Speaking to TTG ahead of the launch of Llama on Wednesday (21 June), Andrew Shelton, who founded the firm with Heath Heise, said he and the company’s three other "llamas" (members) will work with companies across the industry to help them implement "fresh" marketing strategies.

"We’ve got more than 140 years of combined experience in travel – we’ve pretty much seen everything," he explained. "Llama is about bringing the expertise to both chief executives of large companies and the owners of small companies, all of whom have marketing challenges."

The brand will offer marketing solutions to businesses which already have strategies in place, as well as start-up firms looking for expert advice on building a marketing function from scratch.

"We want to bring these firms ready-to-go marketing strategies tailored to their individual brands, and we want to do things differently," Shelton continued. "We want to come up with something to help businesses really grow in these tough, challenging times, but stuff they can really get on with and action." 

By this time next year, Shelton hopes Llama will have added value in the marketing space to at least 20 travel firms. "I don’t think it’s all about big businesses," he explained. "I think it’s as much about small businesses as well – we really want to add thinking power to them."

The group’s roster of “llamas” includes former Kuoni marketing chief Dean Harvey; ex-dnata communications and PR lead Phil Bloomfield; and Lisa Edwards-Webb, whose marketing experience spans Saga and its Titan Travel brand, British Airways and Virgin Holidays.