Diane Epstein Strategy

About

The connective tissue between a big idea and a real business result.

20+

Years Shaping Brands

Markets. One Amex Platform.

$4B

Deposits Driven for Openbank

I'm a brand and business strategist who has helped companies — from legacy institutions to fast-moving disruptors — unlock their brand value and reinvent their futures. I spent nine years as EVP Business Strategist at Dentsu Creative, leading global strategy for some of the world's most demanding brands.

I believe the most valuable brands are built at the intersection of business, brand, and culture. And I believe smart strategy creates lasting impact — not just a polished deck that sits on a shelf.

Now I work directly with brands and agencies who want rigorous, provocative thinking without a 12-person team attached. Fast, clear, and built to actually move the work.

Superpowers

Making the complex simple — and the simple unforgettable
Thriving in ambiguity and turning chaos into clarity
Developing non-traditional solutions for traditional marketing challenges

What I Do

Strategy that gives your team something real to run with.

Brand Strategy

Positioning, architecture, and voice. The kind of clarity that makes every downstream decision faster and every creative brief sharper. From global platforms to new brand launches.

Business Strategy

Where does the brand need to go, and what's the real opportunity? Purpose-led transformation, experience innovation, and the strategic setup that connects brand to business outcomes.

Creative Briefing & Direction

Briefs that actually inspire. A strategic point of view your creative team can push against — not a laundry list to illustrate. I've worked alongside some of the best creative teams in the world and know what they need.

Selected Work

Strategy is invisible until you see what it made possible. A selection of case studies — from strategic setup through execution.

▶

Global Brand Strategy · B2C + B2B

American Express

From "Belonging" to "Backing"

Led Amex's first-ever global brand platform across 47 markets — transforming the brand's core promise for next-gen B2C and B2B audiences and embedding it across the entire Enterprise, from product to customer experience to employer brand.

↑ 50% brand value increase (Interbrand, 2017–2024) →

▶

Brand Transformation · Retail

QVC

The Age of Possibility

Repositioned QVC from an aging TV retailer into a culturally resonant brand for women 50+. Created a new brand platform — "The Age of Possibility" — that is now the company's Northstar business strategy, not just a campaign.

2× increase in esteem and relevance scores →

▶

New Brand Launch · Fintech

Santander's Openbank

From Regional Player to National Contender

Launched Openbank in the US — a digital-first, high-yield savings platform — repositioning a regional brand as a serious national competitor. Built the brand strategy and go-to-market positioning from the ground up.

$4B in deposits in Q1 (vs. $2B goal) →

Brand Campaign · B2B Media

Bloomberg

See What Others Can't

Bloomberg was built on a single idea: giving customers the ability to see what others can't. We decided to prove it in real-time. Instead of telling that story, we showed it — creating live data visualizations that connected Bloomberg data into a fresh narrative every single day. Each piece made in 24 hours, so the work was always as current as the news itself.

Data as creative. Fresh every day. →

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

Brand Architecture · Education

Harvard University

Opening the Back Door

Developed positioning, brand architecture, and naming for Harvard's Division of Continuing Education — establishing DCE as a respected path to progress, not "the back door to Harvard." A perception problem reframed as a competitive advantage.

Repositioned DCE as Harvard's access brand →

▶

Experiential / OOH Innovation · Travel

United Airlines

Live Travel Times. Real Proof.

Developed the strategic idea behind United's geo-targeted Taxi-Top campaign — showing real-time travel to JFK vs. Newark to prove the value of United's hub. Simple, factual, impossible to ignore.

Silver Lion, Cannes — relaunched a decade later →

▶

Global Brand Campaign · Financial Services

HSBC — "The World's Local Bank"

A New Advertising Medium, Built from a Point of View

HSBC's "Points of View" campaign didn't just engage customers and stakeholders — it invented a new advertising medium. By provocatively contrasting different values and perspectives from around the world, the campaign physically connected continents through airport jetways. You'd see it leaving JFK. You'd see it arriving at Heathrow. The same conversation, 50 airports, one consistent idea.

2M+ website visits · 60 topics · Jetways as global media →

What Others Say

Straight from a 360° review.

Conducted independently. Unprompted.

From a Client

"One of the best I've worked with in terms of strategic thinking and idea innovation. Principled in her thinking — but she also listens, stays practical, and works towards real solutions. Not stuck on a pedestal. Just focused on progress."

From a Manager

"Diane often knows more about the business than her clients do. She goes deep and has a firm understanding of the issues they are facing."

From a Direct Report

"She just has this magic and sense of authority that clients trust. She delivers hard truths, asks tough questions, and exposes friction points with poise and clarity. Everybody applauds when she does — because it's so hard to do well."

How I Work

Diagnose

I start by listening harder than most. The real problem is almost never the stated problem — and finding it is where the real work begins.

Reframe

I find the angle nobody's looking at yet. The unexpected connection that makes the familiar feel novel and the novel feel inevitable.

Provoke

Strategy should make your team uncomfortable in the best way. I give you a point of view sharp enough to argue about — because that's what great creative needs.

Activate

Clear, actionable output. Brand platform, creative brief, or business case — something concrete your team can run with on day one.

The thinking behind brands that move.