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We are always interested to authenticate and post different origins of this term. To the best of our current knowledge:
It was first used in a conversation between Chris Macrae and Gary Hamel in 1994. Hamel and Prahalad's book 'Competing for the Future' had introduced the notions of strategy architecture and banner brand (now more commonly known as megabrand). As planning and strategies conducted prior to Competing for the Future were often not intangibles- centric - in spite of the increasingly human elements if strategy including banner brand, core competence, learning/knowledge, relationship capital - it seemed that Hamel's notion that the strategist should increasingly behave like a human architect should be linked to the brand as well.
Therefore the core idea of Brand Architecture starts in the boardroom : namely to provide a map of brand linkages that is so clear that every boardroom decision and strategy is made with full appreciation of branding impacts. Such a map should include not only the company's main brands (with accessible links to sub-brands) but those of long-term corporate partners and any other co-branding initiatives that may be visible.
Articles stemming from this defining role of brand architecture have been published since 1994, including the first journal paper on Brand Architecture ( Uncles, Cocks, Macrae, Journal of Brand Management 1995); and the Brand Architecture Chapter of Brand Chartering Handbook (Macrae, 1996) available free online.
Brand Architecture has subsequently been nominated as one of the four components of Brand Leadership (2000) by Aaker & Joachimsthaler. Their other three components identity/essence, integrated communications and global organisation were also initially discussed in Brand Chartering Handbook as evidenced by the links.
Looking forward, the biggest missing link to organisational Brand Leadership appears to be measurement, which 20th Century experts failed to design around relationship principles. See our accompanying exhibit on Brand Value Exchange.
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Contributor: Chris Macrae
Chris Macrae is an independent brand counsel who specialises in brand as the "heart" of the organisation. His focus is on processes that connect the brand, the business model, value exchanges and digital transformation strategies. He is the author of three authoritative books on brand organisation and leadership: Brand Architecture; Brand Chartering, and Living Brand Reality. As a prominent host of dialogue about brand on the web since 1995, Chris has access to a wide range of expertise in brand management.
Email:
wcbn007@easynet.co.uk
Website: www.valuetrue.com
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