Code, a “cultural brand development company”, has been in soft launch mode since June and has signed up its first client: a German lifestyle furniture brand on the cusp of global expansion.
Code was founded by Dominic Mason, formerly FutureBrand Singapore’s vice-president for strategy and innovation, and Nic Paul, most recently executive creative director for Batey Singapore. The heavyweight duo has collective experience working with brands such as OCBC, Daimler Chrysler, and StarHub.
Mason says Code will draw on qualitative research rather than the focus group approach favoured by other brand consultancies. The move reflects an age in which consumers, rather than CEOs, determine brand identity, he says.
“We realise nowadays brands aren’t really defined by business strategy and more often than not they’re defined by consumers,” he said.
