CHAPTER:11
DESIGNING AND
IMPLEMENTING
BRAND
ARCHITECTURE
STRATEGIES
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Learning Objectives
Define the key components of brand
architecture
Outline the guidelines for developing a
good brand portfolio
Assemble a basic brand hierarchy for a
brand
Describe how a corporate brand is
different from a product brand
Explain the rationale behind cause
marketing and green marketing
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Developing a Brand Architecture
Strategy
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Step 1: Defining Brand
Potential
Three important characteristics:
The brand vision
The brand boundaries
The brand positioning
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Step 2: Identifying Brand Extension
Opportunities
Brand extension is a new product
introduced under an existing brand name
Line extensions: New product introductions
within existing categories
Category extensions: New product
introductions outside existing categories
Equity implications of each extension
needs to be understood in terms of:
Points-of-parity
Points-of-difference
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Step 3: Branding New Products
and Services
New products and services must be
branded in a way to maximize the
brand’s overall clarity
Branded house and house of brands
strategy
Sub-brands: Brand extension in which
the new product carries both the parent
brand name and a new name
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To Sum Up…
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Brand Portfolios
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Figure 11.4 - Possible Special
Roles of Brands in the Brand
Portfolio
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Flankers
Protective or fighter brands
To create stronger points-of-parity with
competitors’ brands
Fighter brands must not be so attractive
that they take sales away from their
higher-priced comparison brands
If they are connected to other brands in the
portfolio, they must not be designed so
cheaply that they reflect poorly on other
brands
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Cash Cows
Despite dwindling sales, some brands
are retained
Due to their sustainability without any kind
of marketing
Milked by capitalizing on their reservoir
of existing brand equity
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Low-End, Entry-Level or
High-End, Prestige Brands
Sub-brands leverage associations from
other brands while distinguishing
themselves on price and quality
Role of a relatively low-priced brand - To
attract customers to the brand franchise
Role of a relatively high-priced brand -
To add prestige and credibility to the
entire portfolio
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To Sum Up…
To minimize overlap and get the most
from the portfolio, each brand-name
product must have:
Well-defined roles to fulfill for the firm
Well-defined positioning, indicating the
benefits it offers to consumers
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Brand Hierarchies
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Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
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Corporate or Company
Brand Level
Highest level of hierarchy
Corporate image: The consumer
associations to the company or
corporation making the product or
providing the service
Relevant when the corporate or company
brand plays a prominent role in the
branding strategy
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Family Brand Level
Used in more than one product category but
is not necessarily the name of the company
or corporation
Also called a range brand or umbrella brand
If the corporate brand is applied to a range
of products, then it functions as a family
brand too
If the products linked to the family brand are
not carefully considered, the associations to
the family brand may become weaker
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Individual Brand Level
Restricted to essentially one product
category, although multiple product types
may differ
Customization of the brand and all its
supporting marketing activity
If the brand runs into difficulty or fails, the
risk to other brands and the company itself is
minimal
Disadvantages of difficulty, complexity, and
expense of developing separate marketing
programs
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Modifier Level
Brands should distinguish according to
the different types of items or models
Modifier: Designate a specific item or
model type or a particular version or
configuration of the product
Function of modifiers is to show how one brand
variation relates to others in the same brand
family
Help make products more understandable and
relevant to consumers
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Product Descriptor
Helps consumers understand what the
product is and does
Helps define the relevant competition in
consumers’ minds
In the case of a truly new product,
introducing it with a familiar product
name may facilitate basic familiarity and
comprehension
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Designing a Brand
Hierarchy
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Designing a Brand
Hierarchy
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Figure 11.7 - Branding Strategy
Screen
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Corporate Branding
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Corporate Image
Dimensions
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To Sum Up…
Many intangible brand associations can
transcend the physical characteristics of
products
Provides valuable sources of brand equity
and serves as critical points-of-parity or
points-of-difference
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Managing the Corporate
Brand
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Brand Architecture
Guidelines
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To Sum Up…
Key aspect of managing brand equity is
adopting the proper branding strategy
Brand architecture strategy for a firm
identifies which brand elements a firm
chooses to apply across the various products
Brand-product matrix is a graphical
representation of all the firm’s brands and
products
A firm may offer multiple brands in a category
to attract different market segments
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To Sum Up…
A brand hierarchy reveals an explicit
ordering of all brand names by displaying the
number and nature of common and
distinctive brand name elements across the
firm’s products
Corporate or family brands can establish a
number of valuable associations to
differentiate the brand
Firms now employ cause-marketing
programs designed to align their brands with
a cause of importance
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