Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity.

It is the way in which

the brands within a companys portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another. The
architecture should define the different leagues of branding within the organization; how the
corporate brand and sub-brands relate to and support each other; and how the sub-brands reflect or
reinforce the core purpose of the corporate brand to which they belong. Often, decisions about
Brand Architecture are concerned with how to manage a parent brand, and a family of sub-brands Managing brand architecture to maximize shareholder value can often include using brand
valuation model techniques.
Brand architecture may be defined as an integrated process of brand building through
establishing brand relationships among branding options in the competitive environment. The brand
architecture of an organization at any time is, in large measure, a legacy of past management
decisions as well as the competitive realities it faces in the marketplace

Types of brand architecture[edit]

There are three key levels of branding:

Corporate brand, umbrella brand, and family brand - Examples include Virgin Group and Heinz.
These are consumer-facing brands used across all the firm's activities, and this name is how
they are known to all their stakeholders consumers, employees, shareholders, partners,
suppliers and other parties. These brands may also be used in conjunction with product
descriptions or sub-brands: for example Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, or Virgin Trains.

Endorsed brands, and sub-brands - For example, Nestle KitKat, Cadbury Dairy
Milk, Sony PlayStation or Polo by Ralph Lauren. These brands include a parent brand - which
may be a corporate brand, an umbrella brand, or a family brand - as an endorsement to a subbrand or an individual, product brand. The endorsement should add credibility to the endorsed
sub-brand in the eyes of consumers.

Individual product brand - For example, Procter & Gambles Pampers or Unilever's Dove. The
individual brands are presented to consumers, and the parent company name is given little or no
prominence. Other stakeholders, like shareholders or partners, will know the producer by its
company name.

Procter & Gamble is quoted by many authors as the antithesis of a Corporate Brand (Asberg and
Uggla, Muzellec and Lambkin, Olins).[2] [3] "However, this situation changed in 2012. After more than
150 years of invisibility of the organization for consumer, the brand developed corporate brand
promise during the 2012 Olympic games. Commercials are aired on television around a message
thanking all the "moms". In addition, each of their products is associated with the brand "PG" in
advertisements for products.

A recent example of brand architecture in action [4] is the reorganization of the General Motors brand
portfolio to reflect its new strategy. Prior to bankruptcy, the company pursued a corporate-endorsed
hybrid brand architecture structure, where GM underpinned every brand. The practice of putting the
"GM Mark of Excellence" on every car, no matter what the brand, was discontinued in August,
2009.[5] In the run-up to the IPO, the company adopted a multiple brand corporate invisible brand
architecture structure.[4] The company's familiar square blue "badge" has been removed from the
Web site and advertising, in favor of a new, subtle all-text logo treatment.

number of brand architecture models have been developed in recent years, though most of
them have their roots in the seminal brand work of Dr. David Aaker. Dr. Aaker coined the terms
branded house, house of brands, and endorsed brands, which are three different types of
brand architecture approaches. While other brand architecture examples exist (i.e., some talk

about a monolithic, endorsed, and freestanding), the basic concepts are the same,
relating to how near or close brands should be managed perceptually, and all should be
considered in developing and managing your organizations brand architecture strategy. Three
Brand Architecture Models
Branded House (also called a monolithic brand) emphasizes a single master brand, that sits
over of the other brands within an organization. This is a particularly good option when the
products are in the same category or offer a similar set of benefits. The basic concept is to put
more wood behind the arrow, essentially gaining economic leverage by investing at the master
brand level, and then using product names or descriptors to call out product-level attributes.
BMW and Mercedes are examples of the branded house approach.
House of Brands (also called freestanding brands) are designed to stand entirely on
their own in the marketplace. This allows an organization to develop a portfolio of
brands, each with a unique brand positioning tailored to a particular product or market
segment. General Motors and its family of brands is considered a house of brands
example.

House of Brands Brand Architecture Examples PPT

Endorsed Brands fall somewhere in the middle. Here, brands are combined in such a way that one is
designed to work in concert with the other. There are numerous examples of this strategy: Think
Courtyard By Marriott, Polo by Ralph Lauren, Microsoft Windows, and the like. Honda Motor Company
uses an endorsed brand strategy, as shown here:

Endorsed Brands Brand Architecture Examples PPT

Recommended Brand Architecture Model In our brand consulting work, we often find a desire
among clients to want to consider how each of the three brand architecture models might work
in their organization. In reality, though, the right answer for any client is really dependent on
the clients unique situation, and requires establishing a brand architecture definition,
constructing a brand audit, defining brand principles and considering alternative framework
pros and cons, as described here.