Brand Architecture

Brand Architecture
• Process by which an organization structures and
names brands within its portfolio is known as
brand architecture.
• It is vehicle by which the brand team functions as
a unit to create synergy, clarity and leverage.
• Organizing structure of brand portfolio that
specifies the brand roles and relationship among
the brands and different product market context.
 Brand Architecture Objectives
• Create effective powerful brands
• Allocate brand-building resources
• Create Synergy
• Achieve clarity of product offering
• Leverage brand equity
• Provide a platform for future growth
 Types of Architecture
• Monolithic: Where the corporate name is used
on all products and services offered by the
company.
• Endorsed : Where all sub-brands are linked to the
corporate brand by means of either a verbal or
visual endorsement.
• Freestanding : Where the corporate brand
operates merely as a holding company, and each
product or service is individually branded for its
target market.
 Brand Portfolio
Includes all the brands & sub-
brands attached to product-market
offerings, including co-brands with
Brand-Market Context other firms. Portfolio Roles
Roles • Strategic Brands
•Endorser/Sub-brands • Linchpin Brands
•Benefit brands •Silver Bullets
•Co-brands •Cash cow Brands
•Driver roles
Brand
Architecture
Brand Portfolio Structure
Portfolio Graphics
•Brand Groupings
• Logo
•Brand hierarchy trees •Visual Representation
•Brand range

Optimal Synergy in Platforms

Powerful allocation of creating Clarity of for future
Leveraged
Brands brand visibility & offering growth
brand assets
building efficiency options
resources
 Five Dimensions
Dimension Action Item
Brand Portfolio Inventory existing brands and sub-
brands.

Portfolio Roles Identify brands playing strategic roles

(cash cow etc.).
Brand Architecture Audit
Product-Market Context Roles Look at use of endorsers and sub
brands, branded benefits, co-brands
and driver brands.

Brand Portfolio Structure Create brand grouping or hierarchy

trees.

Portfolio Graphics Layout a sample of the way that the

brands are visually.
 The Boston Consulting Group’s
Growth-Share Matrix
Market Growth Rate

Stars Question marks

? ?
20%-
18%-
16%-
14%-
12%-
(Strategic Brand) (Lichpin Brand)
10%-
8%-
Cash cow Dogs
6%-
4%-
2%-
0 6 (Silver Bullet)
(Cash cow Brand)
10x 4x 2x 1.5x 1x .5x .4x .3x .2x .1x

Relative Market Share

 Product-Market Context Roles
• Endorser & Sub-brand Roles – An established brand is the primary
indicator of the offering, the point of reference.
• Benefit Brands – The benefit brand is a branded feature through the
USP. Examples: Oral-B toothbrushes – Colored Tip Bristles

• Co-Brands – Occurs when brands from different organizations combine

to create an offering in which each plays a driver role.
Examples: Intel chips in branded PCs, HP printers along with HP laptops
• Driver brands- Driver role is an extent to which a brand enables the
purchase decision and enhances the use of experience. Brand with a
driver role will have some level of loyalty.
 Brand Portfolio Structure
Brand Grouping:
Grouping of brands that have a meaningful
characteristics in common
– Segment: Men or women
– Product: Clothing products
– Quality: Designer to premium
– Design: classic or contemporary
 Brand Portfolio Structure
Brand Hierarchy Trees: Brand family
Colgate

Colgate Colgate Colgate Colgate

Toothpaste Toothbrush Dental Floss Mouth rinse

Classic Plus Precision

 Brand Portfolio Structure

Brand Range:
– Master Brand/Umbrella Brand: Tata, Amul, LG
– Endorser Brands: Cadbury’s Diary Milk, Bournvita
 Portfolio Graphics
Visual representations across brands and
contexts:
– Logo
– Packages
– Symbols
– Product design
• An effective brand architecture system provides a structure to the brand
family, allowing consumers to establish expectations and perceptions of the
entire brand family based on what they know about one or some of the
individual brands. Given all this, let’s look at the model's suggestions:
• The Monolithic Brand - uses a single name across all products and services
offered by the company. Virgin Group is a good example. Virgin Airlines,
Virgin Mega Stores and so on all have a brand common denominator -
unconventionality. It all starts and ends with the personality and style of
Virgin founder and CEO, Richard Branson – a very unconventional corporate
head. (Virgin slide)
• Endorsed Brand - sub-brands that are linked to the corporate brand by means
of either verbal or visual endorsement. When you see a Post-it Note pad you’ll
also see a 3M logo.(3M Slide)
• Product brand – Each product or service is individually branded, but the
parent brand gets little or no prominence. P&G/Unilever/Altria etc. (Altria
slide)
• Umbrella Brand – a brand name is used to span across a range of sub-brands,
all from the same category. FedEX Ground, FedEX Express, FedEX Freight,
even FedEX Office. (FedEX slide)
• Hybrid brand – utilization of a brand architecture that incorporates more than
one system for a specific strategic rationale. The best example is Disney.
Though known for G rated and animated films, sometimes they will produce
an R rated movie through Miramax or Touchstone. (Disney slide)
 Horizontal Extension
FIT ADDED VALUE ENHANCED BRAND EQUITY

•Customers must be The brand name alone The brand equity should be
comfortable with the should help customers enhanced by the brand’s presence
brand in the new articulate why the the brand’s presence in another
setting. offering is superior to context -- not only from increased
•Bases: product other brands. visibility but also from the
associates, associations generated.
ingredient, attribute,
application, user
imagery, expertise,
designer image
 Vertical Extension
Advantages Disadvantages
• Product vitality and margins • Use of sub brands and endorsed brands
become necessary due to perceived
• Participate in a growing and larger value service quality
market
•Risk to brand’s reputation and customer
base

• Cannibalization
•Lack of credibility
•Competitor price wars