Up&Up Group

The challenge

Up&Up Group didn’t struggle with a lack of data – they had more than enough. The challenge was cutting through the noise to uncover meaningful insights. To stay ahead, they needed a faster way to make sense of their data so they could fully understand the real conversations shaping their industry.

At the time, the team relied on a mix of data scraping and manual research, but it wasn’t giving them the competitive edge they needed. They were looking for a solution that could surface real-time cultural signals (not just fleeting trends), validate ideas across audiences and markets at scale , and deliver nuanced insights – instantly. 

Rolling out Brandwatch

To address these challenges, Jojo and his team rolled out Brandwatch’s across Up&Up Group’s various entities. They chose Brandwatch because it has: 

• Reliable insights across millions of data sources
• Real-time dashboards that put live metrics front and center
• Insights that reveal not only what is happening, but why it’s happening

And crucially: Brandwatch didn’t force them to change how they work.

“Brandwatch slotted into our team’s workflow naturally. We didn’t have to bend to the tool. That’s rare.” –Johannes Keiper, Strategy Director at M&C Saatchi Abel and Up&Up Group

Today, the team uses Brandwatch to map cultural landscapes before pitches, track sentiment to understand how people feel, and monitor live conversations during moments that matter most. 

From tool to thinking partner

One of the team's first big “aha” moments came when they used Brandwatch to map out sentiment and conversation themes across both direct and indirect competitors in the on-demand food delivery space.

By combining sentiment analysis with brand-specific word clouds, a clear pattern emerged. Brands that focused purely on “delivery” and functional messaging were perceived more negatively. Meanwhile, the brands driving the most positive sentiment were focused on celebrating the joy that their service created – whether that meant convenience, connection, or simply making life easier.

This simple but powerful insight prompted the team to shift their own approach: moving from telling people what they offered to showing how their service made customers feel.

For Jojo and the team, this was a pivotal validation of a core belief: the most resonant brands don’t just meet functional needs – they connect with holistic human ones. 

And sometimes, it’s the smallest signals that prove most valuable. When an internet provider client launched a new fiber service, the dashboards showed the expected industry chatter – until one detail stood out. The most-used emoji was the confused thinking face: 🤔.  

That tiny clue revealed a bigger truth: customers weren’t just talking about the product; they were unsure what it really meant for them. By reframing the challenge around clearing up confusion, the team uncovered a stronger angle for the campaign. 

Results and impact

Since adopting Brandwatch, the strategy team at Up&Up Group moves faster. What once took days of manual digging now surfaces in minutes, giving the team confidence to act quickly, pivot in real time, and seize cultural moments as they happen.

The ideas themselves have become braver, too. With the evidence to back them, creatives feel free to push boundaries, knowing that their work is rooted in real conversations. Clients also trust these insights more, which helps get these bold ideas into the market. 

Even ROI has taken on a new meaning. For Jojo and his team, it’s no longer just a metric. It’s a story of how a brand moved someone, built trust, or sparked something real. That, ultimately, is the value Brandwatch brings: helping companies like M&C Saatchi Abel and Up&Up Group to quantify cultural relevance. They’re not just guessing what resonates – they’re reading it, at scale.