Lately I’ve been getting into listening to the odd MasterClass episode while jogging my mind and body awake on the treadmill at the gym.
This morning I flicked on the Bob Iger series. While I was chuffed to discover he and I share some similarities in our morning routines, what I found most fascinating was hearing him speak about Disney’s acquisition of Pixar and the collaborative role Steve Jobs played throughout the process.
What struck me wasn’t the commercial side of the deal, but the depth of human-centred conversation that went into bringing the two companies together. Pixar’s concern wasn’t simply financial. They wanted to protect the things that had made, and continued to make, them successful — their culture, their processes, their creative independence and their ability to continue telling the stories they wanted to tell.
It got me thinking about brand architecture.
Often when people hear the term, they assume it’s a branding exercise. Logos. Naming conventions. Organisational charts.
In reality, good brand architecture is about protecting and growing value.
As businesses expand, launch new products, enter new markets or acquire other companies, they inevitably face a series of important questions. Should everything sit under one brand? Should acquired businesses retain their identity? Should products stand alone or be connected back to the parent organisation?
There is never a one-shape-fits-all approach.
Sometimes the strength of a business falls into a box of consolidating everything under one master brand. Other times, much of the value exists in preserving the reputation, culture and customer recognition of the acquired brand itself.
The challenge is creating clarity around how those brands, products and services relate to one another, while ensuring the business can continue to grow without losing equity and without creating confusion for customers, staff or the market.
And it’s something we at Five Creative are guiding clients through more and more. As organisations continue to diversify, acquire and evolve, brand architecture is becoming less of a marketing consideration and more of a strategic business decision.
At the end of the day, the question isn’t just what brands you own. It’s how they work together.
Charlie Ryan is the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Five Creative. He works with founders, business owners and leadership teams to navigate growth, change and opportunity through brand strategy, brand architecture and digital communications.
