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Brand Architecture Toolkit: Designing the Portfolio … Architecture Development Process Naming...
Transcript of Brand Architecture Toolkit: Designing the Portfolio … Architecture Development Process Naming...
What is Brand Architecture?
Brand architecture expresses the hierarchy, linkages, and roles of brands within
the portfolio. It provides rules for naming assets in the brand portfolio and
specifies the relationships among them.
Brand StrategyStrategyBrand
ArchitectureArchitecture Brand ExpressionExpression
Audit/Discovery
Brand Vision & Narrative
Audience-specific Positionings
Message Map
Brand Expression Guidelines
Creative Brief
Experience Design
Communication Planning & Execution
Portfolio Structure
Naming Ground Rules& Conventions
Brand Value Assessment
Brand Health Assessment
Tracking
Brand ActivationActivationBrand
MeasurementMeasurement
Brand Architecture Development Process
Naming Rules
• What are the decision rules
regarding creation of new
brands?
• What are the criteria for keeping
or retiring existing and newly
acquired brand names?
Business Analysis• What brands are in the
portfolio?
• How closely aligned are the
brand and business
strategies?
• Where are the gaps and
overlaps?
Portfolio Structure &
Priorities• What is the purpose of
each brand?
• Which brands have equity?
• Which are important
sources of future growth?
• Which brands should be
prioritized for investment?
Key Questions Addressed by Stage
Developing a robust architecture that optimizes the brand portfolio and aligns with
business goals is a three-stage process.
Portfolio Structure Goals
• Bring focus and discipline to
future branding decisions
• Force greater collaboration
among teams
• Optimize brand development
and management costs
Efficiency
• Improve stakeholder
understanding of the
organization’s products and
services
• Clarify the impact that the
organization has
• Maximize relevance and
differentiation
Clarity
• Illuminate the organization’s
strategic commitment and
scope of services
• Unite products and services
into cohesive groups in support
of the organization’s objectives
Vision
The overall goal of portfolio design is to enable optimal decisions for driving
brand and business value and growth.
Takes an Outside-In Point of View
Brands are offerings that drive revenue or engage with customers to drive
revenue. They are business units or programs. That is why the optimal
structure may not line up neatly with internal organizational charts!
Corporate
Business
Unit
Business
Unit
Products Products
Brand Architecture Is
Externally Facing
Masterbrand
A
Brand BEndorsed by A
Sub-
Brand D
Sub-
Brand C
Ingredient or Feature
Organizational Structure is
Internally Facing
Brand Type Defines Architecture
1.6
Each portfolio brand asset is classified by type to clarify how it links it to
others. Understanding each brand’s type simplifies decisions about brand
expression
Corporate
Brand
Company name and legal entity. Often used as endorser but
may not be customer facing at all. Important to regulatory
bodies, investors, employees, trade groups, partners.
Master Brand
(Driver)
Drives purchase decision and defines user experience. Most
strongly represents the differentiation inherent to the offer.
Endorser
Brand
Provides approval, credibility or guarantee to a range of
products, but is usually not the driver.
Sub-Brand Derives equity from another brand, usually the Master.
Ingredient
Brand
Features, materials, components or parts that are contained
within other branded products. Not an equity driver, often an
equity energizer.
Endorser
Brand
Sub-
Brand
Master
Brand
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Ingredient
Brand
Types of Brands Example
“Sony” has multiple uses in its portfolio. Some Sony offerings stand alone.
Brand Type Determined by Business Need
Corporate Brand
Sub-BrandMaster Brands Stand-Alone Brands
Master Brand:
Allows equity to be shared
among brand assets when used
in either driver or endorser role.
Sub-Brand:
Leverages the strength of the
master brand while helping to
separate and organize the
offerings.
Stand-Alone Brand:
Separates offerings, creates
new sources of equity or
targets new audiences.
Linked Brands
Stand-Alone Brands
Not all portfolio brands are equally important, yet all compete for resources. Portfolio roles help guide decisions about innovation and investment.
Strategic
Purpose
Role Investment
Priority
Strategic Brand Significant contributor to company’s
future sales, perceptions or market
position.
Very High
Distinguisher
Brand
Enhances the differentiation of
another brand. Also referred to as
‘branded energizer’ or silver bullet.
High
Cash Cow Money making brand that does not
represent future significant growth.
Medium-Low
Fighter/Flanker
Brand
Addresses competitive threat by
protecting the share of other brands
in the portfolio.
Medium
Portfolio Role Informs Investment Priority
Brand Architecture Solution Types
Architecture solutions range from House of Brands to Branded House, with many
permutations. Each solution has pros and cons, and few companies have a “pure”
solution. Most are some type of hybrid.
House of Brands Hybrid Branded House
Cons
Builds equity in strong stand-
alone brands across a wide
range of categories. Limits
risk to overall reputation.
Requires significant
marketing investment
Results in strong master brand.
Maximizes spending efficiency
Can be difficult to extend beyond
the expertise of the master brand.
Leverages strong master brand
while allowing flexibility.
Requires planning to avoid
confusing customers or diluting
the master brand.
Pros
Linked Brands
Stand-Alone Brands
Guiding Principles.:
Fulfill customer needs (and
generate revenue) while
minimizing brand development
and management costs.
Cover the market and target
customer segments with the
fewest brands possible.
Make it easy for customers to
find the solution they seek by
ensuring “daylight” between
brand offerings.
Right
Number
Efficiency
Clear
Separation
Brand Architecture Solutions
Evaluating Architecture Options
Multiple criteria factor into evaluating brand architecture. Having more answers to
the left in the assessment tool below suggests a House of Brands approach may
be best.
Organization
Product/service brand equity
Marketing spend
Corporate brand equity
Competition
Competitive set
Stakeholders
Number
Customer needs
Cross-selling opportunities
Strong equity
Supports multiple brands
Low/negative equity
Fragmented
Many
Diverse
Low
Low/no equity
Supports few brands
Strong equity
Consolidated
Fewer
Singular
High
Branded HouseHouse of Brands
Architecture Assessment Framework
Signs of Trouble
▪ Architecture is company centric rather
than customer centric
▪ Recent merger or acquisition
▪ Too many brands and offerings are
competing for attention and investment
dollars
▪ The corporate brand and product brands
have the same name, hard to distinguish
▪ Brands are losing relevance with
customers
▪ Brand meaning has been diluted or
stretched beyond credibility and
effectiveness
Pruning the Portfolio
Many corporations generate 80% to 90% of their profits from fewer
than 20% of the brands they sell, while they lose money or barely
break even on many of the other brands in their portfolios.
Segment Approach Portfolio Approach
• Keep only those brands
that conform to certain
broad parameters
• Top down
• Sweeping reductions
• Identify the brands needed to
cater to all the consumer
segments in each market
• Bottom up
• Right size by category
The trend is toward fewer brands supported by the master brand. There are two general approaches to pruning.
Naming Rules & Conventions
The strength of the brand’s equity with its target customers informs decisions about naming.
Case Study: Architecture Design
• An inside-out view of the world: Focused on 13
chartered entities, are named for geography, but
not always indicative of where courses take place
• Too complex: 358 courses, and multiple,
specialized partnerships and programs for various
student populations
• Confusing: Similar courses with different names
• No Prioritization: Many initiatives vying for
resources
Outward Bound 2013: Key Architecture Issues
Key Architecture Issue: Not Customer-Centric
Outward Bound’s schools-based structure was confusing to parents and made
it hard to navigate the offerings, and leading them to give up too soon.
Activities were missing from
the high level Course Finder
Relying on search for navigation was
a missed opportunity to tell our story.
Some programs were
populations served,
others were not
Some schools were
locations, others were
not
Other Issues: No Naming Guidelines or Ground rules
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Course features that are key
to the purchase decision
were buried, such as special
populations, certifications.
The organization lacked rules for naming of offerings, making it difficult for
parents to compare and evaluate them.
Course names did not follow any convention,
making it hard to distinguish programs, age
groups, populations, activities
Outward Bound Architecture Solution
Student age takes
priority over program
type
Parents usually search for
specific dates, so we made
this part of the architecture
More intuitive search tools
The recommendations prioritized student age, destination and travel dates, as
seen on the revised homepage.
1.19
Portfolio Structure: Key Takeaways
• Architecture aligns business and brand goals by defining
clear roles, relationships and investment priorities among
portfolio brands.
• A coherent brand architecture makes marketing more
efficient and effective by ensuring customers and other
stakeholders understand what the business can do for
them.
• House of Brands and Branded House are just two of
many possible architecture solutions. Most companies
used a hybrid approach.
• Brand architecture should be revisited to ensure
business needs are being addressed and that the brand
structure supports the business strategy.
Looking Ahead
.
Brand StrategyStrategy
Audit/Discovery
Brand Vision & Narrative
Audience-specific Positionings
Message Map
Brand Expression Guidelines
Creative Brief
Experience Design
Communication Planning & Execution
Portfolio Structure
Naming Ground Rules& Conventions
Brand Value Assessment
Brand Health Assessment
Tracking
Brand Development Process: Key Deliverables by Stage
Brand StrategyStrategy Brand ExpressionExpression Brand ActivationActivationBrand
MeasurementMeasurement
About Us
✓ Partners in insights-based brand
strategy consulting firm, Brand
Amplitude
✓ Work with range of B2B and B2C
clients to strengthen and develop
their brand assets
✓ Teach MBA and undergraduate
courses in Brand Strategy at
leading Business Schools and
develop and conduct marketing
training curricula for leading US
corporations Judy Hopelain
@judyhopelain
Carol Phillips
@carol_phillips
Contact Us