BRAND STRATEGY / POSITIONING / NARRATIVE
WHAT MAKES YOUR BRAND DISTINCTIVE?
I help leadership teams, founders and companies (re)define their brand positioning and narrative, get their organisation behind it, and bring it consistently to life.
20+ YEARS OF GLOBAL BRAND EXPERIENCE
Unilever, EssilorLuxottica
Ray-Ban, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Lipton Ice Tea
WHERE BRANDS GET STUCK.
3 common challenges we come across
Strong product.
But no clear reason to choose the brand.
→
The product performs, but the brand has never clearly defined what makes it distinctive or why people should choose it.
Strong positioning.
Yet weak internal alignment.
→
The strategy & narrative exist, but different people, teams or markets understand it differently.
Strong positioning and alignment.
But fragmented execution.
→
Everyone knows the direction, but it gets diluted or inconsistently translated into marketing and communication actions.
A CLEAR REASON TO CHOOSE YOUR BRAND.
What we define
BRAND FUNDAMENTALS
What does the brand stand for and what is the personality it should have.
POSITIONING
Where can the brand credibly and distinctly play
BRAND NARRATIVE
What story should it tell?
VALUE PROPOSITION
Why should people choose it?
MARKETING DIRECTION
How should that strategy show up consistently in the real world?
FROM QUESTIONS TO DIRECTION.
FROM DIRECTION TO ACTION.
Our Approach
REVEAL
01.
Mapping tensions, misalignments and missed opportunities.
DECODE
02.
A sharp strategic narrative and the core tensions to resolve.
ALIGN
03.
Clear choices, aligned leadership and strategic commitment.
LOCK
04.
Lock the strategic foundation with clarity and confidence.
OWN
05.
Create commitment & ownership across the organisation.
ACTIVATE
06.
Turn strategy into action and drive sustainable growth.
HOW I WORK.
I strongly believe that the best results are obtained through a hands-on approach that directly involves key stakeholders in the process.
I work directly with leadership teams and the people responsible for bringing the brand to life — combining an outside perspective with the knowledge that already exists inside the business.
The process is collaborative, but not consensus-led. My role is to challenge, structure and sharpen the thinking, help make clear choices, and turn those choices into a direction people understand, own and can use.
SELECTED WORK.
LEADERSHIP 3-DAY WORKSHOP - SPIRITS
Developed and facilitated an on-site global leadership workshop to enhance the iconic position of “Licores de Guatemala” - owner of Zacapa Rum - across the world.
BRAND POSITIONING - FMCG RETAIL TRADE
Developed clear market positioning and organisational alignment for the top brands in the portfolio of a leading FMCG retailer. In close collaboration with a partner agency.
FRACTIONAL BRAND LEADERSHIP - LUXURY
Defining the brand and marketing strategy for a new-to-introduce B2C luxury brand of an established luxury manufacturer.
BRAND NARRATIVE - HORECA
Redefined the brand narrative and creating company engaging & ownership around this positioning for Contraste, a Michelin star establishment in Milan, Italy
“The fundamental characteristic I found was the immediacy in understanding and ability to ground the essence, emotions and sensations we had in our heads for years but couldn’t synthesise"
Matías Perdomo
Founder & head chef Contraste Milano
About Niels
I‘ve spent most of my career working with the most iconic brands in the world.
My journey started at Unilever before joining Luxottica, where I held global leadership roles across Ray-Ban, the world’s most iconic eyewear brand, and later the luxury brands Persol and Oliver Peoples.
Throughout my career, I have been convinced that a brand’s strength is not determined by strategy alone, but by how deeply it is understood, embraced and owned by the people responsible for bringing it to life.
When teams share a common understanding of what the brand stands for, they make better decisions, act with greater consistency and contribute to its evolution with confidence.
Because without alignment, engagement and ownership inside the organisation, it becomes almost impossible to communicate a clear and meaningful brand experience to consumers.
