Purpose – This essay aims to describe the origins of the Brand Management System (BMS) and to examine the factors influencing the changes and mutations that the BMS has encountered in order to assess its potential effectiveness in today’s digitalized environment.
Methodology/approach – The paper traces the evolution of the BMS from its creation in the 1930s to its recent mutation in the digital era. The article analyzes data from four different sources – research papers, case studies, newspaper articles, and internal documents – to perform an intellectual historical analysis of the evolution of the BMS.
Findings – The paper highlights four distinct periods that show that BMS evolution was non-linear, incremental, and multi-path. Moreover, it demonstrates that the brand manager is now torn between two opposed but complementary directions, as he or she should act both as absolute expert and galvanic facilitator.
Originality/value – This paper provides a broad perspective on the BMS function to help marketing scholars, historians and practitioners to better understand the current issues facing the BMS and its relevance in the digital age.
Keywords – Brands, Brand management system, Brand manager, Product manager, Marketing organization, Marketing history