In 1968, computer scientist Melvin Conway made an observation that’s been shaping how we understand teams and technology ever since: Any system’s design will reflect the communication structure of the organization that created it. Engineers call this Conway’s Law.
Category Benchmarks are the reference point for the category. They define quality expectations. They anchor price ladders. They shape what “normal” looks like. They are widely distributed, culturally familiar, and top-of-mind. Their risk is gradual dilution of differentiation. This paradox is structural because the systems that protect their current position often make long-term growth harder.
Today, heritage brands occupy a difficult position. Squeezed between private label that sets value and insurgent brands that speak to values. Having worked on several, I have found that they often take the same approach of maximizing margins, targeting younger consumers, and launching line extensions and PPA.
There is no shortage of criticism of marketing organizations. The declining length of tenure of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and the absence of marketing on boards of directors are well-documented. Such facts seem odd when demand generation and management are the lifeblood of organizations, at least those with a high probability of long-term survival. While such a circumstance may suggest some problems with marketing organizations, it very clearly identifies a problem at the level of...
Let’s stop pretending this AI rush is brave. It isn’t. It’s terrified. Across marketing holding companies, executives are racing to adopt AI not because they understand it, but because they’re scared of being the last one without a slide. “We can’t afford not to,” they say; executive code for “I don’t want to be blamed.” This isn’t strategy. It’s signaling under pressure. And it’s going to be catastrophically expensive.
