Growth - Branding Strategy Insider

The Kraft Heinz Pause: Financial Strategy Or Brand Strategy?

March 11, 20266 min

Kraft Heinz is having another “brand-wagon moment.” Its new CEO, Steve Cahillane, announced that the organization would be postponing the previously announced split into two separate companies. This was a split that Wall Street hailed as marvelous. CEO Cahillane believes that a resource-funded focus on its stable of core Americana brands – getting back on the brand wagon – can bring Kraft Heinz back to profitability and, hence, generate shareholder value. Shareholder value has been...

by Sweta Kannan

Brand Management

Revive, Reframe, Or Retire: The Strategic Choices For Memory Brands

March 3, 20266 min

I have a special spot in my heart for Memory Brands, because I have worked on so many of them and found them to be rather misunderstood. Memory brands are not smaller benchmark brands. They have high awareness. They have distribution. They often have decades of household penetration under their belts. This is comparable to benchmark brands.

by Sweta Kannan

Brand Strategy

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Category Benchmark

February 25, 20267 min

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.

by Joan Kiddon

Brand Value & Pricing

Leading Brands Win On Consumer-Perceived Value

February 9, 20268 min

Recent brand news is full of brand value chatter. Chatter, not serious discussions. Why? Brand executives still seem disconnected from how customers perceive brand value. Consumers understand that value, not price alone, is the priority. Consumer-perceived value is based on the total brand experience relative to the total brand costs (price, time, and effort). Brand executives also misunderstand customers because they believe their brands have a specific segment, which is the “value customer.”

by Derrick Daye

Brand Positioning

Brand Positioning Is A Leadership Decision, Not A Marketing Exercise

February 4, 20265 min

Brands that lead today do three things exceptionally well. They create an emotional advantage that customers cannot get elsewhere. They establish a distinctive advantage that customers recognize as meaningfully different. They build a connective advantage that keeps the brand relevant over time. These are not communications outcomes. They are strategic decisions.

Older Posts

March 12, 2026When Website Performance Becomes Marketing’s Weakest Link

March 11, 2026The Kraft Heinz Pause: Financial Strategy Or Brand Strategy?

March 10, 2026How AI Is Reshaping The Consumer–Brand Relationship

March 9, 2026The Link Between Brand Vision And Enduring Profitable Growth

March 5, 2026The Most Underutilized Competitive Advantage: Brand Culture