Is agile working beneficial for brand management?

When we talk about disruption these days – it has become quite a buzzword – it is mostly about digital turning everything upside down. True, but the much-discussed Agile Manifesto is a considerable disruptor too, one that is radically changing the way we work. In the Netherlands we are still wrestling a little with its principles, but I gather that ING even dares to try it in hierarchical Germany. That is when things get serious.

Wherever I have consulted in recent years and people already work (partly) according to Agile, I suddenly see wonderful opportunities emerging for the brand manager. In any case, I try to motivate my clients to manage the brand beyond the walls of the department that is formally responsible for it. To move into the organisation in order to raise brand performance across every channel and in all processes and systems. Getting that idea across usually turns out to be harder than actually putting it into practice. The struggle at many providers to keep churn under control is a good example, one we all experience privately. They are not building trust and therefore have to resort to a last-ditch remedy far too often. Unless you happen to be with XS4All (I do not know their churn figures, but they must be low).

“As a brand manager, there are two ways you can benefit from Agile to get brand management higher on the agenda beyond your own department walls.”

But then, all of a sudden, there are multidisciplinary Agile/Scrum teams whose doors are naturally – from a stakeholder management point of view – open wider than those of traditional development teams and departments. That tears down walls that were once there, at least in appearance; and that offers great opportunities!

As a brand manager, there are two ways you can benefit from Agile to get brand management higher on the agenda beyond your own department walls.

1. As a stakeholder

• With the Product Owner, you can get your improvement points or other requirements onto the Product Backlog as user stories

• Through the periodic Sprint Reviews, you can assess the delivered increment from a brand perspective and give feedback on it

2. As a team member

After all, multidisciplinary teams have every competency needed to do the work, without depending on anyone outside the team. So if there is an intended product (Definition of Done) that is essential to brand performance, someone with brand responsibility takes part by definition.

Re 1
Submitting a user story is one thing, but it forces you to quantify its contribution to that team’s KPIs. Otherwise the team will rightly leave it dangling at the bottom of the Product Backlog and you will have achieved nothing. That is usually particularly difficult, but it can be done.

Re 2
There is no room for coasting along in a team by, say, only joining the discussion or reviewing. Developing as an equal is the only way of working.

In short, taking part in other parts of the organisation (Customer Service, HR, Media…) and in other teams (Retention, Cross-sell, SoMe, …), and therefore in other channels as well, becomes easier in my view. To the benefit of brand management. I am very curious to see how far brand managers will manage to embrace this disruptor to their advantage in the years ahead. I would welcome fine examples, but also reflections and questions, in the comments.