Brand & Creative Strategy Consultancy
Timbuktu is a brand & creative strategy consultancy led by Soames Hines, former CEO of Ogilvy.
Drawing on decades of experience in creative agency leadership and brand CMO roles, we help clients elevate marketing capabilities to build more meaningful, distinctive, and consistent brands.
For centuries, Timbuktu was regarded as a place of extraordinary value, a destination where knowledge, opportunity, and wealth converged. Just as explorers journeyed to Timbuktu in search of something valuable, businesses embark on a strategic journey to discover opportunities for growth, and realise the true value of their brands.
Timbuktu Consulting was founded because of an unwavering belief in the power of brands to deliver meaning, memory, and margin in today’s increasingly complex, competitive, and commoditised marketing world.
We work directly with C-suite clients and senior marketing leaders to accelerate brand growth through 3 areas of deep expertise:
Timbuktu does not create or execute marketing campaigns, which remains the expertise of our clients and their creative/media agency partners.
We sharpen brand positioning by:
We create enduring brand platform ideas to tell the brand story – one story, distinctively and consistently told.
We then develop foundational creative assets for subsequent adaptation and amplification by the client’s creative agency partners.
We elevate the brand-building capabilities of our client’s marketing organisation through capability-building workshops integrated within the positioning and platform process.
Soames also provides stand-alone training for clients to address specific capability gaps, as well as workshop facilitation.
Soames HinesFounder & Principal Consultant
Soames has decades of experience in the marketing and communications industry, gained across creative agency leadership and brand marketing roles in Asia & Europe.
Soames is passionate about the power of brands to deliver meaning, memory, and margin, and has acquired deep expertise in brand-building and creative strategy during his long career.
In addition to this expertise, Soames has built a network of some of the industry’s leading strategic, creative, and brand design talent that is made available to Timbuktu’s clients.
CEO of Ogilvy Vietnam responsible for transforming the agency into the fastest growing and ‘best place to work’ within Ogilvy Asia Pacific, as well as winning the MMA ‘Global Creative Agency of the Year’ award. (2020–2025).
Fractional Ogilvy role as CMO of Pizza Hut Vietnam responsible for delivering record sales and winning Yum Asia’s CMO of the Year award, as well as the ‘explosive growth’ and ‘best communications’ awards. (2019).
Fractional Ogilvy role leading Yum Asia’s marketing capability-building programme for KFC and Pizza Hut across the Asia Pacific region for 8 years. (2010–2018).
CMO responsible for Europe’s most successful marketing launch of the dotcom era, delivering sales of $1m/week and the Euro EFFIE Gold award for eCommerce. (2000).
CEO of J. Walter Thompson responsible for the launch of JWT in China in 1994 and its rise to become the largest and most respected agency in China. (1995).
As a new consultancy company, Timbuktu is in the process of building its client base.
Prior to founding Timbuktu, Soames was a trusted advisor to the C-suite of many global brands, primarily in the QSR, Food & Beverage, and CPG categories:
Rory SutherlandPresident Emeritus, Ogilvy Consulting“If you’re looking to build a brand or indeed a business, you would be mad not to speak to Soames. An ingenious and charming man with an almost unmatched depth of experience.”
Binu JacobChairman & CEO, Nestlé Vietnam“Soames has a rare ability to connect long-term brand vision with practical action. From shaping strategic direction to rolling up his sleeves in workshops, he was instrumental in helping Milo reinforce its iconic position in Vietnam while building lasting brand-building capabilities within our organisation.”
Nitish GuptaManaging Director SEA, Kimberly-Clark“The value and power of brands to deliver meaning, memory, and margin has never been more important. As one of the leading experts in brand-building and creative strategy, Soames will add enormous value to any company, as he has done for Kimberly-Clark in Vietnam and across the Asia Pacific region for many years. I could not recommend Soames strongly enough.”
Vipul ChawlaFormer Global President, Pizza Hut“Soames made an invaluable contribution to the Pizza Hut business in Asia, both through his marketing capability-building role with Yum Asia, and his CMO role with Pizza Hut Vietnam. Soames has deep expertise in brand-building and a passion for building know-how which will benefit many brands in Asia. I can recommend him unreservedly.”
Patsy LimDeputy General Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Sabeco Vietnam“Building distinctive, competitively positioned brands is a critical cornerstone to driving sustainable brand growth, and working with Soames was a truly rewarding experience. He combines deep strategic and marketing expertise with a collaborative leadership style that aligns stakeholders, inspires teams, and drives impactful brand outcomes. His contribution was invaluable, and I highly recommend him as a trusted partner for brand and business growth.”
Le Thanh TuFormer Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer, La Vie LLC Vietnam (Nestlé Waters)“In a world where brands are increasingly commoditised, all businesses are looking for the best brand strategist who doesn’t just talk about frameworks but changes the way your brand communicates and interacts with consumers. Soames, leading his team, did exactly that for us at La Vie LLC (Nestlé Waters Vietnam). Soames’s ability to distil complex challenges into sharp, actionable brand strategy is exceptional. For any CEO or CMO embarking on the journey of turning their brand into a meaningfully different business asset, Soames is the partner you need.”
Bicky NguyenCo-Founder & CEO, Cricket One Vietnam“Soames has had a transformational impact on our business since coming on board, helping to sharpen our Rec-Rec brand positioning, creating our brand platform idea (‘Rec-Rec puts a spring in your step’), and elevating the brand-building capabilities within our marketing team.”
Paul HeathFormer Chairman & CEO, Ogilvy Asia Pacific“Soames is a talented leader with a proven track record, much loved by his clients and staff and a champion of constant reinvention. Blessed with boundless energy and knowledge gained from working with the best thinkers and doers in the industry, Soames will be the ideal solution to set your brand on a new growth trajectory.”
Soumya SaklaniManaging Director, Kantar Insights – Vietnam and Philippines“Soames is that rare combination of someone deeply passionate about the consumer and firmly anchored in consumer insight, while instinctively understanding the power of creativity to help brands break through the clutter. He is a strong believer in the power of brands and insights, and brings a genuinely collaborative mindset, getting the very best out of different agency partners to deliver something truly joined up for clients, something he can deliver a masterclass on. With Soames, clients, brands, and agencies alike are truly in the best of hands. Our teams have had the pleasure & privilege of partnering with Soames and look forward to many more such occasions.”
Drawing on decades of brand strategy and capability-building experience, Soames has distilled best practices into practical and actionable methodologies for use with clients.
Details of Timbuktu’s proprietary methodologies and frameworks for brand positioning optimisation and brand platform creation will be provided to client prospects on request.
Additional proprietary frameworks are included within Timbuktu’s capability-building workshop modules.
Timbuktu’s consultancy fees are based either on an hourly/daily rate or on deliverables, depending on the scope of the engagement.
Timbuktu’s fees are highly competitive with leading network creative agencies and other professional services firms in Vietnam. Fees reflect the significant value that Soames delivers, given his proven track record and the level of experience and expertise that will be directly deployed on your business.
Further details of Timbuktu’s fees will be provided to client prospects on request.
Please contact Soames for further information or to schedule an initial call.
Soames HinesFounder & Principal Consultant