Voices of Vivaldi: A Q&A Session with Markus Miklis
Introducing Markus Miklis, a Senior Consultant based in our Munich office. In this Q&A, Markus delves into the factors that sparked his fascination with brand management and offers insights into his perspective on addressing global challenges. Discover more about Markus’s journey and expertise in this interview:
Q: You have experience in design and advertising — how did you get interested in brand strategy?
A: I’ve always been curious about the “real sender” behind design and advertising. It didn’t take long until I was finding myself in the universe of brand management: as you cannot decide to be a brand or not to be a brand (it’s rather a choice of pursuing success with your brand or not), this ultimately led me to the field of brand strategy. Since then, I’ve been constantly on the lookout for companies that truly get it right — from strategy to execution, from culture to products and services that consistently create an exceptional customer experience.
Q: How did you find your way to Vivaldi?
A: While studying marketing and brand management, I became familiar with Erich Joachimsthaler, Ph.D.‘s (and Vivaldi’s) seminal articles like “Building Brands without Mass Media” and influential work on brand architecture and brand identity.
Q: What skills have you found to be most useful to have as you’ve worked on projects across industries?
A: It’s not a skill in the traditional sense but being curious and seeking knowledge —exploring new ideas, trying to understand as much as possible, asking questions etc. that seems to me to be a very precious characteristic in our field (which I believe can be nurtured and developed like a skill).
Q: What book would you recommend and why?
A: Recently, I have finished the book “The Psychology of Meaning in Life” by Tatjana Schnell and it presents an extensive perspective on the scientific field of meaning and purpose – besides all the hyped purpose debates in the corporate world, it gives a nice research-based foundation.
Q: What is exciting you about what’s happening at Vivaldi currently?
A: I’m genuinely thrilled about the work on interaction fields because I firmly believe that this collaborative and network approach is an opportunity to serve customers and moreover the (only) key to address numerous critical global challenges we face today.