• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

GILL Solutions

Growing your business..Should be Strategic!

  • Our Process
  • Services
    • Full Service
      • Search Engine Optimization Service
      • Conversion Optimization
      • PPC Advertising Management
      • Social Media Marketing Service
      • Full Stack Development
    • Google Analytics Audit
    • Marketing Coach
    • Domains & Hosting
  • Training
    • Marketing Certification
      • Conversion Optimization Certification
      • Digital Advertising Certification
      • Search Engine Optimization Certification
      • Marketing Automation Certification
      • Content Marketing Certification
      • Social Media Strategy and Deployment Certification
    • Google Analytics Training
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Contact Us
  • Call 1-877-801-4090

Sep 25 2017

What is Brand Architecture and Why Does it Matter

Brand architecture refers to the organization of different brands within a company. It creates the basis for customers to relate with the various offerings of the business. Businesses strategize on brand architecture for several reasons. Variables can include the number of products or services and how they are differentiated. It also provides the structure for brand identity, design, development, and value proposition.

Brand Architecture

A company needs to revisit its branding architecture when the offerings are somewhat muddled from the customer’s point of view. Internal issues like chaos can arise from poor brand architecture. It causes high costs in marketing and other departments. It also deprives the organization of direction as lines of business may go in directions that are detrimental to the overall business since they compete for resources.

Why is it Important?

  • Tailor your advertising and marketing campaigns to unique customer segments
  • Reduce your marketing costs by creating an effective marketing strategy. For instance, by cross-selling.
  • Create a strategic brand identity and articulate the message to staff. This can create direction for your teams.
  • Set structures that facilitate future expansion, diversification, and differentiation
  • Protect brand equity and capitalize on brand strength.

What are the Types?

Brand architecture can be split into three types:

Corporate branding

The corporate brand overshadows any sub-brands in its portfolio to the in this strategy. Think of Coca-Cola. It is a big corporate brand with various products like bottled water, juice and Coca-Cola the soft drink.

When Coca-Cola branches into a new product it leverages its brand to thrust the product into the limelight. The coca cola label is convincing enough to make customers accept the new product faster than they would.

Note that coca cola is consolidating its brand in instances where it had diversified existing brands like diet coke. However, its strategy was still predominantly corporate branding.Other big companies use this tactic too, like Virgin.
Apart from the easier acceptance that corporate branding brings, it is also cost-effective since the same marketing campaign benefits several brands.

The decision on whether to go for corporate branding is not strictly about the obvious cost savings though. If products are differentiated or target mutually exclusive markets, the strategy needs consideration. That explains why Unilever does not use its brand boldly like Coca-Cola despite being big players in the global markets.
The main weakness of this strategy is that if the brand goes through a scandal or crisis, its business suffers significantly. It is a marketing equivalent of putting all eggs in one basket.

Endorsed branding

Endorsed brands share some similarities with corporate brands to the extent that they benefit from the overall corporate brand. For instance Apple.Their products are labeled with the corporate brand. However, the brand is not largely displayed if you compare with Coca-Cola. As a result, consumer awareness of these brands is more subdued.

The strength of the sub-brand is partly from its name and partly from the overall corporate brand or endorser brand.

The perks of this strategy are:

  • The strength of the endorser brand can boost acceptance of the endorsed brand
  • Various sub-brands under the umbrella of the brand endorser can benefit from cross-selling
  • The marketing activities for specific sub-brands can have positive spillover effects on other sub-brands

For this type of branding, you weaken the corporate brand a little and strengthen the sub-brands a little. So the marketing costs for this type of branding can be higher than in corporate branding.

Individual brands

A big company can have different brands that do not bear its logo. Consider Toyota; it is a global brand. Some of its offerings took on different brand names though, like Sion and Lexus.Toyota made this step to combat certain perceptions about its Toyota brand and the strategy paid off.

This strategy allows a company to target different audiences and niches without impacting its overall image. If any of the brands go through a crisis, customers might not lose confidence with all the other offerings.The downside of this strategy is that a company forfeits its ability to reap from marketing economies of scale.

How to decide on a winning strategy

To choose and implement the right system you need a clear understanding of the bigger picture in the internal and external environments of the business. The first place to begin searching for direction is your customers. Find out their perceptions about your brands. Compare that to how you think they should perceive your brand.

At this point, you can tell what is right and wrong. Focus on creating order and find out the model that will work for your business based on the relevant factors like the variety of products or services the company offers, business vision and budgets
Do not ignore the fact that the strategy will affect the internal structures. Get the management team on board.

Finally, create a blueprint that can work within your organizations potential and meet its vision. The implementation is a process rather than an event so sensitize the relevant players within the organization and any partners so that everyone is in sync.

Allocating responsibility

In-house competition among different sub-brands is always something to contend with. The person in charge of creating a structure should be above the line of business rivalries and interests.

So this responsibility should fall on someone with overall managerial powers, like the CEO, or the Chief Strategy Officer.

Final thoughts

Businesses are diverse, and the differentiation of brand architecture is somewhat fuzzy. The company can apply corporate branding for a section of its offerings and endorsed branding for another section. The solution is to find out how much you need to mix things up or separate them.

 

Written by George Gill · Categorized: Branding · Tagged: brand identity, brand image, brand loyalty, branding, business strategy

About George Gill

George Gill is the founder of GILL Solutions. He lives in Peterborough Canada, and is an avid learner, passionate trainer and speaker. For over 20+ years, he's helped businesses implement growth strategies and systems to consistently out perform their expectations. Measurement is always key!

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates weekly and to hear what’s going on with us!

Business Strategy

GILL Solutions Management Is an Industry Game Changer in Canada

March 9, 2022 By George Gill

GILL Solutions Management takes pride in its ability to deliver world-class digital solutions for reasonable costs. We’re an experienced team that works with businesses in identifying the most optimal ways to … Continue Reading about GILL Solutions Management Is an Industry Game Changer in Canada

Important Benefits of Facebook for Your Business

May 15, 2020 By George Gill

Whether you are a person who likes social media or not, if you're in business, there is a good chance that at some point you've considered FaceBook for your business. Understanding what the benefits are, is an … Continue Reading about Important Benefits of Facebook for Your Business

Before You Start – Is Social Media Marketing Profitable

May 14, 2020 By George Gill

We all know Social Media is popular. But before your business goes down the path of investing resources and budget into this marketing channel, you need to know what to expect. Most importantly can it be profitable … Continue Reading about Before You Start – Is Social Media Marketing Profitable

Do You Have to Pay for Search Engine Optimization

May 12, 2020 By George Gill

Every business I have ever spoken to has unanimously agreed, they would love to be on page one of Google for the keywords directly related to their business. Most believe they deserve to be at the top, and the … Continue Reading about Do You Have to Pay for Search Engine Optimization

How Important is Conversion Optimization to Your Business

May 11, 2020 By George Gill

With over 20 years in the digital marketing field, the number one approach to quickly generate the greatest impact on a business's results that I've witnessed has been accomplished through conversion rate … Continue Reading about How Important is Conversion Optimization to Your Business

Why is Siteground so expensive vs competitors

Why is Siteground so Expensive vs Competitors

May 7, 2020 By George Gill

Hosting your website is a very big deal for many reasons that we'll discuss in this article. Siteground is a hosting company (click to see Siteground's current offer) we often recommend, even though they tend to be … Continue Reading about Why is Siteground so Expensive vs Competitors

Footer

GILL Solutions Management
7901 4th St. N STE 4155
St. Petersburg, FL 33702

GILL Solutions Management
3080 Yonge Street, Suite 6060
Toronto, Ontario M4N-3N1

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

GILL Solutions Management
P.O. Box 30024 RPO Chemong
Peterborough, Ontario, K9H 7R4

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Our Blog
  • Student Login
  • Contact Us

©2020 GILL Solutions Management LLC