Growing Brand Equity for a Commodity

Brand equity for a commodity

When connectivity is “all the same,” affinity and creativity become the only real moats, and building affinity for a brand people rarely think about is the hardest job in marketing.

“Not Deutsche, not Telekom anymore”

How the company is growing beyond old-school telco into AI data centres, satellites, B2B and a 6G network Klenke describes as “an intelligent supercomputer you can reach anywhere.”

Never be mainstream

The diffusion-of-innovation logic behind speaking to innovators and the young first, and refusing “that exchangeable, boring advertising.”

Going fully AI-first

A network campaign produced 100% with AI that nobody could tell from film, the Einstein piece built on a licensed ElevenLabs voice avatar, and why sound and music, not visuals, are what make an AI campaign feel real.

The third voice in every call

“Mia Magenta AI,” the in-network brand representative (debuted at Mobile World Congress) that books, reminds and translates, and why it can't be gender-neutral.

Purpose isn't dead, it's different

Why he couldn't run his 2024 “against hate on the web” work in 2026, and a Habermas-inspired pivot from hate towards restoring dialogue.

How the factory runs

Ten European markets he “doesn't rule,” one global media contract but best-of-breed creative, “a group of lions hunting, not sheep feeding grass,” the shared “toolboxing” model, “bring me awards,” and “touch the brand.”