Populus, Decidedly and BrandCap create blended consultancy

The three organisations that will make up Yonder are all currently part of Populus Group, and Yonder will work across both research and strategy. It will be based in London, New York and Hong Kong.

As part of the merger, Populus Data Solutions will be rebranded as Yonder Data Solutions, and will be further integrated into the main business.

The merger means that Yonder will have 175 staff and billings of £25m, and will be lead by two chief executives: Manfred Abraham (pictured right), formerly chief executive of BrandCap; and Michael Simmonds (pictured left), founder and chief executive of Populus Group.

Managing director of Populus Group, Gary Muncaster, will become chief client officer at Yonder, and will initially focus on improving the company’s offer to existing clients.

Yonder was due to launch in April 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Simmonds told Research Live in an interview that Yonder was the consequence of wanting a “more consultative approach to how we deal with clients”.

He added: “The most important difference with what we are doing is having blended teams – having researchers and strategists all together and applying their different ways of thinking to all the challenges our clients face.”

In a statement, Abraham said: “Consumer behaviour is changing more radically than ever before.

“We have listened to our clients and created Yonder to help them better understand their customers, their markets and the wider socio-economic landscape; and to explore and act on the most relevant opportunities for their business.”