Bloom Thinks: Architecture Part 1

Some treat architecture as the dullest tool in the strategy toolbox. We disagree.

Marketers and agencies are sometimes asked what brands are actually for. Especially by finance departments. No single definition works because they do four interconnected jobs:

1. decomplicate consumer choice

2. make products feel different

3. elevate perceived value

4. streamline business decisions

As soon as a brand has a range to choose from these are impossible without architecture thinking. But it’s too often an afterthought. More time is sometimes spent on a visionary strategy and an insightful positioning. But these are impossible to roll out without dedicating as much time and energy to brand architecture.

On his blog, architecture champion Nick Liddell describes it as ‘when the rubber hits the road’. It’s where conceptual words become tangible. It’s how you translate business and brand thinking into real stuff real people need, want and buy.

So architecture and positioning must be thought about together. And their relationship needs to be symbiotic. If a brand has a range of products sitting under it, it needs a rich positioning to hold it together. A carefully considered architecture substantiates the positioning and makes forking out for a brand worth it.

Dove promises real beauty, from skincare. This winning mix of function and emotion unlocked an ever-expanding range of products that still feel both easy to shop and distinctive from the rest. Because they all offer the same formula, just in different ways, it’s all neatly and consistently master-branded.

Robinsons promises the joy of fruit. Untethered from ‘squash’; its positioning works as a springboard for all kinds of fruity drinks, from cordials to RTDs, and all sorts of benefits, from on-the-go to functional health.

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Because these brands’ positioning and architecture are in sync; they can do all four of the jobs they exist to do – navigation, differentiation, value elevation and eveninternal decision streamlining. Innovating is less taxing for Dove or Robinsons because their harmonious positioning and architecture make it obvious what the brand should make. And shouldn’t make.

One of the quickest ways to spot a strong architecture is a strong naming system.

BMW promises ultimate automotive performance. Its range is organised by a reductive numbered and lettered naming system. Numbers connote power and Germanic superiority. They give the brand mystique, whose drivers have insider knowledge. But above all the names stand aside to let the masterbrand dominate. Very simple, very effective.

Electric vehicle specialist BYD uses names from the natural world, like Seal, Dolphin and Surf, and from physics, like Atta. This helps position it at the forefront of tech. Unlike BMW the names have more telegraphic meanings, with accessible personalities appropriate for a more democratic, mass market price point. BYD is almost relegated to an endorsing manufacturer. It’s all about the cars themselves.

Farrow & Ball is famously mocked for its paint names. Elephant’s Breath etc. But it works. The paints are aimed at an audience disproportionately invested in their home interiors – people who want their wall colours to evoke a personalised mood. The brand architecture makes it personal. Each colour is given its own enigmatic character. Whereas Dulux or Crown have a mass of sub-brands and sub-ranges targeting the broadest audience, F&B is special. It’s a curator, rather than a maker of paint. It’s the architecture that delivers on the promise – the friendly masterbrand name welcomes you through the door. The poetic paint names make the colours your own.

These are reminders of the power of architecture – the good things that happen to brands who give as much thought to architecture as positioning. For consumers it makes choosing more than a rational exercise. It’s made emotional. And all the better for it.