The challenge
Following a significant organizational transformation, the company's design function was brought together with key marketing capabilities to create a newly integrated Brand Design organization. The ambition extended far beyond restructuring teams.
The new organization needed to define what world-class brand design could become over the next five years, and establish the organizational structure, capabilities, culture, ways of working, processes and tools required to deliver it.
At the same time, consumer expectations were rapidly changing. Brands were no longer experienced primarily through products, packaging and communications. Consumers encountered the organization across an increasingly complex ecosystem of physical, digital, retail, service and social touchpoints.
The challenge therefore became a larger business question: how could Brand Design evolve from a creative function into an integrated enterprise capability capable of orchestrating meaningful brand experiences across the entire consumer journey, and contributing directly to growth?
The approach
peergroup began with a comprehensive assessment of the existing Brand Design organization, examining its people, capabilities, resources, processes, relationships and position within the broader enterprise. A detailed stakeholder ecosystem map identified how Brand Design interacted with marketing, innovation, product development, business leadership, external partners and other critical functions.
Rather than simply redesigning the organizational chart, the engagement focused on a more fundamental question: what organizational capabilities would be required to deliver a truly holistic brand experience?
Working collaboratively with design and business leadership, peergroup helped define a new five-year vision for Brand Design and translated that ambition into an actionable transformation roadmap, the future vision and strategic role of Brand Design; the stakeholder ecosystem and critical relationships; future capabilities, competencies and resource requirements; organizational structures and governance; new ways of working across design, marketing and business functions; processes, methods and tools; Brand Design connected across the complete consumer journey; sustainability embedded into brand and experience development; and a five-year roadmap for continually evolving maturity.
The result was not simply a new design organization. It was the development of an operating system for Brand Design, connecting people, purpose, process and capabilities with the organization's larger brand and business ambitions.
The outcomes
The transformation established the foundation for a best-in-class global Brand Design organization, with greater clarity around its purpose, capabilities, organizational model and contribution to the wider business.
The newly established organization developed a stronger pipeline of opportunities aligned with the company's broader ambition to generate more than $1 billion in new revenue growth within three years. Brand Design was increasingly positioned not simply as a service to the business, but as a strategic partner capable of identifying and shaping opportunities across the consumer journey.
The transformation also helped establish sustainability as an important dimension of the organization's future brand and marketing agenda, creating a lighthouse initiative for the newly appointed CMO and demonstrating how design could translate strategic sustainability ambitions into tangible brand experiences.
The value created
PEOPLE: Created greater alignment across design, marketing and business teams while building the capabilities, culture and ways of working required to deliver more meaningful and connected consumer experiences.
PLANET & SOCIETY: Elevated sustainability as a strategic Brand Design opportunity, demonstrating how environmental and societal ambitions could become tangible components of brand strategy and consumer experience.
PROFIT & PERFORMANCE: Built an opportunity pipeline aligned with the organization's ambition to deliver more than $1 billion in new revenue growth within three years, while strengthening Brand Design's role in driving brand awareness, relevance, loyalty and advocacy.
The mindset shifted
Great brands are not created through communications alone. They are built through organizations capable of delivering meaningful and differentiated experiences at every point of the consumer journey.