Growing Brand Equity for a Commodity | Inside the Deutsche Telekom Marketing Factory

In this episode of Marketing Factories, a podcast by Effie Europe and REBORRN, Dafni Prosalika (Partner at REBORRN) welcomes Ulrich "Uli" Klenke, Chief Brand Officer of Deutsche Telekom, recorded at its Bonn headquarters. Ulrich stewards the world's most valuable telecoms brand, worth $96.2 billion by Brand Finance, and he starts from a problem every marketer knows: when connectivity is a commodity and "everything is accessible, and it's all the same," how do you make anyone feel anything about the brand? His answer is brand affinity, measured by asking people whether they love the brand or hate it.

That question is why the company is, in his words, "not Deutsche anymore, and not Telekom anymore." It has grown beyond old-school telco into AI data centres, satellite partnerships and the digitisation of society, with a 6G network he calls an intelligent supercomputer you can reach anywhere. And because connectivity itself no longer differentiates, Ulrich argues that affinity and creativity are the only real moats left. So he runs a deliberately decentralised model: one global media contract, but best-of-breed creative chosen market by market. It is "a group of lions hunting, not a group of sheep feeding grass," held together by shared "toolboxes" rather than orders from headquarters, and by the rule he broke the old ones to introduce: "touch the brand."

The conversation ranges across the questions every marketer is wrestling with. Ulrich walks through going fully AI-first, the Einstein film built on a licensed ElevenLabs voice avatar, and why sound, not visuals, is what makes an AI campaign feel real. He makes the case that purpose campaigns are "not over, they're different now," from the "against hate on the web" work to a Habermas-inspired pivot towards restoring dialogue. And he is candid on why he wants to be famous for the use of AI, why his CEO's one mantra is "bring me awards," and what keeps him in a seat he has held for double the average CMO tenure. As ever, the episode closes with the 58-hour challenge: the problem Ulrich would hand the most brilliant minds in the world.

Key Moments

00:00 – Teaser: Refusing the Mainstream
01:33 – The $96 Billion Asset: Chief Brand Officer vs. CMO
03:53 – Love It or Hate It: Measuring Brand Image and Affinity
05:38 – When Connectivity Becomes Water: Managing the "Pink Air from Bonn"
06:46 – The Agency-Side Brand Chief: Client vs. Agency Perspective
11:35 – Why Hybrid Doesn't Work: The Lost Art of Learning Through Osmosis
14:13 – Montessori Lessons & Starting a Global Job in COVID
20:18 – The Telco Dad and the Perplexity Road-Trip
23:45 – Attitude as Differentiation: The Social Network Pillar
26:35 – Purpose Isn't Over, It's Different: Shifting from Hate to Dialogue
32:08 – "Not Deutsche, Not Telekom Anymore": 6G, Satellites, and AI
35:36 – Never Be Mainstream: Innovations and Tapping the Youth
37:38 – Going Fully AI-First: The 100% AI Network Campaign & Einstein Voice
40:39 – When AI Can Damage the Brand: Real Talent vs. Synthesised Emotion
45:11 – The Third Voice in Every Call: Launching "Mia Magenta AI"
50:14 – "Bring Me Awards": A CEO Mantra for Leadership Excellence
53:07 – How the Factory Runs: Decentralised Markets and Toolboxed Campaigns
1:04:59 – "Touch the Brand": Empowering Fluid Creativity
1:09:27 – The 58-Hour Challenge: Digital Democracy and Public Service Innovation

Marketing Factories explores the world's most effective marketing teams. Hosted by Dafni Prosalika (Partner, REBORRN). Produced by REBORRN in collaboration with Effie Europe and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA).

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