85%
of brands are not distinctive!
-source IPSOS-
WANT TO ESCAPE
THE COMMODITY-TRAP?
BETTER CALL OR MAIL HALE:
+31 6 19202060
"As a Company & Brand Catalyst I help companies
create and elevate Brand Energy and Creativity.
Internally sparking onward & forward thinking, accelerating change, new directions,
originality, innovations and growth.
Externally triggering interest,
top of mind and conversion."
Benefits of Partnering with me as your
Company & Brand Catalyst :
Creating internal and external easy reproducible clear brand and product reasons.
Value is the catalyst of action!
UNIFIED BRAND and BRAND POSITIONING VALUES
Creating internal (employee) and external (prospects & clients/users) deeper brand connections.
(RE-)IGNITING INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC BRAND PROPOSITIONS
Creating clear direction & goal motivation.
(RE-)ACTIVATION OF “WORK PURPOSES”
Creating magnetic, and perpetuating drive.
(RE-)ACTIVATION of TEAM GRIT & GUTS, CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS & BRAND ENERGY
RESULTs:
Brand Essence Excellence
Unmistakable Brand & Product Distinctiveness
Propelling Company & Brand Value
Relevant Product and Proposition Innovation & Originality
Full 7 minutes version of the website
Energising brand and (change) values with strategic activation and
transformational comms.
Book a call with me
Energising Brand Essence Excellence, Propositions and (Change) Values.
Synchronising your internal and external turbines to create clear, and transformational Brand Energy
with the most effective tool for adoption and action: Catalysed Communication.
Only 15% of brands are considered distinctive (Source: Ipsos). The rest are either on the path towards or trapped in the commodity-trap.
HALE is a brand strategy and creative direction catalyst based in Amsterdam, serving both national and international clients. Providing companies with Brand Strategy and Creative Direction to energise and boost their Brand Energy, helping them stand out and escape the commodity-trap. Also empowering organisations with energetic communications to effectively accelerate change.
My services assist you in discovering, defining, and creating Distinctive Selling Propositions (DSPs) that propel brand, product, and organisational energy, driving perpetual growth.
Boosting your Business and growth with Brand Energy
Some may find the word "energy" too spiritual, abstract or even airy-fairy. Think again! There's nothing more scientific than energy—it underlies everything, from particles to the universe itself. Denying energy is like denying the existence of everything we observe and experience.
Take energy out of your company, and it will surely stagnate or worse.
We all understand that every object and life form consists of, is made from, and is held together by energy. Yet, the vast majority of organisations don't consciously harness and work on the energy that creates, shapes, and keeps them dynamic and attractive.
Now, look at your company, brand, product, and the organization that drives your business. Is it powered by energy or just a system? Of course, it's a combination of both. But why focus on Brand Energy over Work Energy?
The answer is simple: Brand Energy generates Work Energy. Brand Energy is driven by purpose and values unique to your company. It has the power to attract, motivate, and create new energies. Brand Energy encourages coherence and shared purpose, which naturally leads to productive Work Energy—if done right.
Most companies tend to begin with branding and marketing. While that’s one way to go, it’s not the right place to start. It all begins with your… Brand Energy.
Brand Energy is your company’s unique current that flows through your organisation and into the market, influencing or transforming both internal and external forces it encounters. It defines vision, purpose, and solutions to challenges. When your brand energy is weaker than the internal or external forces it meets (due to lack of clarity or strong arguments), those forces can influence or even reshape your brand energy—either weakening or strengthening it.
“A brand is more than just an identity; it’s energy. Born from energy, held together by it, and continuously evolving through new energy, a brand thrives on both internal and external energised actions. Perpetuating it’s energy together”
Your Brand Energy has both the purpose and the power to make your company’s essence identifiable and to energise actions.
Shifting your company’s narrative from "Brand" to "Brand Energy" creates a fundamental mindset shift. This shift alters perception—from a static, hands-off, "don’t mess with it" status quo to a dynamic, collaborative, "let’s create for it" mentality. Your brand will break free from the constraints of a static brand manual and evolve into a shared, value-driven purpose for your employees. When positioned as energy, your brand becomes alive, active, dynamic, and fluid, flowing through your organisation. Done right, Brand Energy generates coherent actions that strengthen and amplify your brand’s positive energy, value, and attractiveness.
How do we create Brand Energy and Brand Distinctiveness?
Brand Energy is often sparked by a brand’s distinctiveness, originality, and the GRIT & GUTS (drive) behind its intentions, challenges, and solutions. If your company’s actions lack one of these key boosters, you're missing out on crucial internal and external momentum—and the ability to amplify Brand Value to an extraordinary level.
Defining, creating and activating these three Brand Value Boosters will ignite and spin your employees turbines, super charging your Brand and Companies Distinctiveness. Make your brand work like a magnet for latents and customers and clients.
To achieve Brand Distinctiveness, you need to go the extra mile. As Wayne Dyer rightly said, “It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” For me, this symbolises reaching the extraordinary by creating distinctiveness in your brand, company, and people.
“Every action is based on consciously or unconsciously calculated and allocated value to the result of that action. Ensure that what you bring generates energy—and that this energy can be uniquely attributed to you.”
“Distinctiveness awaits you on the spot where others don’t bother to go, are unable to reach, or are even scared to venture. GRIT & GUTS, Creativity & Brand Energy will get you there.”
To keep your brand and people out of the commodity trap, it’s essential to dig deeper—much deeper than you usually would. Guided by GRIT (passion, action, and perseverance) and GUTS, you will reach the place where Distinctiveness is patiently waiting.
It is true, distinctiveness is simply waiting for you to find it.
It involves exploring new possibilities and creativity. Once this level is achieved, you can create compelling propositions and concepts, translating them into propelling communications that get all your employees' turbines spinning.
created brand energy for :
Entertain your teams and customers with your true brand values and propositions. Entertainment works immersively.
I will help you do this consistently and surprisingly at the same time.
"You can own a brand and its identity, but not its image.
As you only have the ability to influence perception and not control it."
DSP'S KEEPs YOUR organisation, brand and products out
of the commodity-trap
Late 2023, IPSOS conducted research on how distinctive brands truly are. It turns out that only 15% of major brands are distinctive. To put things in perspective, 85% of brands are essentially mimicking their competitors, reflecting an intention to 'play it safe.'
A year earlier, I introduced DSPs alongside true USPs. Most suggested USPs lack real uniqueness and tend to unconsciously promote complacency within companies. In contrast, DSPs (Distinctive Selling Propositions) make brands and their teams more agile, strategic, creative, and competitive in their market. DSPs create relevant and up-to-date value.
DSP's
Distinctive Selling Proposition(s)
If you aim to stand out with your brand and product, you must distinguish yourself. It sounds logical, doesn't it? However, the statistics show it’s not so logical after all. How many brands (leaders) truly dare to differentiate, be distinctive? How many brands exemplify the creative and innovative spirit of companies like Apple, Amazon and Revolut? According to IPSOS, only 15%.
Belong to the 15% brands!
Distinctive Selling Propositions helps you achieve this differentiation by focusing on how to distinguish yourself from your market competitors on a brand and product level. To maintain the Distinctive Selling Propositions, you must keep yourself, and your team up to date and well-informed. Without dwelling on data that everybody has access to. The magic lies in the interpretation, translation and creation. This approach will keep you sharp and ahead of the competition, making you more agile and, therefore, more successful. Again, this may sound logical, and yet again, the statistics prove that a different logic and energy rules.
DSP’s and Catalysed Communications have the power to energise de-commoditisation!
DSP’s are dynamic compared to the (mental) static state of USP’s.
Let's turn on all the turbines and create and activate tomorrow's brand energy!
starting today
As a company and brand, your goal isn’t just to create a product transaction. You want to generate electricity—an experience that sparks excitement and reaches deep throughout the entire customer journey.
How far does the customer journey go?
As far as your companies solutions to challenges, and creations are able to keep prospects, customer and clients on board. The key word here is able.
What keeps them on board?
Excellence in translating and transporting your Brand Essence, Brand Purpose, and Brand Solutions!
Is this a marketing and branding job?
Yes—and no. Brand Essence Excellence happens when every department contributes. It’s about (co-)creating solutions that add to your brand’s distinctiveness and originality. These can then be translated into strategic, distinctive propositions for both Brand and Product Marketing. Clear and strong Brand Energy is essential to achieve Brand Essence Excellence.
You need to turn on all your company’s turbines to achieve this level of distinctive creativity. That’s how you generate Brand Energy that stands out. Ultimately, this process breaks down barriers, motivates collaboration, and creates shared budgets across departments. Companies that excel at this build distinctive brands that avoid the commodity trap—the level where 85% of brands circulate.
Their turbines are kept spinning, generating internal and external electricity. This fuels electrifying customer journeys and creates unforgettable experiences. They avoid shortcuts because shortcuts inevitably lead to short circuits.
3 BOOSTER VALUES to keep your
brand’s energy turbines spinning
and achieve Brand ESSENCE Excellence:
DISTINCTIVENESS - Culture, Team, People, Proposition and Values
“Distinctiveness is waiting for you at the spot where others don’t bother to go,
are unable to reach, or are to scared to venture.”
GRIT & GUTS, Creativity & Brand Energy will get you there.
GRIT & GUTS - Passion, Action, Perseverance
“An organisation or profession that operates with GRIT & GUTS,
is an organisation or profession with magneticity!”
GRIT & GUTS is ignited and fueled by inner-flames.
Create flames for every internal and external goal, target and JTBD!
GRIT & GUTS-driven excellence and action will naturally attract more excellence and action, like a magnet.
With double G-force!
ORIGINALITY - In Leading, Thinking, Acting and Producing
“Originality is extremely attractive.
To be, and stay attractive you need to be and stay creative.”
Originality surfaces with the skill creativity. Assemble a Originality Team! Never heard of one?
That's exactly why you should build one as soon as possible.
Want to move your brand, people, and market? Drop me a line or send me an email, and discover how we can activate and boost your internal and external Brand Energy.
Catalysed Communication has the power to activate Brand Energy and supercharge any objective.
Hiring me as your company and brand catalyst means gaining a partner who goes beyond traditional branding to activate and energise your entire organisation. With a unique combination of brand strategy, creative direction, and system-based coaching techniques, I ignite Brand Energy that not only sets you apart but also drives sustainable growth.
I specialise in turning teams into turbines of creativity and purpose, ensuring your brand is dynamic and attractive to both employees and customers. My approach, rooted in Distinctiveness, Grit & Guts, and Originality, delivers lasting impact, far beyond temporary campaigns.
Let’s collaborate to make your brand elevate from your brand guide, turn your Brand Essence into Brand Essence Excellence, fueling action and propelling you toward the extraordinary with Catalysed Communications.
you can hire me as a...
Catalyst
Turning your aspirations and goals into actionable strategies that align with your brand, brand essence, mission, goals, propositions, teams and audiences.
I achieve this by fully immersing into your world, attentively listening, exploring, and uncovering insights from your unique experiences, expertise, and perspectives. My approach is rooted in openness and receptivity, consistently seeking out what sets you apart and refining your plans accordingly.
conceptualiser
I focus on transforming strategies and plans into captivating and engaging concepts, all with the singular aim of capturing
your audience's attention.
My emphasis is on creating concepts that resonate with relevance and attract attention towards your message, brand, and product distinctiveness.
Through this process, my secondary objective is to activate the specific actions you've outlined and desired.
realiser
The true value of a good concept is greatly influenced and defined by the quality of its execution, which should align with the defined goals or ambitions of your brand and message.
As a creative director, I take on the role of curating, orchestrating, guiding, and actively participating in the realisation of these concepts. This involves ensuring that the execution matches the
agreed-upon targets, goals, parameters, and standards.
FACTS
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Expert in brand strategy, brand positioning, DSP development and internal/external brand activation
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Ranked 16th of most awarded creatives in the Netherlands
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Experience as a director strategy of creativity within the Creative and Corporate world
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Entrepreneurial and international experience
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Brand positioning, proposition and activation specialist
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Extensive e-commerce and retail experience
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Creating a Creative Culture Speaker, lecturer and personal coach on creativity within company cultures
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Author of Unlock your Creativity at 50pagesbooks.com
"Creativity is changed energy"
Book Charles
as a speaker
Want to creatively ignite your team?
Book one of my TriggerTalks:
HELLO CREATIVITY
or Morning Master Classes:
UNLOCK THE CREATIVITY
Available in Dutch and English
Feel free to contact me for availability and prices.
Disrupting the status quo to hatch more creativity
ACCELERATING & EMBEDDING BRAND OR CHANGE ENERGY WITH THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL: COMMUNICATION
CONTACT
I am available on project, interim base and for masterclasses and company talks.
Call me: +31 (0)6 19202060
Or Book a free Meet-Up session
