We Are Social’s Simon Kemp explains new consultancy, Kepios

Four years ago when We Are Social launched in Asia, social media was seen as the wild west of marketing, Kemp said. Although it’s come a long way since then, he believes that marketers are still missing out on the bigger opportunities that social has to offer. But increasingly, it’s become clear that a lot of the challenges being faced by marketers are “things that social isn’t going to crack on its own.”

As he began to work more closely with clients in the region, he discovered an increasing need for independent, strategic advice—not just in social but across the marketing mix.

“I started having strategic conversations with clients as long ago as two years back,” he said. “Helping them to solve some of their bigger, marketing mix questions.”

It was in addressing this growing need that Kemp came up with the idea for Kepios, in a bid to offer objective advice that covers the entire marketing landscape. The consultancy will work with senior marketers and business owners to "identify their brands’ highest-value opportunities and challenges" and address them with new strategies, Kemp said.

With no immediate plans to scale the business or hire additional staff, Kemp said he was driven to work more closely with clients on strategic work.

Explaining the name of the new agency, Kemp pointed out that it means “rebirth through strategy”, and was formed through a combination of ‘Khepri’ the ancient Egyptian a god of creation, the movement of the sun and rebirth, and ‘Koios’ the Greek titan of resolve and intelligence.

Alongside the new venture, Kemp remains regional managing partner at We Are Social in Asia, with Kepios being incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary, operating independently as a “distinct but complementary offering to the social media agency.”

Commenting on the new venture in a press release, Kemp said: “Marketers today can choose from a wide variety of partners to help them bring the different elements of their brand strategy to life, but when it comes to actually developing that strategy, there are precious few partners who offer objective advice that covers the entire marketing mix.”

Based out of Singapore, Kepios will offer senior marketers and business owners stregtic council “that is independent of any subsequent execution or delivery”. The consultancy offers three core services – business planning, brand strategy, and team development.

Kemp, who has produced numerous free reports on social media as well as authoring his own ebook, Social Brands: The Future of Marketing, also featured in Campaign Asia-Pacific's 40 Under 40 in 2014.