From Economics to Branding and Innovation: The journey of Patrick van Thiel

Building a career at the intersection of Creativity and Strategy

Patrick’s career started logically enough at a design agency, where he worked as a project and account manager for corporate identities and packaging design. After seven years on the agency side , eventually rising to the role of strategy and account director, he decided to switch to the client side, working as an independent interim manager and strategy consultant.

Gradually, his focus broadened from design to branding. "Eventually, I realized that design is just one building block in creating strong brands," he explains. His assignments increasingly revolved around strategic branding, working on long-term projects for banks and energy companies. Today, Patrick runs a boutique strategic consultancy firm specializing in brand strategy, reputation management, innovation, and organizational change. Alongside his consultancy work, he is also an executive coach, a part-time HBO lecturer, and a non executive board member.

Becoming an Author: From speech to published works

Patrick's love for writing grew steadily over the years, following the advice given to him by Friso den Hertog during his graduation speech: "Use your pen!"
Initially, writing did not come naturally. "The writing process is mainly about structuring for me," Patrick explains. "First, I think about the structure and the concept. Along the way, you find out things need to be tweaked."

His first book, Designmanagement in Essentie, was co-written with Wil Michels, who taught him the craft of writing. "We didn’t know each other, but after the very first evening of lessons, we decided to write a book together," Patrick recalls with a smile.

Since then, he has published several influential works, including Innovatie & Succes (2009), Brand-oriented Innovation (2011), and BRANDING (2022, co-written with Andy Mosmans). His most recent book, Met de Stroming Mee (2023), was nominated for the prestigious Marketing Literature Prize, just like BRANDING.

The power of Design Thinking in Business

Reflecting on the evolving role of design management, Patrick emphasizes its importance:
"A designer’s mindset, as you see in design thinking, helps tremendously in identifying daily challenges and creating human-centered solutions. It all starts, and ends,  with a deep understanding of your audience." He believes that this human-centered approach is something every marketer should embrace.

In 2011, Patrick introduced the concept of brand-oriented innovation in his book by the same name, a concept that remains relevant today. "Rather than starting innovation from technology trends or customer insights, start from the brand and the associations stakeholders already have," he explains. "That way, your innovation will feel much more natural and will be adopted faster by the market."

Rethinking branding and reputation

In his latest book Met de Stroming Mee, Patrick challenges traditional views on branding and reputation. He describes five different "schools of thought" or "stromingen," each offering a distinct approach to brand and reputation management:

• Positioning: Focus on segmentation and targeting specific audiences.
• Penetration: Following Byron Sharp’s idea that loyalty is an illusion: aim for broad mental and physical availability.
• Purpose: Align your brand with a relevant societal cause.
• Peer-to-peer: Harness the power of recommendations and customer experience.
• Partner: Build emotional connections that foster deep loyalty.

Rather than choosing just one school, Patrick advises brands to embrace two schools of thought. Patrick states: "Based on induction and deduction I have come to the conclusion that strong brands and reputations always employ two schools of thought. And moreover, this dual approach strengthens your brand and reputation while improving collaboration between marketing and communications teams."

Teaching and inspiring the next generation

Today, Patrick also shares his knowledge with students as a part-time lecturer. "It’s incredibly rewarding to work with young people," he says. "I enjoy sparking their curiosity and learning from their fresh perspectives too."

When asked what single insight he would give students about branding and reputation, Patrick offers two:
"First, building a brand and reputation takes time, focus on both the long and the short term. Second, branding might be complex, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep things simple and logical."

Staying connected with Maastricht University

Though his career has taken him far, Patrick remains connected to Maastricht University.
"It’s important to stay connected to science. For me, science is not ‘just another opinion’ It’s the truth until research proves otherwise," he says thoughtfully.

He also sees great potential for alumni involvement, particularly through initiatives like the Maastricht University Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation “Connecting students with alumni who have strong stories to tell is incredibly valuable," Patrick notes. "It’s about learning, inspiring, and building bridges between generations." Patrick reflects: "Listen to people who see something in you, but follow your own path. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing, or what others expect you to do. Have the courage to make different choices."