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PAUL WATMOUGH-HALIM
EP.90
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Paul Watmough-Halim
Finding your superpower
In Episode #90, Ross is joined by Paul Watmough-Halim, a brand and business leader known for challenging traditional thinking and building organisations that stand out from the crowd.
Paul’s work is shaped by curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to approach problems from the edges rather than the centre.
Ross and Paul discuss how outsider perspectives can unlock new ideas, why culture needs to be built intentionally, and how individuals and organisations can turn perceived weaknesses into strengths.
Highlights
I packed up my stuff and I jumped on a plane. I was in Thailand at the time. I went from the islands in Thailand, which was a glorious technicolor, to this kind of gray, black and white city. I landed in October with a backpack, shorts and flip flops. When you land in a place where you don’t understand the culture, you don’t understand the scene, you don’t know where to look, you have to really kind of figure things out. - Paul
When I got here, I started looking for work and a lot of the doors were closed on me because I didn’t speak German. How are you going to talk to people? How are you going to be part of the teams? How are you going to speak with a client. There was no way in. And that was really hard at first. I felt very, very alienated. I had a good career in the UK and suddenly I wasn’t being given the opportunities I was looking for. - Paul
The problem with Nike is that it took its finger off the pulse somewhat. It puts so much money into the production value of things and the way it shows up, it almost crowbars its way into every culture. It tries really, really hard. And that “try hard”, we are so savvy to that these days. You see these more subcultural brands coming up and they don’t need huge budgets to do so. - Paul
You could have a complete affinity to the local pizza shop because they have sick merch and they’re rocking the community. They’re competing against the big players, the Pizza Huts, the Domino’s or whatever. And I’m just as proud to wear their t-shirt as I would be in a football shirt because it’s a cause. It’s this hyperlocalized niche and it means something to the people who are part of it. - Paul
I was in the supermarket the other day and there must have been eight of them all like a crew. They all had exactly the same haircut, the same black jacket, the same blue jeans and the same white sneakers. I don’t want a world like that. This idea of everything being the same and big corporates being able to tell everybody how to do things, that is not a world that feels interesting or meaningful. - Paul
.We were asked to do the rebranding for quite a famous football club here. I’m not really into football myself. The only way I knew I could understand what we were supposed to do was to actually be part of that culture. We contacted some of the hardcore football fans and we just went along with them and documented it and let them tell us what the passion is and what it means to them. - Paul
More about Paul Watmough-Halim
Paul Watmough-Halim is the co-founder and Digital Brand Director of Hyperfocus, an international brand studio built on the belief that branding can genuinely change the world. For Paul, a brand is far more than a logo. It is a space of belonging, connection, and shared meaning.
Across a career spanning AKQA, DDB, Jung von Matt, JWT, Attik, and Deutsche Bahn, Paul has led teams and shaped digital brand experiences that are culturally relevant and built to last.
His perspective is grounded in lived experience. After relocating to Hamburg, he found himself locked out of opportunity because he didn’t speak the language. What began as cultural alienation became his edge. He learned to use distance as a tool, developing an outsider perspective that helps him see what others miss.
Today, his work focuses on three shifts shaping modern brand culture: the rise of hyper-local, community-driven brands; the decline of traditional leaders trying to force relevance; and a growing resistance to sameness, as people seek brands that express identity rather than flatten it.
Find Paul Watmough-Halim here:
LinkedIn | Instagram | Youtube |
Find Hyperfocus here:
Show notes
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