Markengeflüster March 2025: Brand Strategies and Challenges

An evening of valuable conversations with renowned brand leaders

Particularly gratifying was the prominent line-up of the evening: with 14 participants from companies such as Deutsche Bank, FedEx, Henkel and Kärcher, the group was not only well known but also highly qualified in professional terms.

The thematic impulse for the evening came from Jörg Liebeskind of Conrad Electronic, who shared compelling insights from practice in his presentation. His perspectives sparked intensive discussions and provided a valuable basis for the open exchange among the participants.

The key takeaways of the presentation: from tech shop to B2B platform

Jörg Liebeskind presented the transformation of Conrad Electronic from a technology shop for consumers into a B2B procurement platform. The focus is on holistic brand development that communicates its relevance as simply as possible.

A strong brand needs clear positioning and simple communication

The new brand positioning can be summarised in one central sentence: “For customers procuring technical supplies, we offer all the parts of success.” That message runs through the entire corporate communication and is also reflected in the new brand claim “Alle Teile des Erfolgs”.

Successful brand strategies rely on clarity and consistency

Conrad is pursuing a clear vision: to become Europe’s leading procurement platform by being the reliable partner of choice. Its mission is to simplify complex procurement processes and help customers save time and money. These guiding principles shape both the corporate brand and the employer branding, which encourages clear identification with the claim “Ich bin ein Teil des Erfolgs”.

Brand awareness grows through clear messages and smart campaigns

A central concern of the communication strategy is to increase brand awareness and build affinity for the brand. Many people do not know what Conrad stands for today, so the challenge is to make that message simple and emotionally tangible. The “Ja-Moment” campaign achieves this by putting customers’ moments of success centre stage, and it can be flexibly adapted for different languages.

Brand development requires strategic focus and patience

Communication is deliberately aimed at various decision-making groups, including company owners, chief procurement officers, strategic buyers and technical end users. Clear and differentiated messaging is intended to strengthen familiarity with the brand in the B2B space.

Strategic brand work pays off

The results show that this strategic work is worthwhile: Conrad was named “Corporate Brand of the Year 2023” and “Employer Brand of the Year 2024”.

“The success of brand strategies shows not only in awards, but also in how sustainably the brand is anchored within the company and among its target groups.”

Shared challenges, shared solutions

One of the most interesting aspects of the evening was the realisation that, despite the diversity of the industries represented, many companies face similar challenges in brand strategy. For B2B companies in particular, the brand often still does not seem to have the standing it deserves. There is frequently a lack of willingness to invest, and brand leaders have to do considerable convincing to anchor the importance of strategic brand development at management level.

Brand projects need staying power when it comes to funding

One central topic was the often laborious process of securing budgets for brand projects. Many brand leaders reported that they were able to push through the funds for their initiatives only step by step, usually after lengthy discussions with company management.

Jörg Liebeskind offered a particularly vivid example: after he had successfully implemented Conrad’s brand strategy, the CEO was so impressed that he attended the “Corporate Brand of the Year” award ceremony in person and held the largest trophy himself.

“Brand leaders often have to convince the management level that strategic brand development is the key to business success. And that is a step-by-step, lengthy task.”

It also became clear that simplicity in brand strategy is essential. A clear, easily understandable strategy is the key to anchoring it successfully within the company and passing it on to all relevant stakeholders.

AI in brand communication remains a challenge

The topic of AI in brand communication was also discussed in depth. It emerged that, so far, generative AI delivers genuinely convincing results in the production of visuals only in certain use cases, and does not necessarily come with cost savings. Using Conrad’s “Ja – Momente” campaign as an example, participants discussed how AI-generated imagery can be used sensibly. Some participants also reported projects in their own companies in which agencies had promised too much with regard to AI-supported production, and a conventional shoot ultimately proved necessary.

Conclusion: a successful evening with valuable insights

Our Markengeflüster impressively demonstrated how important exchange among brand makers is. The discussions were intensive, the different perspectives extremely enriching, and the insights of the evening will certainly resonate for a long time. It was particularly valuable to discuss practical solutions to shared challenges and to gain new impulses for brand work.

“Exchange among brand leaders from different industries is an indispensable element in learning from one another and finding creative solutions to shared challenges.”

Although we deliberately positioned our event as a standalone occasion on the eve of the Deutscher Markenkongress, many participants travelled to Frankfurt especially for it. The high number of attendees and the lively participation show how relevant and necessary this exchange is for all brand leaders.

We thank all participants for the open and inspiring exchange and are already looking forward to the next edition of Markengeflüster!