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Just 18 months after getting it all together, consumer packaged goods giant Kraft announced today that it is breaking up. It turns out that Kraft executives have discovered the grocery business has different needs that the snacks business. In a conference call with the Kraft CEO, one participant called the break up “rearranging the furniture.” [...] The potential break up of Fortune Brands will unlock tremendous brand value. The brands in this company’s portfolio have little relationship with the parent company or each other; they simply happen to be owned by a single holding company. Fortune Brands today is a prime example of how a poor brand architecture strategy actively diminishes [...] General Motors has done more than reorganize its finances. GM has turned its brand architecture upside down. Trimming nameplates like Pontiac, Saab, and Hummer from its stable of brands was just one aspect. Beginning in August of last year, the GM “chicklet” logo has been quietly disappearing. It is no longer slapped on the doors of [...] Media insiders are buzzing about a potential name change for MSNBC.com. NBC Universal and Microsoft want to distance their co-owned Web site from the cable channel. MSNBC.com president Charlie Tinllinghast is quoted in the New York Times complaining the MSNBC “Lean Forward” repositioning “only exacerbates the brand misaligment problem.” The fact is the name problem is [...] As your business changes, the brand architecture worked in the past may become a hindrance. Companies facing issues like the ones in this post often find they have a brand architecture problem. Brand architecture is the organizing structure that specifies the type, number, relationship and purpose of brands within your brand portfolio. What is the best structure for your brand portfolio? The answer depends on a number of strategic considerations: Audience Diversity Brand Elasticity Companies manage their brand portfolios through a number of brand architecture structures, driven by company culture, markets and customers, and goals. Single Unitary Brand Architecture Marketing is more efficient. With one brand front and center, cross selling and cooperation are easier. The brand can lose focus [...] |
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