When entering into new markets, a merger or new industries, organizations face a new challenge. Should we create a new brand for this product or service?. Would it be wise to use our holding brand to grow its positioning?. How could we reflect the new vision for our business?. A moment of truth that requires the definition of the organization’s Brand Architecture.

Through this reading we’ll explain the concept of Brand Architecture and why it is so important for your businesses.

What is Brand Architecture?

Brand Architecture can be explained as the structure that defines the roles of each brand within an organization. How the brands interact, differentiate and relate between each other. This structure serves as guidelines to build your organization’s portfolio and it goes beyond a design decision, it could redefine your business in the long run.

Why is Brand Architecture so important?

As we said earlier, defining your organization’s brand architecture has a deep impact on your business, if done properly it defines how you build your products or services portfolio and it could help you grow your sales as you enter new markets or generate cross selling opportunities.

A carefully define and implemented brand architecture allows you to:

Improve clarity in the marketplace. Your brand architecture helps people understand each brand’s role in the marketplace, how they relate to your main brand and what to expect from each one of them.

Build a better company culture. While you build your organization’s culture, people are eager to be part of a tribe, see each one of your brands as a flag that embodies what you stand for and a sense of belonging for your employees.

Grow your brand equity. With the correct brand architecture the holding brand is able to create more revenue through sub-brands that attend niche markets or segments.

Minimize overall brand damage. When your brand interacts with the marketplace, there’s always the possibility of failure, backfire or negative feedback from your customers. A clear differentiation between your brands could minimize a negative impact on your main brand.

Increased revenue through cross-selling. If you have a clear differentiation between your brands and sub-brands you are able to create cross-selling opportunities that boost your business sales forward.

As you’ve read, a well implemented brand architecture becomes a blueprint for your organization’s growth and success. It goes beyond how you design your logo, is about how you build your portfolio of brands and sub-brands with a coherent, valuable and strategic approach, that helps you and your team generate value for your organization and your stakeholders.

Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building strong brands. New York: Free Press.
https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2022/01/brand-architecture/
https://www.siegelgale.com/brand-architecture-streamline-simplify-amplify/

Brand architecture: A business blueprint for companies

References