From Products to Platforms: The Next Shift in Brand Value Creation

For decades, marketers have focused on refining products and sharpening propositions. That approach is no longer enough.

Leading brands are changing how they define what they sell, moving from products and services to platforms. This shift unlocks experiences that physical products alone can never deliver.

A platform reframes the role of a brand. It is no longer just a promise made at the point of purchase, but a system that continuously delivers that promise across time, context, and touchpoints. Through platforms, brands can personalize value, adapt to behavior, and deepen relationships well beyond the shelf or transaction.

Crucially, platforms allow brands to realize their propositions in multiple dimensions:

Functional: solving problems dynamically, not statically Emotional: building habits, trust, and relevance over time Behavioral: shaping how customers engage, return, and advocate

This is not about adding technology for its own sake. It is about creating an operating model where experience, data, and interaction work together to compound value, for both the brand and the customer.

In a market where products are increasingly easy to replicate, platforms are how brands create defensible differentiation, and sustained growth.