Google's "platform" strategy for building brands
Not long ago, technology was an adjunct to marketing. But now, many brand stewards depend on platforms such as Google.com, YouTube, and the Android mobile-operating system to connect them directly with millions of consumers around the world.
All these properties are powerful brands in their own right. But the strategy advocated by Alphabet Inc. – the name adopted by Google Inc. as part of a restructuring effort announced in August 2015, and which grouped its major digital assets into a single business unit – puts far greater emphasis on simplicity, usability...