2 mins

A conversation with CLUSE’s Brand Protection Hero

Table of Contents:

Last updated on: June 8, 2022

CLUSE designs watches and jewelry, and is based in Amsterdam. They’ve become one of the fastest-growing accessories brands in the world by creating beautiful, minimalist, and affordable watches.

As part of Red Points’ Brand Protection Heroes podcast, we’ve spoken to Dennis Wilke, Cluse’s Brand Protection Coordinator. Head over to our podcast, Heroes of Brand Protection for the full interview or continue reading this article for a sneak peek.

Key takeaways:

Company’s business overview.
Challenges faced as Brand Protection Coordinator.
Advice for fellow intellectual property professionals.

The following is part of the transcript of Heroes of Brand Protection podcast, Episode 7 featuring a conversation between Dennis Walke and Daniel Shapiro, Red Points’ VP of Brand Relationships.

Q stands for questions from Daniel Shapiro.

Q: For those that may not know about your business, can you give a brief overview?

Cluse is a watch and jewelry company founded in Amsterdam, and that’s where our headquarters remain. We also have offices in Shanghai and in Hong Kong. Our main market is still Europe but more and more people are getting enthusiastic about our products in Asia and North America. It’s still up and coming, but big enough that there are counterfeiters, unfortunately.

We were one of the first brands to start working with influencers. When big platforms came along, there was a sort of trade going on: “If we give you a watch, you give us a post”. It’s an organic way of getting our message out. As soon as Instagram took off so did we, and now we’re still one of the fastest growing brands in Europe. However, we are quite established in certain markets: Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Q: What’s the hardest thing you have to do as a Brand Protection Coordinator?

I think a very difficult aspect of Brand Protection and IP is to communicate the importance of intellectual property and brand protection. It can either be to the consumer or even other departments within the company. It’s an ongoing struggle trying to translate the legal framework into something that they can understand.

Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?

With me being 29, I’m not sure if I’m the most qualified person to get career advice from. I’m very aware that there are other people with a lot more experience that will probably have a lot of things to say that I cannot think of right now.

What I do notice that helps me in my job is to stay interested and whatever is happening in terms of technological developments. It’s the enthusiasm for new technologies, and not seeing it necessarily as new work that comes into your table. It’s so much easier to look into infringements on new social media if you already know social media.