Interbrand merges brand valuation and strategy

Interbrand is merging its brand valuation and strategy teams. The move follows the round of redundancies at the group, which included its director of brand valuation for the UK Jan Lindemann and its UK marketing director Deborah Fitzgerald.

This week, the brand valuation and analytics team, and strategy and internal engagement team are being integrated.

Iain Ellwood, previously head of strategy at Interbrand in the UK, has been promoted to the new role of head of consulting and will head both groups, which are being combined into a 22-strong team.

‘The merging of the divisions is not related to the recent redundancies at Interbrand. It is entirely client-driven,’ Ellwood comments.

Ellwood would not confirm whether anyone working within the newly formed team would be made redundant.

He describes Interbrand as taking a ‘rigorous approach to strategy which involves working with facts as well as ideas’.

‘At present, there are no plans to expand the team, but as client demand grows there may be a need to increase its size,’ he adds.

The changes come as Interbrand chief executive Rune Gustafson describes the consultancy as ‘operating in uncertain times’.

Gustafson says he plans to strengthen Interbrand’s client offerings ‘with greater inclusion of brand valuation and analytics’.

‘Interbrand is keen to show that it is a consultancy which can bring financial value to the brands it works with, and improve them economically as well as creatively,’ says Ellwood.

As head of strategy at Interbrand, Ellwood has worked with clients including British Airways, Intercontinental Hotels and Barclays. Prior to this he was a consultant at design consultancy Prophet, where he worked for Swiss banking client UBS.