Creative Brand Strategist

João Maia Dias

"From naming and positioning to manifestos, campaigns, product experiences, and launch systems. 15+ years working at the intersection of strategy and creative direction."

Speaking at CHARGE: Powering Energy Brands
CHARGE panel discussion

"I lead the thinking and stay close to the craft."

On set
Studio session in Cape Verde
Surfing
Surfing

"I’ve started an agency from scratch in Cape Verde, spent a year working on Portuguese trade across the Middle East, and produced brand experiences from Madrid to Luanda. My career has been anything but linear."

Surf trip
LEGO board meeting
LEGO figures

"Outside of work, I surf, I build things with A.I., and I’m a father of two. That last one is my best work so far, and it has nothing to do with brands."

Coura Sem Paredes festival
Behind the scenes

I’m a Lisbon-based creative brand strategist with a track record across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Building brand platforms, repositioning companies, and turning complex businesses into clear, compelling stories.

I’ve spent the last 15+ years working at the intersection of strategy and creative direction: defining why brands exist, how they should behave, and what they look and sound like when they show up in the world.

From naming and positioning to manifestos, campaigns, product experiences, and launch systems. I lead the thinking and stay close to the craft.

My work has ranged from transforming a multi-energy engineering group into a category-defining brand, to creating an ownable universe for a kids-tech startup, to repositioning a global flooring company through the lens of human progress, to relaunching a beer brand in Cape Verde using an insight that lived on bar counters, not in briefs.

I believe the best brand strategy doesn’t feel like strategy. It feels like the truth, said clearly, for the first time.

Industries
Energy & Engineering Green Hydrogen & E-Mobility FMCG & Beverages Kids & EdTech Building Materials & Surfaces Telecom Real Estate & Infrastructure Finance, Banking & Insurance Tourism, Hospitality & Travel Government & Trade Retail & Consumer Goods Tech & AI Art & Culture Entertainment & Media Fashion & Beauty Institutions & Museums Healthcare Automotive & Transportation
Background

Based in Lisbon. My career has been anything but linear, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve started an agency from scratch in Cape Verde, spent a year with AICEP in Dubai working on Portuguese trade across the Middle East, and produced brand experiences in Madrid, London, Stuttgart, and Luanda. I hold an MBA in Creative Leadership from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, after winning the Dmexco Scholarship, designed for innovative front-runners in digital marketing, with modules across Tokyo, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and New York. Still completing the thesis. Before that, a BA in Marketing & Advertising from Universidade Lusófona.

I speak on branding at industry events, including CHARGE: Powering Energy Brands in 2025.

Outside of work, I surf. I’m also deep into A.I. and blockchain: this site was vibe coded by me on Claude, and I’m building PAM, the first AI-based surf assistant.

Father of two. My best work so far, and it has nothing to do with brands.

Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Contact
Social
Selected Brands

Spanning live projects, pitches, and conceptual work.

I’m a Lisbon-based creative brand strategist with a track record across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Building brand platforms, repositioning companies, and turning complex businesses into clear, compelling stories.

I’ve spent the last 15+ years working at the intersection of strategy and creative direction: defining why brands exist, how they should behave, and what they look and sound like when they show up in the world.

From naming and positioning to manifestos, campaigns, product experiences, and launch systems. I lead the thinking and stay close to the craft.

My work has ranged from transforming a multi-energy engineering group into a category-defining brand, to creating an ownable universe for a kids-tech startup, to repositioning a global flooring company through the lens of human progress, to relaunching a beer brand in Cape Verde using an insight that lived on bar counters, not in briefs.

I believe the best brand strategy doesn’t feel like strategy. It feels like the truth, said clearly, for the first time.

Industries
Energy & Engineering Green Hydrogen & E-Mobility FMCG & Beverages Kids & EdTech Building Materials & Surfaces Telecom Real Estate & Infrastructure Finance, Banking & Insurance Tourism, Hospitality & Travel Government & Trade Retail & Consumer Goods Tech & AI Art & Culture Entertainment & Media Fashion & Beauty Institutions & Museums Healthcare Automotive & Transportation
Background

Based in Lisbon. My career has been anything but linear, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve started an agency from scratch in Cape Verde, spent a year with AICEP in Dubai working on Portuguese trade across the Middle East, and produced brand experiences in Madrid, London, Stuttgart, and Luanda. I hold an MBA in Creative Leadership from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, after winning the Dmexco Scholarship, designed for innovative front-runners in digital marketing, with modules across Tokyo, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and New York. Still completing the thesis. Before that, a BA in Marketing & Advertising from Universidade Lusófona.

I speak on branding at industry events, including CHARGE: Powering Energy Brands in 2025.

Outside of work, I surf. I’m also deep into A.I. and blockchain: this site was vibe coded by me on Claude, and I’m building PAM, the first AI-based surf assistant.

Father of two. My best work so far, and it has nothing to do with brands.

Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Contact
Social
Selected Brands

Spanning live projects, pitches, and conceptual work.