DPDK builds on its repositioning with five new brand partnerships
XTRA, DHL eCommerce Netherlands, the Municipality of Roosendaal, Continu and a fifth organization, whose name will be announced at a later date, have chosen DPDK as their brand partner. All five partnerships follow a competitive pitch process. We have also extended our partnership with Diergaarde Blijdorp for another three years.
These new partnerships mark an important milestone in DPDK’s development. Over the past year, we have repositioned ourselves from a digital agency to a strategic brand and innovation partner. Through Brand Focus, we help organizations find a clear direction for their brand and put it into practice across every part of the business. From strategy and communications to customer experience, culture and day-to-day decisions.
More than a campaign
In each pitch, we presented more than a campaign concept. We showed how starting with a brand’s core can create a clear direction for the entire organization. One that connects strategy with communications, customer experience, culture and everyday decisions.
The organizations we work with each have their own ambitions and challenges. But they share a common need: bringing everything they do under one clear direction. Campaigns, content and activations are often already in place. The real challenge is making sure these efforts work together and reflect what the organization stands for. Especially in markets where brands make similar promises, a clear and distinctive position makes all the difference.
"Organizations today don't necessarily need more marketing. They need a clear direction that the entire business can get behind. One that goes beyond campaigns and shapes the decisions people make every day. The fact that five organizations have chosen this approach in such a short period of time shows how relevant this need has become."
Bringing brand strategy to life with Brand Focus
A brand strategy only creates value when it shapes the entire organization. With Brand Focus, we turn what makes a brand distinctive into concrete choices across communications, customer interactions and day-to-day operations. This connects what an organization stands for with what customers actually experience. The result is a brand that is not only recognizable externally, but also gives people across the organization a clear direction to work towards.
Diergaarde Blijdorp: building the future together
Our partnership with Diergaarde Blijdorp began in 2023, with a focus on digital transformation, developing its digital ecosystem and creating new propositions, including the educational platform Expeditie Blijdorp.
Today, Blijdorp is evolving from a traditional zoo into a nature organization with a broader mission: bringing nature back to life. Over the next three years, we will continue working together to translate that ambition into its positioning, communications and visitor experience. The goal is to make Blijdorp’s mission tangible, not only in what the organization says, but also in what visitors experience and the choices it makes every day.
"Over the past few years, we have worked with DPDK to clarify what Diergaarde Blijdorp stands for and what that means for our direction. That foundation is now in place. Over the next three years, the focus is on bringing it to life: in the visitor experience, in how we communicate and in the decisions we make as an organization. DPDK understands our organization and brings the expertise to help us make those choices, including the difficult ones. That is why we are extending our strategic partnership for another three years."
Find Your Brand Focus: coming in early 2027
The thinking behind Brand Focus will also be explored in a book, Find Your Brand Focus, by Pim van Helten, due for publication in early 2027. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Pim explores why brands lose direction, not simply because they lack a strategy, but because that strategy fails to shape the everyday decisions an organization makes.
The central idea is simple: a brand is not just what you say. It is what you consistently do.
Ready to find your Brand Focus?
