ThinkOTB, a consultancy in Headingley that helps global organisations innovate, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise.

It builds on a previous stamp of royal approval in 2020, when the consultancy was awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade.

Announced today (Tuesday 6 May), ThinkOTB has been recognised for its excellence in International Trade for outstanding short-term growth in overseas sales over the last three years. Its overseas revenue grew by over 300%, and the percentage sales exported more than doubled to 54% in the three-year period.

ThinkOTB is one of 197 organisations nationally to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise. A total of 199 Awards are made with two companies being recognised with two Awards.

Employing 15 people, ThinkOTB was founded in 2006 by Mark Davies and Tina Catling.

Davies and Catling are authors of two seminal books on the importance of creativity and innovation: Think! published in 2002, and Making Waves, published in 2011.

ThinkOTB operates in 21 countries with clients from the financial services and energy sectors. The majority of its business is in Germany, followed by Dubai, Singapore, the USA, and Ireland.

The specialist consultancy helps global organisations to innovate, from strategy and branding, to creative, and digital design. It has worked for some of the world’s most recognisable and high-profile companies. Clients include Google, Siemens Energy, Visa, The National Trust, MasterCard, and National Grid.

Mark Davies, founder of ThinkOTB, said: “It’s a huge honour to follow on our Queen’s Enterprise Award five years ago, with a King’s Award. We’re proud to be one of the UK’s most creative companies operating in a niche marketplace, which combines innovation with marketing, becoming a ‘go-to’ expert for many international businesses. We’ve pioneered highly successful techniques that have helped some of the world’s most recognisable brands to innovate.”

ThinkOTB enable organisations to create and develop innovative ideas and lasting tools and processes that have resulted in profitable growth and countless ‘breakthrough’ moments leading to more focused commercial strategies, new products, and services.

Managing Director Jo Waddington joined ThinkOTB in 1994, rising through its ranks to director level, and has been instrumental in the consultancy’s international growth.

Jo said: “ThinkOTB has not only survived, but thrived through the decades and countless periods of economic turbulence and change. From a small office in Leeds, we have created an international organisation. Trends and platforms change, and change quickly, but the building blocks of creativity and ideas are what our consultancy is built on, alongside strong, long-lasting relationships.”

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed in 2023 to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses.

The Award programme, now in its 59th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.

ThinkOTB has a string of award wins over the years, including the Drum Award for Digital Innovation and CIM Marketing Excellence Awards.