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Refinery29 unveils creative consultancy The29th to develop content for brands

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

September 27, 2018 | 3 min read

Refinery29, a WPP-backed media title aimed at young women, has launched a marketing and creative wing called the The29th.

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Refinery29 unveils creative consultancy The29th to develop branded content for young women

This new London-based consultancy will deliver bespoke content for brands and has signed up the Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), which already works with marcomms giant WPP, as its launch client.

It will work on WBA's global beauty and cosmetic brands brands – which include Soap & Glory, Sleek, Botanics and Tea Tree & Witch Hazel – alongside the team at WPP.

Broadly, The29th will "conduct research that will drive content planning and development, and build integrated marketing strategies" for brands. Work will land in the domain of video production, photography and design content, influencer activity and experiential events.

Refinery29 claims to reach over 425 million influential young women around the globe. It said the new wing will help the brand deliver "transformative and purposeful global creative and communications strategies tailored for female consumers".

Kristof Neirynck, vice president and chief marketing officer of global consumer brands at WBA, said: "In a category that has shifted to influence and digital led communications, we have to ensure we develop relevant content that weaves authentically and seamlessly into consumers' lives.

"Refinery29 are a natural partner for this work: they have remarkable expertise when it comes to communicating with women across a variety of mediums and we’re excited to work together to bring this creativity and insight into how we drive growth for our Global Brands portfolio.”

Kate Ward, executive vice president of Refinery29 International, added: “Through the launch of The29th we are able to meet demand from partners going beyond branded content solutions, offering access to our full arsenal of capabilities and delivering a dedicated, nimble and creative transformation engine for brands who want to reach female consumers around the world.”

The move comes a month after Refinery29 embraced licensing firm IMG to broker it some merchandise deals, a means of diversifying its revenue stream.

The title operates on a platform of empowered advertising for women and received a financial injection from WPP in 2015.

George Rogers, chief revenue officer at WPP and global team leader of the WPP WBA Team, said: “The29th partnership illustrates the power of WPP’s strategy of investing in content creators, which gives our clients unique access to channels that let them speak directly to their key audience.”

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