Developing sensory brands into successful businesses
About
THE FRANKLY SPEAKING is an independent agency specialising in niche perfumery, sensory objects and scent experiences. We develop brands, projects and collaborations — and we take them to market.
Our work spans three connected areas: strategic brand development and consulting, business development and sales representation, and education consulting — designing the programmes that teach teams to tell and sell the brand’s story.
Founded to redefine the discourse around perfumery, THE FRANKLY SPEAKING portfolio boasts exceptional projects with visionary brands and founders inspired by contemporary culture and a modern outlook. We work closely with clients to sharpen their positioning, open the right doors and build sustainable commercial growth — with bespoke solutions tailored to their specific needs, culture and language.
“We believe in honest and authentic messaging and a strategic approach that involves sharp analysis, planning, strategy creation, flawless execution, feedback and unconventional problem-solving.”
Services
All our projects are handled on a case-by-case basis. We work in two ways: focused one-off engagements that solve a specific challenge, and long-term partnerships where we drive commercial strategy and execution alongside the brand. To accommodate our clients' preferred working methods, we provide forward-thinking individual solutions by partnering with other experts or subcontracting additional service providers.
- BRAND & COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANCY+
- BUSINESS & STRATEGIC CONSULTANCY+
- TREND & MARKET RESEARCH + ANALYSIS+
- COMMUNICATION STRATEGY & MESSAGING+
- EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT & CONSULTING+
- SALES REPRESENTATION+
- MARKET OPENINGS+
- COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS DEVELOPMENT+
The Founder
JULIA AHTIJAINEN
As a strategic brand consultant and business developer, I help founders build, position and sell perfume brands. With extensive experience in communications, brand management and commercial partnerships, I create bespoke strategies that drive real growth — and I stay involved through execution, from distribution strategy to the sales conversation itself.
I believe every brand begins with its owner: their mindset, motivations and governing patterns shape every decision the brand will make. My background in semiotics, culture studies and the psychogenetics of human behaviour lets me work at that level — offering unconventional insight into communication, behaviour and decision-making that most agencies never touch.
Clients benefit from an interdisciplinary, culture-sensitive approach, tailored to their specific goals — whether that’s developing a new project or collection, opening a new market, or designing the educational programmes that equip teams to represent the brand every day.
The Founder
