BRAND ARCHITECTURE
Corporate Product and Brand Relationship
Core Extensions
Spontaneous Extensions
Leveraged ExtensionsDiversifications
No Go LimitBrand Stretching
Brand Extension
Brand Essence
BRAND RELATIONSHIP SPECTRUM
Structuring your Brand – Product Matrix to create healthy brand portfolio.
Linking Brands
House of Brands
A Branded House
Sub Brands (under a Master Brand)
Endorsed Brands
Branded House vs. A House of Brands
Tata saltTata MobileTata SteelTata Indiacom
Tata – The Branded House
VicksHead & shouldersOld spiceCamayAriel
P&G – A House of Brands
House of Brands
Branded House vs. House of Brands - the two extreme ends of alternative Brand Architecture.
House of Brands strategy – each independent stand-alone brand creates more market impact.
P&G, HUL, Marico, Reckitt & Benkiser, Jyothi Labs, United Spirits etc.
Allows firms to clearly position brands on their functional benefits.
Product Branding
Product Branding is one extreme of branding continuum.
It is fiercely driven by customer logic. The brand is promoted exclusively so that it
acquires its own identity and image (and adds up various associations. No multiple products hanging from the same origin).
Allows brand to acquire differentiation and exclusivity.
Co. name is relegated to backseat (legal / statutory requirements
Product Branding
Proctor & Gamble
Brand
Position
Market
Ariel Tide PanteneHead &
ShouldersCamy Whisper Vicks
OldSpice
Detergent Shampoo Soap Sanitary Napkin
Balm After shaveDetergent Shampoo
Hi Tech
Whiteness
Healthy Hair dandruff
Cream Hygiene protection
Cold remedy
Macho
Product - Brand Strategy
Reckitt & Benckiser
Brand
Position
Market
RobinCherry
BlossomHarpic Lizol Colin Disprin Mansion Brasso
Blue Shoe polish
Toilet Cleaner
Floor Cleaner
Glass cleaner
Anal-gesic
Floor Polish
Metal Polish
A BRANDED HOUSE
In a branded house strategy, the brand moves from being a primary driver to more dominant one.
The descriptive sub-brand goes from having a minority role to little or none at all.
Eg: Virgin, Sony, Adidas, Honda Leverages an established brand name and
requires minimum investments.
Limitations of Branded House Strategy When Brand’s like Levis, Nike and Mitsubishi
are stretched over a wide product line. The firms ability to target specific group is
constrained. Compromises happen. A significant amount of profits and sales can
get affected, if the mother brand falters.
Three goals of branded house – clarity, synergy and leverage.
Line Branding
Basic Idea in line branding is how the firm organizes its product portfolio.
Here brand is the core idea that connect with it’s consumers.
Customers do not tend to be contended with one product. Line brand starts with one product, but later extends to a set of products which enhance the brand by reinforcing each other.
Lakme user wants complementary products which enhances beauty – body lotion, deep pore cleansing lotion, lipsticks, nail enamels, eye make up etc.
Line Branding
HUL
AxeDeo
AxeShavingCream
AxeAfter
Shave
AxeSoap
AxeTalc
Share same brand concept and they do complement each other.
Axe
Range Branding
Line branding restricts the brand’s expansion into nearby territories of complimentary products.
Range branding – brands can move beyond product complimentarity.
Encompass many products under a single banner. All the product’s share a common promise which
stem from the ranges’ area of competence. Maggi – noodles, sauce, macaroni's, dosa mix Britannia Milkman ---- Ghee, Butter, Milk Shake, Milk,
Cheese.
Range Branding
Himalaya Drug Co.
Ayurvedic Concepts
Health Care
Ayur slimCapsules
DigestiveCapsules
Daily HealthCapsules
Cough Syrup
Body Care
Antiseptic Cream
PainBalm
Muscle &Joint Rub
Hair Care
HairCleanser
Hairconditioner
Anti-dandruffcleanser
Anti-dandruffHair vitalizer
Skin Care
Face wash
Moisturizinglotion
Hand & bodylotion
Deep cleansing
lotion
Pimple Cream
Umbrella Branding Particularly favored by companies of east –
LG, Mitsubishi, Cannon, Bajaj , Tatas, etc. Scores well on economics – less costly;
leveraging common brand name distributes its investment.
Makes sense in the current environment where there is information overload.
Amul – Bread spreads, Cheese, Mithaee range, UTH
milk, Fresh Milk, Pure Ghee, Infant Milk, Milk Powders, Chocolates etc
Umbrella Branding
Philips
TV’s
Lighting
Monitors
Shaver
Phones
Irons
Mixers
Hi - Fi
Medical
Umbrella Branding
Umbrella brands represent many things about many products, but in this age of specialization what is needed is everything of something.
From customers point of view, a specialist brand makes more sense than a generalist brand.
Mid size car – Santro, Accent or Indica First two are specialists while Tata Indica is a generalist
(brings in images of LCV’s, HCV’s and host of other things).
Source Branding
Hybrid of umbrella strategy and product-brand strategy. (also called as Double branding)
Product is given a brand name and it is combined with the name of the firm.
Johnnie Walker – Red label, Green label, Black label & Blue label
Both the names enjoy equal importance in brand’s communication.
Kellog’s – Corn Flakes, Rice flakes, Wheat flakes are part of Umbrella branding
Kellog’s – Frosties, Chocos are Source Branding
Source Branding
MarutiSuzuki
800 BalenoGypsyEsteemZen Wagon-R ALTO
ENDORSER BRANDS & SUB BRANDS
Endorsed Brands
Endorsed brands (like House of brands) are independent, but they are also endorsed by an organizational brand.
Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and Marriot. Accent, Santro and Hyundai Unlike Linked Names as earlier, There can
be also Token Endorsement as in the case of Trident – Oberoi or Ginger - Taj
Lexus-Toyota (Shadow Endorsement)
Marriott Brand Architecture
Marriot Hotels. Resorts. Suites. Marriot Residence Inn
Courtyard by Marriot
Fairfield Inn by Marriot
Subbrands
Another powerful brand architectural tool. Can make the offering look more differentiated
and appealing to customers, while holding on to some of the key associations of the parent brand.
Can also help the master brand to stretch, allowing it to enter areas which otherwise it would not have fit.
Sub-brand can serve as a descriptor, a driver or a combination of
If the brand is purely descriptive, then the strategy is similar to branded house. Master brand is the main driver. (Tata Motors, Tata Tea, Visa Gold).
If sub-brand also has driver role but of lower level, then Master brand will take primary role (Compaq Presario, Maruti Alto, Honda City)
If the sub-brand is as important as the master brand – a co-driver situation arises ( Gillette Sensor, Sony Trinitron, Intel Pentium)
The GE - AppliancesVertical Brand Architecture
GE Monogram (Designer/Architects)
GE Profile (Upscale, High Income)
GE Appliances (Mainstream Quality seekers)
Hotpoint (Mainstream – Value seekers)
Brand Architecture
It shows the organizing structure of the brand portfolio.
It specifies the brand roles and the relationship among brands (say Maruti-Suzuki and Esteem) and different product-market brand relationships.
It is defined by 5 dimensions – The brand portfolio, portfolio roles, product
market context roles, the portfolio structure and portfolio graphics.
Brand Architecture
Brand Portfolio
BrandArchitecture
Product- MarketContext Roles•Sub brands•Benefit Brands•Co Brands
Brand PortfolioStructure• Brand groupings• Brand hierarchy trees• Brand range
Portfolio Roles• Strategic brands• Linchpin brands• Silver bullet• Cash cow brands
Portfolio Graphics• Logo• Visual representations
PowerfulBrands
Optimal allocation of brand building resources
Clarity of offering
Synergy in creating efficiency visibility associations
Leveraged brand assets
Platform for future growth options
Brand Portfolio
Brand portfolio includes all the brands and sub brands attached to product-market offerings.
This will include co-brands with other brands. A basic brand architecture parameter is the
composition of the brand portfolio. Each brand requires brand building resources. Treating brands as Silos owned by individuals
or organizational units can lead to misallocation of resources.
Portfolio Roles
A tool to take a more systems view of the brand portfolio.
Strategic Brand Linchpin Brand Silver Bullet Cash –cow Brand. These roles are not mutually exclusive. A brand
could be simultaneously a linchpin and a silver bullet brand or it could evolve from a strategic brand to a cash cow brand.
Portfolio Roles
Strategic Brand – is one that represents a meaningful future level of sales and profits.
It may be currently a dominant brand (mega-brand) that is projected to maintain or grow its position or can be small brand with immense growth potential.
Airtel for Bharati Tele-Ventures i-pods for Apple Big Bazaar for Pantaloon retail.
Portfolio Roles
Linchpin Brand: is the leverage point of a major business area or of a future vision of the firm.
It will indirectly influence a business area by providing basis for customer loyalty
Taj Businesss Hotels is a linchpin brand for EIH as it represent future ability to control a critical segment (Business traveler) in the Hotel Industry.
Competitor activities such as rewards programme by Welcom group, Trident etc can put Taj on strategic disadvantage.
Portfolio Roles
Silver Bullet – is a brand or a sub brand that positively influence the image of another brand.
It can be a powerful force in creating, changing or maintaining a brand image.
IBM Think Pad – the innovative product generated significant boost to IBM’s public image. Think Pad’s sales represent only a minute percentage of IBM’s total sales.
Hero Honda - Karizma
Portfolio Roles
Cash Cow Brands: Strategic, Linch pin and silver bullet brands involve investment and active management.
Cash cow brands has significant customer base that does not require the investment that other portfolio brands require.
Even though sales are stagnating or declining there exists a loyal core of customers who are unlikely to leave the brand.
Generates resources for investing in other brands.
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