STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT

ISB | BBUS 47
2023 – 2024 | Trimester 2
Main Lecturer: Thai-Dam-Huy, Trung (Ph.D.)
Industrial Lecturer: Pham-Thi, Nhung (MBA/ MA)
•Designing and Implementing
•Brand Architecture Strategies

Session 12
 SESSION 12
Designing and Implementing Brand Architecture Strategies

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define the key components of brand architecture
2. Define a brand-product matrix
3. Outline the principles of a good brand portfolio
4. Assemble a basic brand hierarchy for a brand
5. Describe how a corporate brand is different from a product brand
6. Explain the role of brand architecture in strengthening a brand’s value and a firm’s performance
7. Understand how sustainability initiatives, corporate social responsibility and green marketing can
enhance a brand
 Discussion

WHY it needs to define Brand Architecture strategy

in building Brand Equity?
 A group of products that meet a similar
consumer need, or that are inter-related
Category
OR substitutable – The Nielsen definition

A set of competing choices that, as seen by the

buyer, share some key characteristics and
provide broadly similar benefits. Category
boundaries define the limit of customers
consideration set.” - Patrick Barwise

Brand portfolio
Brands in one Manufacturer/Retailer
category
Brands
The ROLE of brand architecture is twofold
● To clarify brand awareness:
Improve consumer understanding and
communicate similarity and differences
between individual products and
services.

● To improve brand image:

Maximize transfer of equity between the
brand and individual products and
services to improve trial and repeat
purchase.
 DEVELOPING
A BRAND ARCHITECTURE STRATEGY
 Developing a Brand Architecture Strategy
BRAND ARCHITECTURE STRATEGY
– Helps marketers determine which products and services to introduce
– Which brand names, logos, symbols, etc. to apply to new and existing products

STEP 2 STEP 3
STEP 1
Identifying brand extension Branding new products and
Defining brand potential
opportunities services

3 important characteristics:
Brand vision Introduce new product under New products and services must
Brand boundaries an existing brand name be branded in a way to maximize
Brand positioning Line extension the brand’s overall clarity
Category extension Branded house strategy
House of brands strategy
Equity implication: POD, POP Sub-brands
Brand extension in which the new
product carries both the parent
brand name and a new name
 Branded House vs House of Brand

This strategy emphasizes the parent company as a brand. This is a brand architecture strategy that markets a company’s
All of the company’s products and services are marketed under the various products or services independently from one another
primary brand
Characteristics of a House of Brands

1. Diverse Target Audiences

2. Individual Brand Equity
3. Separate Marketing Strategy
4. Operate Independently
5. Brand-Specific Risks and Failures

Read more House of Brands vs. Branded House (Brand Architecture Strategy) (brandmasteracademy.com)
Characteristics of Branded House

1. Unified Identity
2. Strong Brand Equity
3. Simplicity
4. Resource Efficiency
5. Consistency

Read more House of Brands vs. Branded House (Brand Architecture Strategy) (brandmasteracademy.com)
Hybrid It's a strategy that combines the benefits of a house of brands and a branded house,

Brand offering flexibility and a strong parent brand.

Watch more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3T_fbWCAsw

 Endorsed Brand Architecture
The products and services are positioned as sub-brands under a parent brand
which endorses the individual sub-brand.

This approach offers the sub-brands a little more freedom to deviate from the look, feel, and personality of
the parent brands when compared to the monolithic structure.

Source What Is Brand Hierarchy? (5 Best Types, Structures & Examples) (brandmasteracademy.com)
 Discussion

For your final project

- Define type of Brand Architecture of product/brand
- Pros vs. Cons/ Advantages vs. Disadvantages
Brand Architecture Guidelines

• Adopt a strong customer FOCUS

• Create broad, robust brand platforms
• SELECTIVELY employ sub-brands & extend brands
• Avoid overbranding and having too many brands
Brand-Product Mix
To characterize the brand architecture strategy of a firm, one
useful tool is the brand–product matrix, a graphical
representation of all the brands and products sold by the firm.
The matrix (or grid) has the firm’s brands as rows and the
corresponding products as columns

* The rows of the matrix represent brand–product

relationships. They capture the firm’s brand-extension
strategy in terms of the number and nature of products sold
under its different brands..
*The columns of the matrix represent product–brand
relationships. They capture the brand portfolio strategy in
terms of the number and nature of brands to be marketed in
each category.
BRAND PORTFOLIO
Outline the principles of a good brand portfolio
Source: Kantar Worldpanel (Insight Handbook 2018)
Discussion
• Why Unilever, Masan, Nestle, Pepsi… have more than 2 brands in
each category?
• Why each brand has many product & different pack types?
Brand Portfolios
• Includes all brands sold by a company in a product category
– Brand portfolio judged by its ability to maximize brand
equity
▪Any one brand in a portfolio should not harm or
decrease the equity of the others
▪ Ideally, each brand maximized equity in combination
with all others
• Reasons for introducing multiple brands in a category:
– Increase shelf presence and retailer dependence in the store
– Attract consumers seeking variety who may otherwise
switch to another brand
– Increase internal competition within the firm
– Yield economies of scale in advertising, sales,
merchandising, and physical distribution
Figure 12-3:
Possible Special Roles of Brands in the Brand
Portfolio
1. To attract a particular market segment not currently being covered by other brands of the firm
2. To serve as a flanker and protect flagship brands
3. To serve as a cash cow and be milked for profits
4. To serve as a low-end entry-level product to attract new customers to the brand franchise
5. To serve as a high-end prestige product to add prestige and credibility to the entire brand
portfolio
6. To increase shelf presence and retailer dependence in the store
7. To attract consumers seeking variety who may otherwise have switched to another brand
8. To increase internal competition within the firm
9. To yield economies of scale in advertising, sales, merchandising, and physical distribution
SEGMENTATION UNDERPINS BRAND PORTFOLIO CHOICES

Market Market Brand Portfolio Brand

Definition Opportunity Positioning Strategy Architecture

Which or who are the How do we tighten our How do we organise the
What market What brand architecture
best segment brand positioning for range to take advantage
Are we competing in? to cover the space?
opportunities to focus our chosen customers? of opportunities?
Where do we choose
to play? on?
 WELL CAPTURED SEGMENTATION
LEADS TO A WELL DIFFERENTIATED BRAND PORTFOLIO
Works as well as families
expensive brands

Skin care and beauty women

Empowering protection women

Top performance men

Fragrance and
young men
seduction
Brand Portfolios
Flankers
1. Flankers

2. Cash Cows • Protective or “fighter” brands

To create stronger points-of-parity with
3. Low-End, Entry-Level, or High-End, Prestige Brands
competitors’ brands
• Fighter brands must not be so attractive that they
take sales away from higher-priced comparison
brands
If connected to other brands in the
portfolio, must not be designed so cheaply
that they reflect poorly on other brands
Brand Portfolios
Cash Cows
1. Flankers

2. Cash Cows • Despite dwindling sales, some brands are retained

Due to their sustainability with virtually no
3. Low-End, Entry-Level, or High-End, Prestige Brands
marketing support
• Milked by capitalizing on their reservoir of
existing brand equity
Brand Portfolios
Low-End, Entry-Level, or High-End, Prestige
1. Flankers Brands
2. Cash Cows
• Sub-brands leverage associations from other
3. Low-End, Entry-Level, or High-End, Prestige
Brands
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

Sachet Pouch Foaming Handwash

Source : Nguyen Quang Hiep – Brand Trainer & Consultant
Source https://beloved-brands.com/portfolio-management/
Source https://beloved-brands.com/portfolio-management/
 Discussion

For your final project

- Define Brand/ Product portfolio for current & potential extension
- Is there any segmentation NOT considered? And why?
BRAND HIERARCHY
Brand Hierarchy A useful means of graphically portraying a firm’s branding strategy
By displaying the number and nature of common and distinctive brand
elements across a firm’s products

Figure 12-5: Apple Brand Hierarchy

Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
1. Corporate or Company Brand Level
2. Family Brand Level
3. Individual Brand Level
4. Modifier Level
5. Product Descriptor
Corporate or Company Brand Level
• Highest level of hierarchy
• Corporate image
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
Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
1. Corporate or Company Brand Level
2. Family Brand Level
3. Individual Brand Level
4. Modifier Level
5. Product Descriptor
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 products linked to a family brand are not carefully
considered, the associations to the family brand may
become weaker
Levels of a Brand Hierarchy

1. Corporate or Company Brand Level

Individual Brand Level

2. Family Brand Level • Restricted to essentially one product category

Although multiple product types may differ
3. Individual Brand Level
• Customization of the brand and all its supporting
4. Modifier Level marketing activity
• If a brand runs into difficulty or fails, risk to other brands
5. Product Descriptor
and the company is minimal
• Disadvantages of difficulty, complexity, and expense of
developing separate marketing programs

Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
1. Corporate or Company Brand Level
2. Family Brand Level
3. Individual Brand Level
4. Modifier Level
5. Product Descriptor
Modifier Level
Must further distinguish brands according to 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
Levels of a Brand Hierarchy
• Helps consumers understand what the product is and
does
1. Corporate or Company Brand Level Helps define relevant competition in consumers’
minds
2. Family Brand Level
• In the case of a truly new product, introducing it with a
3. Individual Brand Level familiar product name may facilitate basic familiarity
and comprehension
4. Modifier Level

5. Product Descriptor
Figure 12-6: Guidelines for Brand Hierarchy Decisions
1. Decide on which products are to be introduced.
– Principle of growth: Invest in market penetration or
expansion vs product development according to R O I
opportunities.
– Principle of survival: Brand extensions must
achieve brand equity in their categories.
– Principle of synergy: Brand extensions should
enhance the equity of the parent brand.
2. Decide on the number of levels.
– Principle of simplicity: Employ as few levels as
possible.
– Principle of clarity: Logic and relationship of all
brand elements employed must be obvious and
transparent.
3. Decide on the levels of awareness and types of associations
to be created at each level.
Principle of relevance: Create abstract associations that
are relevant across as many individual items as
possible.
Principle of differentiation: Differentiate individual
items and brands.
4. Decide on how to link brands from different levels for a
product.
Principle of prominence: The relative prominence of
brand elements affects perceptions of product distance
and the type of image created for new products.
5. Decide on how to link a brand across products.
Principle of commonality: The more common
elements products share, the stronger the linkages.
Designing a Brand Hierarchy

• The challenge in setting up a brand hierarchy is to decide:

– Specific products to be introduced for any one brand
– Number of levels of the hierarchy to use
– Desired brand awareness and image at each level
– Combinations of brand elements from different levels of the hierarchy
– Best way to link any one brand element to multiple products
Figure 12-7: Branding Strategy Screen
CORPORATE BRANDING
Corporate Image Dimensions
• Common Product Attributes, Benefits, or
Attitudes (high-quality, innovativeness)

• People and Relationships (customer orientation,

customer services, employee branding)

• Values and Programs (socially responsible,

environmentally concerned, …)

• Corporate Credibility (depends on Corporate

expertise, Corporate trustworthiness, Corporate
likability)

Managing the Corporate Brand

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Corporate Image Campaigns

• Corporate Name Changes

 THANK YOU
&
SEE YOU NEXT SESSION