Brand Architecture

Question 1

Introductory section

Answer 1

brand managers today face challenges of market fragmentation, channel dynamics, and changing business environments

To cope with these pressures brand managers must create and manage complex teams, involving multiple brands with many differing structures

Question 2

Define what is meant by the discipline of brand architecture

Answer 2

involves the organisation of the brand portfolio structure, which specifies brand roles and the nature of the relationships between these brands.

Question 3

What is the overarching aim of brand architecture?

Answer 3

achieving clarity and synergy between brands - enabling a company to leverage their brands to benefit one another

Question 4

What is the name of the framework which lays out the 4 types of brand structures & citation

Answer 4

Aeker and Joachimthaller (2002) ‘Brand Relationship Spectrum’

Question 5

What is the purpose of the ‘Brand Relationship Spectrum’?

Answer 5

Brand architecture tool which outlines the four basic strategies to managing a multibrand portfolio

Question 6

What are the four relationships within the Brand Relationship Spectrum (Aeker and Joachimthaller, 2002)

Answer 6

House of brands, sub-brand, endorser-brand, branded house

Each position reflects the degree to which brands are separated in terms of strategy, execution, and customers

Brand managers must understand each of these strategies and employ the most relevant ones to create a cohesive and effective portfolio

Question 7

What is a House of Brands?

Answer 7

refers to a set of stand alone brands, completely independent of the parent company

Question 8

Give an example of a House of Brands

Answer 8

Volkswagen - owns Skoda, Seat, Audi, Porsche

all very different brands with little linkages between

Question 9

What are 2 benefits of employing a House of Brands approach?

Answer 9

1. Uniquely segmented - allows them to dominate their own market without risk of cannibalisation
2. Avoidance of brand associations bleeding between brands which could be damaging to individual brand image
   e.g. Lamborghini position themselves as sport/luxury and therefor do not want to be associated with parent company associations of affordability and family-friendliness

Question 10

What are 3 drawbacks of House of Brands approach?

Answer 10

1. Inability to leverage brand equity of other brands and parent company brand
2. cant leverage positive media coverage or reduce costs through cross-promotional efforts
3. Complex and challenging - requires effective and experienced managers as well as significant human and financial capital to maintain - might not be feasible for a lot of companies.

Question 11

What is a Branded House approach?

Answer 11

The parent company is the dominant driver of the house - offering various different variants of brands with strong associations to the parent company.

Question 12

Give an example of a Branded House

Answer 12

Virgin - Virgin is the ‘master brand’ and the rest of the portfolio falls under this umbrella i.e. Virgin Airlines, Virgin Bank, Virgin Media etc

Question 13

What are w benefits of Branded House?

Answer 13

1. allows companies to leverage success between brands - increased awareness and visibility in multiple markets
2. One brand across many markets is easier to recall for consumers

Virgin maximises consumer clarity of their brand well - with consumers knowing exactly what they are getting when being seeing the brand no matter what market - associations of service quality, innovation, value, and fun/entertainment - consistency

Question 14

What are the risks associated with Branded House approach?

Answer 14

1. puts ‘all eggs in one basket’ - risk of transferring negative associations, publicity, scandals etc
2. limits ability to STP each of the brands completely unique of one another - means compromises have to be made for certain markets to avoid spreading too thin & damaging brand equity

Question 15

What is Endorsed Brands?

Answer 15

Endorsed brands are still independent brands but are endorsed by an established brand to provide the endorsee with credibility and substance

Question 16

What are 2 benefits of companies utilising Endorsed Brands in their portfolio?

Answer 16

By associating with a well-respected and established brand the endorsee:

1. Gains access to a larger audience
2. Allows endorsee to enhance brand recognition and build awareness
3. Assists in building brand trust
4. Differentiates from competitors

Question 17

Give an example of an Endorsed Brand

Answer 17

Hilton endorses Doubletree

Leveraging Hiltons brand equity to affirm that doubletree will consistently deliver a high quality experience - aligning Doubletree with Hiltons respected and well-known brand promise.

Question 18

What are 3 possible drawbacks of Endorser Brands?

Answer 18

1. Possible over-reliance on endorsing brands reputation - overshadowing and dilution of endorsee unique brand identity and value proposition
2. Endorsee may have limited control over messaging and marketing strategies utilised by endorser which could lead to internal conflict or misalignment with endorsee brand objectives
3. Guilty by association - knock on effects of negative publicity or scandal

Question 19

What are Sub Brands?

Answer 19

Brand which is still associated with the parent brand but has its own positioning within the market.

Parent brand is the primary frame of reference, which is stretched by sub brands that add on attributes and associations

Question 20

What is the benefit of Sub-brands

Answer 20

Allows extension of master brand in to new market segments - whilst leveraging the equity of parent brand.

Question 21

Give an example of a sub-brand

Answer 21

Nike and Nike Jordans - stretches Nike from athletic sports wear in to streetwear - allowing Nike to extend their market reach beyond their traditional scope of sporting and fitness

Question 22

What are 2 possible risks of sub-branding?

Answer 22

1. Poses risk of failure if they dont resonate with customers of the new market or achieve the market traction they hoped for.

Leading to wasted resource and potential reputational damage for the parent brand.

2. Brand identity dilution - Must be careful not to overuse - multiple sub-brands under one parent brand can confuse consumers about the companies core offerings and value proposition

Question 23

What position on the Portfolio Relationship Spectrum is correct?

Answer 23

Rare for company to only use one - each provide many benefits and risks.

Brand managers should ensure strategy fits the organisation.

Question 24

Can brand architecture be changed?

Answer 24

Yes, but it shouldn’t be switched with sheer motivation to reduce costs and complexity.

Change has significant knock on effects

Question 25

Give an example of an unsuccessful architecture change

Answer 25

Coca Cola shift from sub-brand to one-brand strategy with their 4 brands of coca cola

Even though did reduce costs it resulted in huge reduction of consumer awareness and all STP efforts went out the window

= they resorted back to individual campaigns for these different products

highlights significant risks associated with architectural shifts

Question 26

Who said “The challenge is not to create a single house, but a village where all brands fit in and are productive”?

Answer 26

Aeker (2004)

Question 27

What are Kappfrers (2015) 5 Rules to Managing a Multi-brand Portfolio?

Answer 27

1. Set clear brand identities - STP crucial - occupy a distinct place in consumers minds (brand salience)
2. Strategic allocation of resources - conduct portfolio analysis (sales, competitors sales, market growth share)
3. Leveraging synergies - exploit opportunities across portfolio e.g. cross-promotion, shared distribution channels
4. Constant evaluation of performance, market trends, consumer preferences, and competitive landscape - Kill or Keep
5. Most importantly = protect and enhance equity of each brand through focus on high quality products/services and consistent brand messaging

Question 28

What is one of the most difficult decisions facing brand managers about their porfolio?

Answer 28

The decision whether to retain or discard underperforming/weak brands

Question 29

What two frameworks will be included within a Keep or Kill essay?

Answer 29

Shah (2015) framework - retain or discard
Kumar (2003) 4 step strategic process

Question 30

Give a famous example of a company which underwent huge portfolio restructuring

Answer 30

2014 Procter and Gamble discontinues around 100 of their brands:

streamlining operations, reducing costs, and allocating more resources to high growth potential brands

Question 30

What factors should be considered within the Internal section (Shah, 2015)?

Answer 30

Alignment with brand & strategic direction

Negative emotions

Emotional attachments

Top Management age and education

Question 30

What are the stages Kumars (2003) ‘Kill a brand, keep a customer’ 4 step strategic process?

Answer 30

1. Conduct an audit (sales, competitor sales, market growth rate)
2. Decide which brands will be retained
3. Select best suited strategy for the other brands (merge, sell, milk, or eliminate)
4. reinvest freed resources back in to retained brands

Question 30

What are the stages of consideration within Shah (2015) retain or discard framework?

Answer 30

1. Internal

Question 31

Give an example of a company repositioning a brand instead of discarding it

Answer 31

Volvo - repositioned in 90s from solely associated with safety to also embodying Scandinavian Luxury

Question 32

What external factors must be considered when deciding whether to retain or discard (Shah, 2015)

Answer 32

Consumer emotional attachment

Channel partners and distributors

Government regulations

Mass media

Question 33

In the event where a brand has strong consumer attachment what would be the best method to use (Kumar, 2003)?

Answer 33

Milking - gradually phase out the brand by halting marketing efforts, prioritise online sales to reduce costs and maximise profits until the brand is phased out entirely.

Question 34

In the event where companies are worried about channel partner relationships, what would be the best method to use (Kumar, 2003)?

Answer 34

Merge - merge brands instead of dropping entirely to maintain these relationships but rely on them in a different way

Question 35

In the event where companies are facing regulatory challenges to their brand and DO NOT have the resources to fight it, what would be the best method to use? (Kumar, 2003)

Answer 35

Eliminate - to protect company resources and reputation

Question 36

In the event where brands do not have the resources to fight negative media attention, what method could they use?

Answer 36

Eliminate if they don’t have the resources

Question 37

What is one important consideration for companies choosing to eliminate?

Answer 37

Retain the legal rights to deleted brand names and other intellectual property

e.g. Procter and Gamble after discarding brand White Cloud got bought by a competitor resulting in P&G facing competition with what was once their own brand.