Thijs van de Wouw
Founder & Culture-First Brand Strategist
Meet Thijs van de Wouw
Founder & Culture-First Brand Strategist 🎮
Thijs van de Wouw began his career wanting to become a film director, studying filmmaking in the Netherlands and the United States before realizing he was just as fascinated by the people behind the stories as the stories themselves. A former competitive gamer himself, that curiosity naturally evolved into understanding communities, fandoms and the cultures that shape how people connect with brands.
That curiosity led him into brand strategy, taking him from Amsterdam to Sydney, San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. Over the past fifteen years, he's led strategy for global brands including Nike, Under Armour, Google, Samsung, Activision Blizzard, before becoming Chief Strategy Officer at Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo & Seoul and eventually founding his own creative strategy studio, Van De Wouw.
Today, he works directly with founders, CMOs and creative leaders on some of their most important strategic challenges, from launching products and entering new markets to building brands people genuinely care about.
What are you currently building?
A culture-first creative strategy studio that partners directly with ambitious companies during their most important moments. Working across gaming, entertainment, technology, and lifestyle, he partners with founders and global companies to develop strategies rooted in local culture rather than simply adapting campaigns for a new market.
He enjoys staying involved beyond strategy, working closely with leadership until the work is out in the world.
What excites you about Japan?
Japan has long been one of the world's great creative influences, from games and anime to design, fashion and craftsmanship. Today, more companies than ever want to be part of that, while Japanese brands and entertainment IP are increasingly looking beyond their home market.
He enjoys working in both directions. That might mean helping a global company find its place in Japan, or helping a Japanese brand connect with audiences around the world. One recent example was serving as Creative Director on the international expansion of the ONE PIECE Card Game across the US and Europe.
A risk that changed your trajectory?
Leaving comfortable situations before he felt completely ready.
Every major step in his career has come from choosing a path that really scared him, but at the same time excited him. Whether that was moving across continents, taking on leadership roles earlier than expected, or leaving a successful agency career to build his own studio.
Looking back, the biggest opportunities usually came from the decisions that felt the most uncomfortable at the time.
A habit that has had the biggest impact?
Treating people well and believing in their talent. He's learned that everyone has something they're really good at, and enjoys helping bring that out. Talent opens doors, but kindness, curiosity and genuine relationships are what sustain a career over the long term.
Outside work, he keeps life simple. Swimming, long walks and regular exercise help him think more clearly than staring at another presentation ever could.
Advice for your 20s?
If something genuinely excites you, commit to it wholeheartedly. Say no to opportunities that don’t make your heart beat faster with excitement. Find something you're genuinely curious about and stick with it longer than most people would.
You don't need to have your career mapped out, but if you're willing to keep learning, work hard and say yes to opportunities that scare you a little, things tend to compound in ways you can't predict.
Favorite cafés in Tokyo?
Alley Cats (Yutenji), Lazzy Coffee (Gakugei-Daigaku), Paddlers Coffee (Yoyogi-Uehara)