Designing and Implementing Brand Architecture Strategies

CHAPTER: 11
Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Designing and
Implementing
Brand

Architecture
Strategies
Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

By Kevin Lane Keller, Ambi M. G. Parameswaran and Isaac Jacob
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
Developing a Brand Architecture
Potential
Brand
Defining
Strategy Step 1:
ties

Opportuni
Extension
g Brand
Identifyin
Step 2:
Services
and
Products

New
Branding
Step 3:

Step 1: Defining Brand Potential
Three important characteristics:

• The brand vision
• The brand boundaries

• The brand positioning

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

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.

To Sum Up…

Marketers should use brand portfolio
analysis for Step 1, and brand hierarchy
analysis for Steps 2 and 3.

Brand Portfolios
Flankers

Cash Cows

Low-End, Entry-Level or High-End,
Prestige Brands

Figure 11-3: Possible Special Roles
of Brands in the Brand Portfolio

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

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 .

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.

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.

Brand Hierarchies
Levels of a

Brand
Hierarchy

Designing
a Brand
Hierarchy

Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
Company Brand Level

Family Brand Level
Individual Brand Level

Modifier Level
Product Descriptor

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.

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 an 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.

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.

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.

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.

Designing a Brand Hierarchy
Specific Products to Introduce

Number of Levels of the Brand Hierarchy

Designing a Brand Hierarchy
Desired Awareness and Image at Each

Hierarchy Level

Combining Brand Elements from Different
Levels

Linking Brand Elements to Multiple
Products

Figure 11.7: Branding Strategy
Screen

Corporate Branding
Corporate Image Dimensions

Managing the Corporate Brand

Corporate Image Dimensions
Common Product Attributes, Benefits, or
Attitudes

People and Relationships
Values and Programs

Corporate Credibility

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.

Managing the Corporate Brand
Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Image Campaigns

Corporate Name Changes

Brand Architecture Guidelines
Adopt a Strong Customer Focus

Create Broad, Robust Brand Platforms
Avoid Overbranding and Having Too Many

Brands

Selectively Employ Sub-brands
Selectively Extend Brands

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.

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.

Thank you.


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CHAPTER: 11

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

• Define the key components of brand architecture.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Assemble a basic brand hierarchy for a brand.

• Explain the rationale behind cause marketing and green

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Three important characteristics:

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• The brand boundaries

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Branded house and house of brands strategy.

Sub-brands: Brand extension in which the new product

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Fighter brands must not be so attractive that they take sales

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Milked by capitalizing on their reservoir of existing brand

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Role of a relatively low-priced brand: To attract

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

To minimize overlap and get the most from the portfolio,

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Well-defined positioning indicating the benefits it offers to

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Company Brand Level

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Individual Brand Level

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Relevant when the corporate or company brand plays a

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

If the corporate brand is applied to a range of products, then

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Disadvantages of difficulty, complexity, and expense of

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

• Function of modifiers is to show how one brand variation

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

In the case of a truly new product, introducing it with a

Specific Products to Introduce

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Desired Awareness and Image at Each

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, 4e

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Corporate Image Dimensions

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.