What is Brand Architecture?
Brand architecture is the arrangement and structure of an organization/ company’s brand portfolio and how they relate. It is the description of the arrangement of relationship between brands and sub-brands, products, and services in the same organization their interconnectivity and positioned in relation to each other. So, brand architecture establishes the structural framework that clarifies the relationships, hierarchies, and strategies behind a company’s brands.
Sellable Brand Architecture
A sellable brand architecture involves creating an outline that organizes and connects all the elements of the brands in a way that is consistent, distinctive, and valuable to potential buyers.
A definite brand architecture will help an organization to differentiate and manage its brand assets more effectively in whatever arrangement it comes, creating consistent brand experiences, and optimize brand equity. It also ensures that the brand portfolio is easy to understand, and aligned with the company’s overall business objectives. This encompasses elements such as the brand strategy, brand identity, brand hierarchy, messaging, and guidelines for its expression.
Types of Brand Architecture
There are various types of brand architecture that companies can adopt based for their business goals and organizational structure. What to adopt depend on certain factors too.
Let’s look at the types first.
- Mother Brand Architecture (Branded House):
This is when the organization or company uses a single brand name for its products or services. The brand name becomes the focal point and all activities, marketing, products branding and related activities, all comes in this name or closely associated with it, such that customers easily know or association the brand with them.
Some examples of this are Dangote brand- The Dangote brand is a mother brand or Monolithic as some will call it, such that all its products and companies are branded Dangote, i.e. the Cement, Sugar, Rice, the recent refinery addition etc, Apple is another, with such brands as iPhone, iPod, iTune etc.
This is particularly advantageous when a company is just starting and you have limited marketing budget. The awareness created for one or the goodwill of one easily rob on any new member of the same house. This also works for successful companies that already built formidable names for themselves. Whenever they introduce any new products or services, consumer take such as the existing, I mean, they places the new on the scale of existing products on acceptability.
The company could even charge a premium price on the new product, ahead of competitors that are just starting. If iPhone start a mug selling business today, it will definitely charge higher price than the average market price, because its existing goodwill, so far such product carries the mother brand name.
- Pluralistic Brand Architecture (House of Brands):
More like an opposite of the branded house. In this model, the company operates multiple independent brands with no direct connection to each other except for consumers that intentionally find out. Even though the same company owns or operate them, they appear distinct and each comes with their unique identity, characteristics, target audience, marketing and value proposition. Each also have their different marketing managers who manages them. At some instance, they could even be competing brands in the same category.
Unilever easily comes to mind here- they have popular brands like Close up, knorr, lifebuoy, Lipton, Omo, Vaseline and many more. While they are all made and marketed by the same company, they are distinct in the market. Each bears their different identity, unique value proposition and source their individual customers. Except you find out, you might not readily know that these products are made by the same company. Other examples are the Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, 5alive, eva water etc).
Some major benefits this are – the failure of one doesn’t necessarily affects the others. They have access to each other’s market and research materials and could learn vita lessons from each other.
- Endorsed Brand Architecture (Sub-Brands):
This is when known master brand endorsed and provide credibility to individual brands in the set. Each member of the set has their individual identity, but benefitted from association thereby enjoying goodwill from association with the master brand. Well known examples of this includes Nestle (KitKat, Nescafé) and Procter & Gamble (Gillette, Pantene).
The endorsed brands enjoy good leverage brand Equity from the credibility of the master brand. This provides easy trust, and recognition to the sub-brands, especially when entering new markets or introducing new products.
It ensures brand consistency across portfolio and also it could conserve cost, like cost of research, marketing efforts, customer services etc.
- Hybrid Brand Architecture:
Hybrid Architecture is the strategic combination of the various brand strategies for flexibility, such as the mother brand endorses other brands within its brand portfolio. This allows for flexibility and adaptability to accommodate diverse products, services, or acquisitions under a unified brand umbrella while also maintaining the distinct identities and associations of individual brands or sub-brands. Hybrid create a cohesive and comprehensive brand ecosystem that resonates with different target audiences and market segments.
Popular brands like Samsung exemplifies this architecture across its diverse product portfolio. Its master brand, Samsung, which encompasses a wide range of products categories such as smartphones, TVs, home appliances, and more. Within each category, Samsung maintains sub-brands like Galaxy and QLED, which have their own brand identities and product-specific marketing strategies. Same goes for its mobile devices too.
Marriott International is another example in the hospitality industry. They operate with a master brand, Marriott, representing its full-service hotels. Additionally, it maintains distinct sub-brands like Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Sheraton, each catering to different market segments and offering unique experiences. Another good example is The Alphabet company, where Google is a member of the group with several others that is endorsed by it, such as Google mail, Google maps, Google Ads and others companies
Some of the important advantages of this strategy is its flexibility and adaptability – They could accommodate diverse products, services, or acquisitions while maintaining a unified brand presence. It allows for the addition of new brands or product lines without diluting the overall brand equity.
It allows for portfolio diversification, such that companies can diversify their portfolio by operating in multiple markets or industry segments. This helps reduce risk by spreading it across different brands or product lines.
Another benefit is synergy and cross-Promotion. This helps the brand to leverage the collective strength and reputation of the master brand, such that the company can create a halo effect that enhances the perception and recognition of individual brands or products.
This also comes with some disadvantages though, some of these are complexity in brand management, which might require careful coordination, consistent messaging, and brand guidelines to maintain brand consistency while allowing for brand differentiation. This could always slow down implementations.
Another is brand dilution – the addition of multiple sub-brands. A hybrid brand architecture may lead to brand dilution. Each brand or product line needs to have a clear value proposition and unique positioning to avoid cannibalization or weakening of the overall brand identity and equity.
5. Branded Component Architecture:
The last architecture we will be considering in this intro piece is the branded component, also called integrated branding. This is commonly used in industries where products consist of various components. It is when branded components are used for branded products to identify the items. Good example here is Intel. Intel produces microprocessors that are used in computers. Its brand name is prominently displayed on the computers branding, indicating the presence of Intel technology in the system. This branding strategy helps create consumer confidence and recognition of Intel’s high-quality and reliable components. It also attracts premium. A computer with Intel processor will almost always attracts higher price that those without it.
As stated earlier, the presence of a branded component on the product is another badge of quality which enhances consumers’ confidence and trust. It also helps to easily different a brand from another.
Before Choosing a Type
While those are important types of brand architecture, there are salient factors to be considered before choosing what architecture to follow to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with business goals. Here are some of the key factors to consider:
- The Business Strategy: Whatever architecture you want to adopt must aligned with the overall brand objective and strategy of the company, in such a way that It supports it’s vision, mission, target markets, and competitive positioning. Aside from this, the business’ long-term goal should be a guide in the development of a brand architecture that can drive growth and success on the long run.
- Brand Portfolio Analysis: Analyze the current brand portfolio to identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential overlaps or gaps. Assess the equity and recognition of each brand and determine their roles and relationships within the portfolio. This analysis will help in making informed decisions about consolidation, expansion, or repositioning of brands.
- Customer Understanding: Good understanding of the target customers is essential. Afterall, the business is about them. Consider their needs, preferences, behaviors, and how they perceive and interact with brands. The brand architecture should be designed to resonate with the target audience and create a meaningful connection.
- Market Dynamics and Competition: There is hardly any structure you want to build that someone else hasn’t or something similar. Its therefore important to understand the market dynamics and competitive landscape. Consider how competitors organize their brand portfolios and identify opportunities for differentiation. A thorough analysis of the market will help in developing a brand architecture that stands out and resonates with customers.
- Internal Alignment: It’s important to ensure alignment and buy-in from internal stakeholders, including management, marketing teams, and employees and other critical stakeholders. Clear communication and understanding of the brand architecture will ensure consistent implementation and support across the organization.
- Scalability and Flexibility: Is the architecture flexible enough to accommodate new brands? Anticipate future growth, product diversification, or acquisitions. The brand architecture should be adaptable to accommodate new brands, product lines, or market expansions without losing its coherence and effectiveness.
- Brand Consistency and Cohesion: Ensure that the brand architecture maintains consistency and cohesion across all touchpoints. Consistent brand messaging, visual identity, and customer experience are crucial to build trust, recognition, and loyalty. Strive for a seamless brand experience throughout the portfolio.
- Legal and Regulatory Considerations: Adhere to legal and regulatory requirements related to branding, trademarks, intellectual property, and industry-specific regulations. Ensure compliance with local laws and protect the brand’s integrity and legal rights.
- Customer Feedback and Testing: Seek customer feedback and conduct market research to validate the brand architecture strategy. Test the architecture with focus groups or surveys to gauge customer understanding, perception, and resonance. Incorporate insights and feedback into refining the brand architecture.
Conclusion
No amount of energy, knowhow and time will be too much to invest in a brand that is intended to stand the test of time. More so, since we all understand that the brand is now the most valuable asset of a corporate organization, having a good knowledge and proper documentation of the brand, including it architecture will go along to sustain it over time.
Hope those points helped?
