Lecture 2: Brand Architecture

Question 1

What are the 5 different categories of brands?

Answer 1

1. Corporate Brand
   - This is the company name and legal entity. May also be the endorser brand, but may not always be customer facing. (Unilver, P&G)
2. Master Brand
   - Drives purchase decisions, is strongly associated with the differentiation between other products (Toyota, Amazon)
3. Endorser Brand
   - They are brands that provide approval of products, and their approval is meant to have serious credibility. (Courtyard Inn by Marriot)
4. Sub-Brand
   - The sub-brand usually derives value and credibility from its master/corporate brand. It is owned by them. (Prime, Echo)
5. Ingredient Brand
   - Provides the materials, features, or parts that are contained within other products/brands.

Question 2

What is a House of Brands vs. a Branded House vs. a Hybrid Brand?

What are the pros and cons of a House of Brands vs. a Branded House?

Answer 2

House of Brands:
- A house of brands is a multi-brand portfolio in which the Corporate brand owns smaller individual brands. (P&G - Tide, Olay, Oral-B etc)

Branded House:
- A branded house is a mono-brand portfolio which is a single parent brand in different industries (Virgin - Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Wines, Virgin Mobile)

Hybrid Brand:
- Uses corporate brands for some products and individual brands for others.

House of Brands: (ABC (Disney))
(Pros)
- Strong individual brands
- Less risk, meaning brand reputation is contained if one brand goes wrong
- Can address multiple target markets
(Cons)
- Brand cannibalization, meaning you can lose customers from one individual brand another one of your own brands.
- Brand stretch risk, you can’t grow these brands as their too tightly tied together

Branded House: (Google Ads, Google Maps, Google Drive)
(Pros)
- Marketing spending efficiency
- Awareness among all stakeholders
(Cons)
- Risk is spread out, one brand takes a hit all of them are effected
- Brand dilution, if the brand is too stretched out, then the meaning would become less clear and generic

Question 3

What is Sub-Branding and Endorsed branding?

Answer 3

Sub-branding is where the Parent Brand and the Sub-brand have a tight relationship with each other.
(pros)
- Increased credibility
- increased communication and visibility synergies
(cons)
- Less freedom to create clear distinctions
- Increased confusion in positioning if super different from master brand
- Could lead to dilution of master brand

Endorsed Branding is where the Parent brand and the endorsed brand have a weaker relationship.
(Pros)
- Strengthens master brand if the endorsed brand is premium
- There is more freedom for the endorsed brand to grow and create clear distinctions.
(Cons)
- Requires a lot of investment

Question 4

What is a polarizing brand and a mainstream brand?

Answer 4

A polarizing brand refers to a brand that has a cult following.
- It has a very clear unique selling point (USP) and has a very loyal customer base. (Supreme, In-N-Out, Donald Trump)

A mainstream brand refers to a brand that is pretty generic with high volumes of customers
- Everyone owns products of the brand, and customers and customer loyalty is pretty fluid.
- Multiple different customer segments