IN CLEAR FOCUS: Peter Wilken, known as “the father of Brand DNA,” shares insights from his 30+ years of experience, working with iconic brands like Coca-Cola, BMW, and Disney. Peter explains his “Dim Sum Strategy” approach to brand building, the concept of “owning territory in the mind,” and the vital components of Brand DNA. He discusses balancing long-term brand building with short-term performance marketing, adaptable frameworks for different market stages, and navigating business turbulence.

Episode Transcript

Adrian Tennant: Coming up in this episode of IN CLEAR FOCUS:

Peter Wilken: Brand DNA is like its genetic counterpart. It’s a template for replicating consistent desired experiences for a brand. And, you know, being able to deliver that relevant, compelling, differentiating experience in a consistent way is what makes great brands great.

Adrian Tennant: You’re listening to IN CLEAR FOCUS, fresh perspectives on marketing and advertising produced weekly by Bigeye, a strategy-led full-service creative agency growing brands for clients globally. Hello, I’m your host, Adrian Tennant, Chief Strategy Officer. Thank you for joining us. In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, exacerbated by economic uncertainty, many companies are prioritizing short-term performance marketing over building long-term brand equity. While digital campaigns can drive immediate results, this approach can also be at the expense of developing a distinctive brand identity that resonates with consumers over time. As many previous conversations on this podcast have proven, throughout a brand’s market development, strategy remains essential for sustainable growth and competitive differentiation. Our guest today is Peter Wilken, known as the father of Brand DNA, who has over 30 years of experience working with iconic brands including Coca-Cola, BMW, and Disney. After leadership roles at ad agencies BBDO, Leo Burnett, and Ogilvy, Peter founded Dolphin Brand Strategy to focus on providing strategic consulting services to organisations looking to build stronger, more purposeful brands. In 2023, Peter launched the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy, an online platform democratizing access to effective brand-building techniques. Peter is also the author of the book “Dim Sum Strategy: Bite-Sized Tools to Build Stronger Brands,” which offers practical frameworks for brand development. To discuss his unique approach to brand building across all stages of market development, I’m delighted that Peter is joining us today from West Vancouver, British Columbia. Peter, welcome to IN CLEAR FOCUS.

Peter Wilken: Thank you so much for having me, Adrian. It’s a real pleasure to be here.

Adrian Tennant: Well, as I mentioned in the intro, you have over three decades of experience in branding and advertising, working with some of the world’s most iconic brands. What motivated you to distill your knowledge into your book, “Dim Sum Strategy”?

Peter Wilken: Yeah, it’s a good question to start off, and anyone who’s actually authored their own book probably can relate to this, that is just stated with them for a long, long time before they actually put pen to paper, and procrastination is me. I should have written this book 10 years earlier than I did, the story of the brand company and how it formed and the power of brand sentiment management and building Brand DNAs. But it wasn’t until a kind of combination of factors came around. I was finishing up a consulting assignment with one of my clients here, and it had been a fantastic project, very successful. And the chairman basically said, “Look Peter, you’ve done a great job with us, but why don’t you codify your knowledge and the process that you’ve taken us through, because you could help hundreds more clients like us. Then you just manage, you know, the three or four clients a year.” And that kind of triggered the guilt thing. And then I was also working with a small startup entrepreneurial group. I company was selling men’s haircare products on YouTube online and doing fantastically well, but unaware of some of the really basic strategic tools which opened doors for them and illuminated them. And all of these kind of things that you and I, Adrian, take for granted from experience that you think other people know, they didn’t know, although they were very well read and articulate. So it made me think, “This is criminal not to actually do it.” So I ended up finally disciplining myself to kind of get up at six o’clock in the morning, every morning, ,and write the Hemingway 800 to 900 words. That was the other inspiration on it, which was understanding how Ernest Hemingway is one of my author heroes, wrote his books. He used to get up and say, “You make a habit of it.” He’d write 1,200 words a day from his modest little desk. When he’d done those 1,200 words, even if he had more to come, he’d stop and he’d go fishing or drinking – more often than not drinking – combined, and then would come back and can do it. Or you know it, actually, you’ve built up, you know, quite a few thousand words into a book.

Adrian Tennant: I’m curious about the title. Why “Dim Sum Strategy”?

Peter Wilken: Partly to do something different, because I felt if, you know, another brand book, you know, whether “Brand Center Management” or “Build a Thriving Brand-Centered Business,” arguably, you know, that might have worked even better. But it certainly grabbed people’s attention this, and it was very relevant, because – you know, talking to the younger generations – the way in which they consume information is not the same. It’s a mile wide and an inch deep. And the “Dim Sum Strategy” approach allowed me to put thoughts together in bite-sized chunks that you can take value out of in a five-minute read. And although there is a pattern to it, there is a backbone, the brand center management process, and you can consume it like a dim sum meal from beginning to end. There is a structure. You can also eat it like a dim sum meal, which is cherry-picked bits that you want and that interest you first and get value out of it. So that was the thinking behind “Dim Sum Strategy.” And. You know, it’s amazing the number of people who tell me, say, “Oh, I love Dim Sum. You know, I bought your book.” And so then a complete surprise, but they get value out of it.

Adrian Tennant: Peter, you’ve developed the concept of owning a territory in the mind. Can you explain this idea?

Peter Wilken: Yeah, and I wouldn’t say I’m the first person to claim this either. But that’s how I define a brand. A brand is intangible. It exists only in your mind. And when you’re trying to craft and form people’s perceptions, I encourage them to think of owning a territory in the mind, something that is relevant and compelling and differentiating and above all credible in your most valuable customers minds. That, to me, is what a brand is: it shows associations that come to mind when you avoid your brand name or your product. So I take it further as well because you know when you start thinking about territories, you can stretch the metaphor into things that are practical as well. So, often clients will come and they’ll try and be all things to all people. And what I’m saying is, “Look, you’re trying to ring-fence Texas. You’re going to spend your whole time mending fences or stopping incursions or stopping your herds breaking through fences at one end and dashing from the south of Texas to the north of Texas and vice versa, trying to maintain your huge territory. Instead of identifying a high hill somewhere within it, you’re building a moat around it and building a castle of stone that is yours centrally that you can own and then expand out of. So that also plays into kind of territory in the mind. You know, where’s your castle? Not, you know, ring-fencing Texas!”

Adrian Tennant: As regular listeners know, we love case studies on IN CLEAR FOCUS. So Peter, could you share some examples of brands that you think have successfully claimed their territory?

Peter Wilken: Yeah, well, I mean, there’s a few in the book there. The obvious ones I use, you know, Volvo owns the word safety – whether or not they have tried to muck it up over the years. They have various different new marketing teams coming in and then doing research saying, “Look, you know, these ugly boxy cars aren’t competing with Mercedes and BMWs and others, and you need to change and redesign.” And so they you know do a redesign the much more aerodynamic look and feel and then they come up and say “We’re stylish,” and people say “No, you’re not. You’re Volvo. You’re safety.” Which is an amazing attribute to own and it was originally created by you know the fantastic campaigns that were coming out of Bartle Bogle Hegarty in London in the mid-eighties: the crash test dummies and owning safety. But I have actually always been a central rallying cry of BBH from its early formation day so that’s a great one. I mean, in a more modern one, Patagonia now is owning that whole area of purpose-driven organizations that are truly environmentally sensitive and practice what they preach in terms of recycling and preservation. And driven by their founder and giving the company back to the people. You know, there’s an old and a new kind of example.

Adrian Tennant: Peter, in your book and your consulting work, you emphasize the concept of Brand DNA. In fact, you’re known as “the father of Brand DNA.” Could you explain what Brand DNA is and why it’s so foundational to strong brand building?

Peter Wilken: Thanks. Well, we kind of first coined the phrase “Brand DNA” about 30-odd years ago when I founded The Brand Company with my co-partners in Hong Kong. And  Brand DNA is like its genetic counterpart. It’s a template for replicating consistent desired experiences of a brand. And being able to deliver that relevant, compelling, differentiating experience in a consistent way is what makes great brands great. And so we had sat down there and said, “What are the kind of key components that if you were trying to articulate in a very succinct, but rich way, would be this template that you could use for brands?” And we came up with five areas. It basically boils down to who you are, what you stand for, to whom and why, and how you go about doing what you are. And if you can articulate those in a way that is rich, compelling, and unique, you can do so with a Brand DNA framework. You know, the Brand DNA that we used and developed then  – and which has been developed now over decades and embraced by thousands of people – basically consists of this role, why you exist to serve people beyond making money. The big “Why?” question that Simon Sinek has done an amazing job of marketing much, much better than we ever did! Your core beliefs that go beyond the basic hygiene factors of integrity and product excellence and wonderful customer service and great place to work for and with, you know, which are now so genericized, they’re kind of cost of entry. But the beliefs that really stand you apart. And then the heart of your Brand DNA is your promise, your overarching commitment to your customers that you’re going to deliver consistently against. And then as a consequence of that, the benefits that they’ll derive from you to never get your promise. So it’s very customer-oriented and it forces you to focus also on who your key targets are, what benefits are going to derive from it, and then what we called the “cultural spirit” which is the way in which you go back to. And so often now we find how you go about doing things is the way that creates the differentiation or the distinctiveness. You know, what you’re doing, often in crowded categories where many people are doing or delivering the same thing, but how they go about doing it is very different. And then the last component is icons or attributes, things that you can own that evoke an image of the whole, you know, McDonald’s golden arches and things like that. So those elements you craft very carefully, and it sounds over-simplistic, but believe me, the power of words and selecting the right words is the most powerful thing on earth, on the planet, I believe. How the pen is mightier than the sword, and all that is so true when you get your words correctly done this unique way. Your Brand DNA is a kind of cement: it becomes a guiding beacon that directs everything that your organization does and says consistently, and it’s a touchstone that becomes internalized over time so that you don’t even need to carry around on the line yard and a laminated card. Some people do that at first in the early days, but it should become embedded in the soul if you’re doing pretty well. And also something to return to as and when the inevitable turbulence or storms come around and challenges. Often with founders, you lose sight of where your direction was. Your Brand DNA is like a light that guides and flashes that beacon. “This is who we are. This is what we stand for. This is what we believe in. Do you believe in the same things that we do? If so, you know, come to us. If not, maybe somewhere else is better for you.” And that’s okay too.

Adrian Tennant: Your 4Ds process of discovery, definition, direction, and delivery provides a framework for brand development. Peter, how do you adapt this process for brands at different stages of market development, whether they’re just seeding, actively scaling, or already in a mature phase?

Peter Wilken: Yeah, that’s a really good question that Adrian, because you would think it would differ. But the truth is, it doesn’t. You know, the process doesn’t change at all. The discipline of doing your discovery work, you know, understanding how you are perceived in the marketplace, what key insights there are, what opportunities and challenges for the brand are. and going further for the whole business. Those questions and that approach doesn’t change. Defining or re-examining your positioning, how you are presenting yourself to the market, is a process, again, that applies whether or not you’re a startup, whether you’ve already got momentum and are scaling, or you’re in a mature phase. Similarly, the direction or examining your strategic priorities and refreshing that process and the questions and the framework, if you like, remains the same, depending on the stage you’re at. Now, obviously, the insights and the interpretation and the strategic solutions that you find, the executions, are very different according to the stage of development. You’ve identified three here, which I like that kind of simplification of that scaling. We typically use the Adizes Lifecycle from adolescence and infant all the way through crime to bureaucracy, early bureaucracy, and death at the end, and all the various stages in between. So there may be seven or eight of those. And yes, you’re right. The way in which you go about implementing change in a large, let’s say, governmental bureaucracy is very different from a dynamic young startup. Although the principles of defining a Brand DNA and living up to them are still the same.

Adrian Tennant: Let’s take a short break. We’ll be right back after this message.

Jean-Éric Pelet: Hello. I am Jean-Éric Pelet, author of “Consumer Behaviour: Understanding Consumers in a Digital Landscape,” published by Kogan Page.  My book explores how digital environments transform consumer decision-making processes and brand interactions, drawing from my extensive research in how technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and blockchain reshape how we shop and engage with brands.  Whether you are a marketing professional, business student, or brand manager, this book will help you understand the psychological and social dynamics driving consumer behavior in our digital world. You will learn about emerging trends in social commerce, voice technology, and ethical marketing with practical insights and international case studies to guide your strategic decisions.  As an IN CLEAR FOCUS listener, you can save 25 percent on “Consumer Behaviour” when you order directly from Kogan Page. Just enter the exclusive promo code Bigeye25 at checkout. Shipping is always complimentary for customers in the US and the UK.  I hope my book helps you navigate the evolving landscape of digital consumer behavior and create more effective marketing strategies. Thank you!

Adrian Tennant: Welcome back. I’m talking with Peter Wilken, known as “the father of Brand DNA” and author of “Dim Sum Strategy: Bite-Sized Tools to Build Stronger Brands.” Your ebook, “The 10 Commandments to Build a Strong Brand” is available as a free resource on your website. Peter, how challenging was it to condense your career wisdom into just 10 commandments?

Peter Wilken: It wasn’t as hard as it should have been, Adrian. I mean, you’re making me giggle because you know the story behind it, but your listeners, I’ll share with them that benefit as well. You know, I still do kind of speaking engagements on the speaker circuit and I do, you know, some voluntary talks to the students at the universities and things. I think this was at UBC here in Vancouver to a group of marketing and business students, and they were kind of overly impressed by your credentials and the brands you’d work with and the agents you’d work with. One particular post-grad girl came up bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and said, “Peter, that was fabulous. You’ve done all the things I wanted to do and worked with all the brands I wanted to work with. Tell me everything. Tell me everything. I’ve got to go to my next class in 10 minutes.” I thought, “Oh, okay.” I dismissed it a little bit, but I thought about it on the way back and I thought, “I wonder whether I could capture what is really important, the key things I’ve learned in 35-plus years of brand consulting and running ad agencies and starting up the first brand specialist firm and change management.” And in a way, “The Ten Commandments” is that, the end result. And I think I timed the read at 12 minutes, so I was two minutes over. So it’s a little bit humbling when you think you can condense your life’s work into a 12-minute read. But yeah, that’s the story behind it. And yeah, I’ve had some nice feedback from it. So it’s written for that kind of what I call Zillennial audience, you know, the Gen-Zs and Millennials who like it short, like it visual, “Give us a big headline, get to the answer very quickly, in one page. Then if I’m interested, I’ll do my own research. Thanks very much.” You know, kind of thing.

Adrian Tennant: You launched the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy in late 2023. Could you tell us what the Academy is and why you created it? Oh, thank you.

Peter Wilken: Yeah, the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy, its real mission there is to democratize effective like world-class brand strategy, make it affordable, accessible, and above all actionable to people who are really going to value it. And it’s targeted mainly at the small business owners, the solopreneurs, and the aspiring brand strategists who would love to be able to hire a seasoned brand consultant to come in and analyze their business and help develop their business, but can’t afford the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars that that costs. The Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy is an online program where they can come into an evergreen program and be guided through that process, hand-in-hand, step-by-step, in detail, the first 2Ds of the 4Ds, so discovery and definition, to leading them towards generating their own unique Brand DNA. And doing that also with a small community at Lighthouse Brand Builders Community, so they can share their DNA. And they have access to me doing a couple of live kind of cohort sessions each month: one on a brand-specific issue, and others just general Q&A’s. The program is called the Chief Brand Officer Masterclass and a Chief Brand Officer is somebody who is often embodied within the CEO – or should be. I say often, actually in fact, it’s too rare a thing where the CEO is also the Chief Brand Officer. The Chief Brand Officer is somebody who can identify, discover the potential, as it were, for that territory in the mind, help define that territory in the mind, and help define a Brand DNA and drive it through all aspects of the organization, everything it does from corporate strategy who is influencing culture the people to the product and service and developments to the structures and systems that enable you from delivering against your promise to ultimate leave in external communications and design and delivery and things like that. All aspects driven by the DNA so at the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy, the emphasis is on practical implementation. So it’s not academic theory, it’s on practical tools that you can pick up and use straight away, and it’s also not done in a kind of Academic is a six week or an intense long weekend or a twelve week program in a cohort that’s done two or three times a year. It goes at your own pace so you come in you start when you want to start. You can dip in and out. It works around life – you know, we know life goes on but suddenl, you know, one of your children’s going to university and you need a month out or something like that, or you take a holiday or one of your clients becomes very active and you need to spend two weeks out to focus on doing that. That’s real life, and that’s what happens. You know, the program allows you to fit your learning and development into your real life as it were. So, thank you for asking.

Adrian Tennant: We’re currently experiencing market turbulence and economic uncertainty. What’s one strategic tool or framework from dim sum strategy that you think would be particularly valuable for brands at this time?

Peter Wilken: There’s a great model called the T-Model, which is basically all about the turbulence model. And it’s really super simple once you’ve seen it. It basically says there are five levels of turbulence, from one to five, where one is low and five is really high. So one is like a lazy winding old man river that you can paddle up against the stream very easily and find a place to park on the bank and everything is predictable, what you did yesterday is the same as you’re doing today and is likely to be the same as you’re going to do tomorrow. The path forward is clear and wonderful, and it’s all controlled. And certain organizations function like that, like the world is like that, and others don’t. The T5 is Niagara Falls. You’re going over Niagara Falls in complete chaos, turbulent white water that you cannot control. You can’t paddle against it. You don’t know whether you’re going to live or die. It’s an enormous thrill for some. It’s incredibly scary and dangerous for others. It’s totally unpredictable. Even after events, sometimes you need a kind of creative solution, things that have never been done before, to be able to tackle difficult, highly unpredictable, turbulent waters. And you can imagine what the stages are in between. Now, certain people work better at low turbulence levels, typically one to two, or two to three. Other people actually enjoy higher turbulence levels, four to five. When I was running ad agencies, typically these were young, energetic, turbo-fueled people with great ambition and creative minds who would get bored incredibly easily if they were operating in one to two or two to three. Some of the creatives were always in four or five. And you can’t live like that forever, you know, you really do get exhausted. And this is why people would burn out quickly or where, you know, managing creative people, I would find … I would say it was like managing U-boat captains. You know, once they were on patrol and active, they were really there, but the minute they were on shore, they were lost to the world. You know, they were in the bars, they were in the pubs, they were out. You may never see them again. They might not turn up on time for the next patrol because that’s just how they function. The opposite side is the T1, T2s, who are happy in a world that is very predictable and doesn’t put enormous stress on them, that is a world that they can control and feel comfortable in, that they may jump out for the occasional thrill, you know, three or four, go to theme park or whatever it was, but then they’re back into their comfortable world. What’s happening now is that the level of turbulence within which most people are working now and the scale of unpredictability has accelerated over the last decade or two. So, you know, that we’re talking about things that are a world that’s incredibly unpredictable. Not five years ahead, but five days ahead – we’ve got no idea what’s going to happen and these are big decisions. This is you know we’re going to war with somebody, you know, we’re going to be able to be a trading partner. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so I have to believe — and I do believe – that ultimately it will settle down the way it should. You know, we are an integrated global community, like it or not, one way or another, it’s going to happen. We have porous borders. Politicians do not understand that yet,  and try and control it. The more you try and control, the more resistance there is to things like that. But getting used to and being more familiar and comfortable with higher levels of turbulence is a skill that people need to learn. And an advantage when you can capture it, because it’s not going to stop. And I think if you try and burrow away, dig your head into the sand and pretend it’s not going on, you’ll find that your patch of land is going to be turned upside down, whether or not you like it. And I say you can have fun with it as well. The best people learn to ride the wave, as it were. They build a surfboard and they ride the energy.

Adrian Tennant: In the intro to today’s episode, I reflected on the fact that many businesses today are prioritizing short-term performance marketing over long-term brand building. Peter, what risks do you see in this approach, and how can CMOs better balance these competing priorities?

Peter Wilken: Again, this is a really observant question, Adrian, and I deal with this the whole time, particularly working with boards, trying to find the right balance between short-term agility and being able to move in the real world and make decisions in the short term. And what the short term, I mean, things that are going to impact how your business functions within a year or the next year, or might be even, you know, tomorrow, the next week. But an immediate short-term with the longer-term visionary legacy-leaving world-changing things that you’re trying to achieve that maybe twenty thirty forty years down the line that the Asians seem better at doing than the North Americans, frankly. And so finding that balance and recognizing it is absolutely key. Nearly always, the pressures and the temptations of the short-term daily tasks, which may be C- or B-rated tasks, not the A-rated longer-term vision, take over. And so a lot of what I do is kind of pull back and say, “Let’s balance this out.” And it comes back to your question, you know, building a brand that’s a long-term emotional affinity, that drives loyalty and advocacy, you should never forget that. That’s the backbone on which everything that you’re doing is built. And that should never, ever stop. The short-term tactical changes or moves within that, you can build on top of it, but you do the emotional brand building absolutely first. So yeah, it’s finding that balance. With the equivalent of that long-term brand emotional positioning focus and the short-term actions, I’m sensing with this kind of plethora of digital media and social media out there, and this performance management thing, and the mantra that “unless you can measure it, it’s not worth managing.” I don’t agree or believe in that mantra at all. I’m much more, “It’s the things that you can’t count that really count.” Having said that, I do think it’s good to have a balance and be able to detect certain things. I don’t want to get into it too deeply, but it does come back to thinking preferences and your own individual thinking preferences. If you are a left-modal thinker who likes rational measurements and tangible numbers and wants to see facts –although those facts may be on shaky ground – then you’re always going to want and favor that kind of short-term performance measurement. And if you’re a right-brain thinker and you look further down, strategizing around corners for bigger picture, thinking longer term, you’re going to favor the long-term brand. So it’s not one or the other, it’s a sensible balance of both.

Adrian Tennant: This has been a great conversation. Peter, if listeners would like to learn more about your work, your book, “Dim Sum Strategy,” or the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy, what’s the best way for them to connect with you?

Peter Wilken: Well, thanks for asking. I think the best way is just to go to my website. That’s PeterWilken.com and it’s W-I-L-K-E-N.com – and you can access everything from there. More information about the online course, the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Program and “Dim Sum Strategy,” the book, and “The Ten Commandments” are there. Lots of free resources. There’s a free brand strategy health check there, which a lot of people use. It’s a simple two-minute, three-minute questionnaire that helps you assess where the health of your brand strategy is. So yeah, and people can have some fun. So that’s it. Peter Wilken, with an ‘e’ dotcom.

Adrian Tennant: Excellent. Peter, thank you very much for being my guest this week on IN CLEAR FOCUS.

Peter Wilken: Well, thank you so much. Great questions, Adrian.

Adrian Tennant: Thanks again to my guest this week, Peter Wilken, the author of “Dim Sum Strategy: Bite-Sized Tools to Build Stronger Brands.” As always, you’ll find a complete transcript of our conversation with timestamps and links to the resources we discussed on the IN CLEAR FOCUS page at Bigeyeagency.com. Just select Insights from the menu. Thank you for listening to IN CLEAR FOCUS, produced by Bigeye. I’ve been your host, Adrian Tennant. Until next week, goodbye.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00: Introduction to IN CLEAR FOCUS

00:21: The Shift to Short-Term Marketing

00:54: Introducing Peter Wilken

02:10: The Motivation Behind Dim Sum Strategy

04:54: The Meaning of Dim Sum Strategy

06:08: Owning a Territory in the Mind

07:43: Case Studies of Successful Brands

09:00: Understanding Brand DNA

12:59: The 4Ds Process for Brand Development

15:09: Break and Sponsor Message

16:36: The 10 Commandments for Strong Brands

18:45: Launching the Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy

22:03: Navigating Market Turbulence

26:26: Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Strategies

29:29: Conclusion and Resources