Rethinking Brand Architecture: A Strategic Imperative.
A few years back the peerless ketchup brand Heinz began to appear in all sorts of new (and seemingly odd) aisles, everything from baby food to microwave meals. No doubt the moves made sense inside the corporate HQ of two recently-merged CPG behemoths — streamline operations, boost sales, leverage a famous name. But the result was confusion at the shelf and erosion of brand meaning. One executive told the Wall Street Journal: “We were chasing too many opportunities and lost sight of what made Heinz special.” Said differently: When brand architecture is driven by internal goals over consumer clarity, even icons can lose their way.
In recent conversations with marketing leaders across industries, one theme keeps surfacing: brand architecture is consistently undervalued as a strategic tool. This oversight presents both a challenge and an opportunity for modern businesses. Most organizations today view brand architecture as a periodic housekeeping exercise, often triggered by design refreshes or product proliferation. This model treats architecture as a reactive organizational chore rather than a proactive strategic asset.
But what if we shifted our perspective?
Imagine brand architecture not as a static structure, but as a dynamic framework that shapes your go-to-market strategy. This new model would:
Align product offerings with shifting consumer behaviors
Guide your innovation pipeline
Focus resources on what matters most
Create clarity amid marketplace complexity
To illustrate this shift, let's consider two contrasting approaches:
Approach A (Traditional):
Review architecture every few years
Organize existing offerings mainly for packaging and design consistency
Minimal influence on big-picture strategy
Approach B (Strategic):
Use architecture as a living, breathing strategic tool
Shape future product development and market entry
Integral to the decision-making of senior leaders
Integrative thinkers know it’s not about choosing one or the other. The real opportunity is to blend the best of both: a process that is organizationally efficient and strategically powerful.
One solution? A dual-track system:
An annual review for organizational clarity
A continuous strategic input process that informs high-level decision-making
This hybrid approach preserves the order of traditional models while unlocking architecture’s true potential as a lever for growth.
Why does this matter? Because when brand architecture operates as a strategic engine, companies can:
Respond faster to changing consumer needs
Build more coherent, distinctive brand experiences
Accelerate innovation that reinforces positioning
Allocate resources where they drive the most impact
Of course, this shift isn’t easy. It demands cross-functional collaboration, more frequent reassessment, and the courage to make tough calls on what stays and what goes.
Ultimately, the companies that will win in the next decade will be those that treat brand architecture not as a periodic task, but as a continuous strategic imperative. Architecture isn’t just about organizing what you have — it’s about building what you want to become.
The real question for leaders: How quickly can you make this shift?