empathetic leader. He is a welcome addition to any team.”

    Monique Elliott, Senior Vice President Global Brand & Communications, Schneider Electric

  • “I have worked with YeeThong for almost 7 years at Schneider Electric. YeeThong is a 'Brand Guru' with extensive brand management knowledge and he combines it with a very humble personality. YeeThong takes extra efforts to inculcate brand thinking in his extended team and also commits personal time and effort in training youngsters. He has been a key person in building and strengthening the Schneider Electric brand equity over the last few years. YeeThong is a great team player and pleasure to work with - he willingly takes on extra responsibility to deliver broader team goals. Schneider Electric and I will miss YeeThong's keen insights and thinking since he has decided to pursue new goals fro himself.I wish him all the very best in his next innings and hope that we get to work again together soon.”

    Devinder Kishore, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Schneider Electric

  • “Yee Thong was my first boss back when I was a Junior Strategic Planner at DDB Indonesia. He set the bar quite high in mentorship and leadership. He was incredibly sharp and fair but at the same time compassionate. His deep understanding of human insight, cultural trend shifts, and overall business acumen was impressive. As a leader he was able to structure his thought process and direction very succinctly. His mentorship trained me to be a critical thinker - to always second guess my first hypothesis and conclusion. To this day I still bring so much of what I learned from him in my work. I believe he is a high value asset for any company and a great mentor for aspiring marketers anywhere.”

    Monita Moerdani, Brand Consultant

  • “I have the chance to work with Yee Thong : he's my client. I highly recommend working with him. For his ambition, his great sense of strategy and his human attitude : always collaborative and willing to build great work altogether. Yee Thong is smart and always super involved. It's a pleasure and it's stimulating to work with him.”

    Olivier Vigneaux, Chief Executive Officer, BETC FULLSIX Group

  • “Great professional, very creative and committed.”

    Olivier Blum, Executive Vice President, Energy Management, Executive Committee Member, Schneider Electric

  • “Yee Thong truly changes the game when it comes to brand building insight. He has proven the science behind the art and is an essential member on our global team.”

    Shonodeep Modak, Chief Marketing Officer, Energy Management, Schneider Electric

  • “Yee Thong is Brilliant. A strategic mind mixed with great pragmatic business sense. Topped with natural people skills, able to lead teams and peers to shared goals. It's rare enough to meet and work with someone like YT. Don't miss it if you get a chance.”

    Mireille Lefebvre, Head of Global Sustainability Communications, Schneider Electric

  • “I currently work as a member of Yee Thong's Global Brand Team at Schneider Electric. I have found Yee Thong to be a brilliant brand strategist with superior marketing and conceptual thinking skills. I personally learn every day from him and he is widely respected and trusted within our organisation. From a leadership point of view, Yee Thong is a compassionate mentor who is continuously growing the skill set of his team and thinking about ways to enhance the value that we provide to our business. It has been my pleasure to work with Yee Thong and I look forward to the year to come.”

    Rachel Trimboli, Enterprise Buildings Software Marketing Director, Schneider Electric

  • “Yee Thong has that rare combination of being a deep strategic thinker but also able to execute efficiently with his team. He is an expert in branding and very creative. I have worked with Yee Thong on a few projects and he drives the team to think outside of the box to deliver a better business outcome. Yee Thong is passionate, calm, and has a great sense of humour. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Yee Thong again.”

    Leanne Cunnold, Chief Executive Officer, AROSE

  • “Yee Thong is my manager for the past three years and we have a close collaboration on the project where our team is working on. Without question, he is the most productive strategic planner with which I have ever worked with. Strategic, relationship savvy, brilliant orchestrator of resources, and always tuned into the broader strategic context. I highly enjoy working with Yee Thong and trust him with any relationship or opportunity.”

    Valerie Becker, Global Head of Product Management, Gustav Hensel GmbH & Co. KG

 FAQs

  • I started as a brand strategist in the 1990s when the discipline was first introduced in the field of brand communications and advertising. My experience started there, with many clients from a great diversity of categories and countries, from Citibank to Nestle, Volkswagen, HSBC, Heineken, to name a few. Brand is not just about business; it is also about culture, hence I have worked with companies as to how the brand transcends beyond marketing, making sure that the brand is lived and breathed internally and externally.

  • Every company’s need for branding is different as challenges faced can be universally driven by macro factors (e.g. category and competitive dynamics) but also uniquely defined by micro factors (e.g. internal culture, organizational complexities). We can start with a session to mutually introduce ourselves - I will also take the opportunity to share more about my scope and experiences, and to learn more about your needs. For this non-chargeable first session, you can click on “Let’s connect!” ; this normally comes with my calendar and all my available slots across different time zones and also, some quick questions about you so that there would be better context to our session.

  • I would require a written brief (a template will be provided) so that you can clearly articulate your needs. I will then, respond with a proposal that would cover the process, scope, timeline and investment.

  • It all depends on your brief. Each has its own complexities. Some can be as short as 2 weeks but some can be as long as 3 months. We can work together to determine the phases involved and the pace required e.g. some things can be concurrent or some can be phased according to immediate priorities.

  • It all depends on your brief. From the menu of services above, there are standard packages that one can choose from but this is with a clearly defined scope of work. If these packages are to be customized to your bespoke needs, additional charges apply. Discussion on rates can take place during our first introductory session.

  • If you are residing in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, you can have a direct transfer into my bank account to avoid any 3rd party charges; payment details will be shared when the agreement is established. If you are residing in countries other than the above, I use Wise. In terms of payment schedule, I work based on 25% upfront (as a gesture of commitment), followed by 55% (we can decide on this, depending on how long the project stretches – it can be multiples of the amount across months) and 20% (upon completion of the project).

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