Judith Middleton
The launch of DUO Marketing + Communications’ consumer division was a natural evolution born from organic growth within its diverse tech customer base reacting to market demands, says DUO’s CEO Judith Middleton.
“The consumer division, and the consumer expertise and experience within it, was built organically over the past few years,” explains Middleton. “Existing customers such as Mukuru, Frogfoot and Vox have had consumer PR requirements for a number of years now, and so we adapted and built effective, integrated PR and lead generation campaigns in response to their needs.”
“We have tried and tested our expertise on existing clients and the consumer tech demand within their businesses.” She explains that DUO has been leveraging expertise in PR and digital marketing to cater effectively for consumer-facing campaigns for existing B2B clients. “With the consumer division headed up by Shey Nel who joined DUO from Accenture Song, we have accelerated this to cater to consumer-facing brands, applying proven, successful strategies and practices to a new audience, which increases our commercial foothold.”
Shey Nel
Offering full-service PR and digital marketing for consumer brands has enabled DUO to solidify its market resilience. “By expanding into the consumer technology market formally, we are diversifying our tech client portfolio which reduces dependency on enterprise alone (B2B),” says Middleton.
Perhaps one of the more exciting possibilities created by the consumer division is the potential for brand synergy and cross-promotional opportunities. “Our teams are already spotting potential synergies with our existing B2B operations, which allows for cross-promotional opportunities and integrated marketing campaigns,” says Middleton.
“Ultimately, the consumer division is an extension of our successful tried and tested “recipe” approach to concept, content and implementation for our clients.
“Over the past few years, the sheer amount of creativity and innovation that comes with consumer marketing has invigorated DUO’s team and offerings. It’s also made it possible to attract top talent looking to work on diverse and rewarding projects,” says Middleton, adding that DUO’s PR and digital teams have access to the Plexus Global training academy, which sees best practice skills transfer between 20 agencies across the world.
As an agency, we have developed a comprehensive digital handbook for PR professionals wanting to embrace digital, and so as we scale up the consumer division the business will continue to onboard traditional PR experts who are eager to evolve into digital PR professionals.”
