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The DNA of Branding With Peter Wilken – Dolphin Brand Strategy
On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Peter Wilken to talk about his career and what both corporate and personal branding means to him and how he helps clients with their branding challenges.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Brand is what you stand for in people's minds, it's a territory in the mind that you own. It carries meaning that helps you stand apart, that helps you differentiate and, that if you manage well, allows you to shape people's perceptions to have a consistent image of who you are and what you wish to be.
- The biggest misinterpretation that I've encountered, consistently over a 30+ year career, is the difference between ‘brand building' and ‘branding'. Some people now interpret branding as giving meaning to brands, and that's very meaningful, but my older definition of branding has always been like the hot iron you put on your cow – the act of branding. Logos, visual identity, design colours, etc are not unimportant, but it's what we used to call the ‘superficial packaging of brands', not the substance of who you are, what you stand for and the experiences you deliver. Then you think about the packaging of logos, etc.
- Change management can be done through the brand and the brand's DNA to drive change through the entire organisation; the way in which you communicate to your people, the products and services you offer, the systems and structures that enable and hinder you from your promise, all of those things carry through. I still use a ‘four D process': Discovery, Definition, Direction and Delivery and it's still extremely effective, you don't need to be more complicated than that.
- Our world is so complex now, everyone diversifies and multiplies. All of a sudden, there are a million Spotify equivalents and each one is trying to find their niche. That's great and the way the world works, but you need to find your niche and stand apart because, if you're trying to dominate in a category, there are rules about how brands work and typically there's only 1-3 brands in a category that make a ton of money, everybody else struggles, even in large categories. The best way is to try to create a niche that is so distinctive that you re-define a subcategory that you can own.
BEST MOMENTS
‘The strongest brands are relevant to people, they have a compelling promise, they differentiate themselves from their competitors and above all they do what they say they're going to do.'
‘A lot of the younger generation are extremely brand literate and well-read but not necessarily well experienced – with due respect. There's a huge difference between theory and practice and applying experience can really help it cut through.'
‘Typically CEOs of corporations are left-brained and logical, they won't conceptualise as well as a brand/graphic designer.'
‘When you're building your house, like the three little pigs, your DNA is only as good as the amount of understanding and effort that you put into it.'
ABOUT THE GUEST
Peter Wilken was Head of BBDO Asia Pacific, the No. 1 Creative Agency in the world, then as now.
Having run agencies for Leo Burnett and Ogilvy too, he has worked with five out of the world's top 10 brands and across a myriad of categories in Europe, Asia and North America.
He co-founded, built and sold one of the first specialist brand consulting firms; The Brand Company.
Peter is one of the few ‘suits' to have won a coveted Cannes Gold Lion, the creative Oscars of the advertising world.
He is a published author and speaker on how organisations and individuals can unleash their creative thinking powers to transform their world.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwilken/
Email: [email protected]
Book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dim+Sum+Strrategy&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
Website: https://www.peterwilken.com/keynotes
ABOUT THE HOST
Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and Business Owner.
Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including Škoda, Gtech, UK Biocentre, UK Mail and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people's lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers.
Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | [https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/]
LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/]
Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke | [https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke]
Email - [email protected]
Website: www.danielleclarkecreative.com
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
View all episodes
By Danielle ClarkeOn this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Peter Wilken to talk about his career and what both corporate and personal branding means to him and how he helps clients with their branding challenges.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Brand is what you stand for in people's minds, it's a territory in the mind that you own. It carries meaning that helps you stand apart, that helps you differentiate and, that if you manage well, allows you to shape people's perceptions to have a consistent image of who you are and what you wish to be.
- The biggest misinterpretation that I've encountered, consistently over a 30+ year career, is the difference between ‘brand building' and ‘branding'. Some people now interpret branding as giving meaning to brands, and that's very meaningful, but my older definition of branding has always been like the hot iron you put on your cow – the act of branding. Logos, visual identity, design colours, etc are not unimportant, but it's what we used to call the ‘superficial packaging of brands', not the substance of who you are, what you stand for and the experiences you deliver. Then you think about the packaging of logos, etc.
- Change management can be done through the brand and the brand's DNA to drive change through the entire organisation; the way in which you communicate to your people, the products and services you offer, the systems and structures that enable and hinder you from your promise, all of those things carry through. I still use a ‘four D process': Discovery, Definition, Direction and Delivery and it's still extremely effective, you don't need to be more complicated than that.
- Our world is so complex now, everyone diversifies and multiplies. All of a sudden, there are a million Spotify equivalents and each one is trying to find their niche. That's great and the way the world works, but you need to find your niche and stand apart because, if you're trying to dominate in a category, there are rules about how brands work and typically there's only 1-3 brands in a category that make a ton of money, everybody else struggles, even in large categories. The best way is to try to create a niche that is so distinctive that you re-define a subcategory that you can own.
BEST MOMENTS
‘The strongest brands are relevant to people, they have a compelling promise, they differentiate themselves from their competitors and above all they do what they say they're going to do.'
‘A lot of the younger generation are extremely brand literate and well-read but not necessarily well experienced – with due respect. There's a huge difference between theory and practice and applying experience can really help it cut through.'
‘Typically CEOs of corporations are left-brained and logical, they won't conceptualise as well as a brand/graphic designer.'
‘When you're building your house, like the three little pigs, your DNA is only as good as the amount of understanding and effort that you put into it.'
ABOUT THE GUEST
Peter Wilken was Head of BBDO Asia Pacific, the No. 1 Creative Agency in the world, then as now.
Having run agencies for Leo Burnett and Ogilvy too, he has worked with five out of the world's top 10 brands and across a myriad of categories in Europe, Asia and North America.
He co-founded, built and sold one of the first specialist brand consulting firms; The Brand Company.
Peter is one of the few ‘suits' to have won a coveted Cannes Gold Lion, the creative Oscars of the advertising world.
He is a published author and speaker on how organisations and individuals can unleash their creative thinking powers to transform their world.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwilken/
Email: [email protected]
Book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dim+Sum+Strrategy&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
Website: https://www.peterwilken.com/keynotes
ABOUT THE HOST
Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and Business Owner.
Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including Škoda, Gtech, UK Biocentre, UK Mail and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people's lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers.
Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | [https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/]
LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/]
Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke | [https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke]
Email - [email protected]
Website: www.danielleclarkecreative.com
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.