6. Organizational Structures for Global Brands

A strong brand can tumble not because its customer proposition and marketing program are weak but because the organization fails to implement the strategy. While global brands benefit the multinational corporation, their complexity increases costs. That’s the global brand paradox. Multinational corporations (MNCs) have to achieve four goals: maintain brand consistency and capture economies of scale and scope across borders; differentiate goods and services where necessary to suit the needs of local customers; leverage learnings and share knowledge among all parts of the company; and at the same time prevent complexity from hindering speed and agility. Of course, there are tensions and tradeoffs among these goals. The MNC must act like the elephant, the chameleon, the owl, and the flea all at once. It needs the size, the range, and the power of an elephant, the adaptability to local environments of the chameleon, the learning capabilities and the wisdom of an owl, and the speed and agility of a flea—by design. If it can combine these anatomies and physiologies, the MNC creates a tiger brand—strong, fast, smart, and flexible. If combined poorly, the MNC creates a snail brand—slow, cautious, imperceptible. This chapter discusses the structural solutions to the global brand paradox, summarizes insights, and provides actionable recommendations.