6 Reasons Why Brand Strategy Should be Part of the C-Suite

There may be no place under heaven more prone to alphabet soup than the c-suite. CEO? COO? CFO? CCO? When will it end? Well, hopefully there’s room for just one more. There may be a CMO overseeing marketing or a CSO overseeing sales. But who is making sure the entire organization is aligned around values, vision, and core DNA? Who is looking out for your brand strategy?

Too often we’ve seen brand conversations relegated to the marketing team as if it isn’t worth leadership’s time; but that leaves the marketing team feeling disconnected from leadership, and either disempowered from effectively managing the brand, or, managing the brand in a way that is misaligned with larger organizational strategy. 

Brand stewardship is something that needs to start at the top. We want to propose that brand strategy is worth promoting to the c-suite. It’s a critical function of any organization, and for that reason and many others a CBO (chief brand officer) should be part of the C-suite in large organizations. Here are some of those reasons: 

1. Specialization: A CBO is a specialized role that is focused solely on the brand strategy of the organization. This individual has the necessary expertise and experience in branding and marketing to lead the development and execution of the brand strategy.
2. Reputation management: A CBO can be responsible for managing the reputation of the organization through effective communication and crisis management. This can help to mitigate any potential damage to the brand reputation and ensure that the organization is perceived in a positive light by the public.
3. Cross-functional collaboration: A CBO can lead and coordinate cross-functional collaboration across different departments and functions to ensure that all areas of the organization are aligned with the brand strategy. This can help to ensure that the brand is communicated consistently across all touchpoints and that it resonates with the target audience.
4. Long-term vision: A CBO can help to ensure that the brand strategy has a long-term vision that takes years to fully implement and execute. This can help to ensure that the brand remains relevant and successful in the long-term.
5. Aligns brand strategy with overall business goals: A CBO can work closely with the other members of the C-suite to ensure that the brand strategy is aligned with the overall business goals of the organization. This can help to ensure that the brand strategy is making a positive impact on the bottom line and is closely tied to the reputation of the organization. 
6. May Replace CMO and CSO: For some organizations, it may make a lot of sense to bring all of these departments (marketing, sales, and brand) together under one leader. Their functions are intricately interdependent, after all. And it may be that the CBO is best suited to oversee the entire smorgasbord of marcomm and sales teams. 

Including a Chief Brand Officer (CBO) in the C-suite of a large organization can be effective in ensuring that the brand strategy is aligned with overall business goals, managing the reputation of the organization, leading cross-functional collaboration, and having a long-term vision for the brand. 

And most importantly, hiring a CBO is a great way to elevate brand management to the highest levels of your organization. When leadership is stewarding the brand well, your team is better aligned, has clearer objectives, is more connected to your internal culture and sensitive to external expression, and is actively participating in bringing your brand strategy to life in their various spheres of work. 

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