CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND ARCHITECTURE- A STUDY IN

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

HAREESH REBELLI
PhD Research Scholar,
Department of Business Management,
Osmania University, Hyderabad
Email: hareeshrebelli@gmail.com
Mobile: +91-9949444847

Dr.VENKATESHWAR RAO ROKANDLA

PROFESSOR, Department of Business Management,
School of Business and Economics,
Dilla University – Dilla, ETHIOPIA
Email: venkatrokandla@gmail.com
Mobile: Ethiopia : +251934717878
India : +1-9618305141

2nd International Conference on

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT – TRENDS AND
COMPETITIVENESS
Organized by
Christ Institute of Management, Rajkot
Department of Commerce and Management
In Association with
The Association of Management Development Institutions of South Asia (AMDISA)
Rajkot Management Association and GUJCOST

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ABSTRACT:
With the globalization of markets and the growth of competition on a global scale, companies are
increasingly expanding the geographic scope of their operations, setting up or acquiring
companies in other countries, or entering into alliances across national boundaries. At the same
time, with the spread of global and regional media, the development of international business,
and the movement of people, goods, and organizations across national borders, markets are
becoming more integrated. As a result, firms need to pay greater attention to coordinating and
integrating their marketing strategy across markets. Joining and separating, expansion and
diversification – usually all are needed to create a sustainable structure for complex company
portfolios. In this paper, the way Brand Architecture method allows these highly sensitive issues
to be moved from the superficial branding level (name, logo, colors) to a much deeper level. All
the strategic and operational implications of brand-related decisions are analyzed and presented
in a way that makes it clear to management the consequences or undesirable effects their
decisions will produce.
Keywords: Brand Architecture, Strategy, Co Branding, Global Markets.

1. INTRODUCTION:
An important element of a firm's international marketing strategy is its branding policy. Strong
brands help to establish the firm's identity in the market place, and develop a solid customer
franchise as well as providing a weapon to counter growing retailer power. They can also
provide the basis for brand extensions, which further strengthen the firm's position and enhance
value. In international markets, an important issue for the firm is whether to use the same brand
name in different countries, leveraging brand strength across boundaries, or whether to maintain
local brands responding to local customer preferences.
A related issue is what level of branding to emphasize, i.e. corporate/house or product-level
brands or some combination of both.
The central role of branding in defining the firm's identity and its position in international
markets means that it is critical to develop explicit international brand architecture. This implies
identifying the different levels of branding within the firm, the number of brands at each level as
well as their geographic and product market scope.

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The most critical element in this structure is the number of levels, i.e. corporate, house/product
business and product and how these are used in conjunction with each other. Related to the
development of this architecture, is the question of how to manage brands that span different
geographic markets and product lines. Who should have custody of international brands, and be
responsible for coordinating their positioning in different national or regional markets.
The significance of the various issues depends to a substantial degree on how a firm has
expanded internationally, and how its international operations are organized.
Some firms, such as P&G and Coca-Cola, have expanded through leveraging their domestic
"power" brands in international markets. Consequently, as they seek to expand further, they have
to consider whether to develop brands geared to specific regional or national preferences. Others
such as Nestlé and Unilever have traditionally adopted country-centered strategies, building or
acquiring a mix of national and international brands.
Such companies have to decide how far to move towards greater harmonization of brands and
integration of their brand architecture across countries, and if so, how to do so. These issues are
particularly critical in European markets where product market structures-traditionally centered
on countries, are now becoming more interlinked. This creates pressures for firms to integrate
their brand strategies across markets within the EU.
2. BRAND ARCHITECTURE
Brand architecture is widely discusses in the business and companies while talking about the
different brands of the same business. It is the method or way by which the different brands of
the company are interrelated. It is also termed as the structure of brands in the company’s
portfolio. A company can have a single brand or may have different multiple brands, some are
main brands; the others are sub brands for supporting the main brands etc. So the brand
architecture is the integrated process of establishing the brand and its relationship with the
company’s other brands.
Brand architecture also reflects the characteristics of the product market. Where products are
strongly culturally embedded, local or national brands are likely to proliferate, catering for
specific local preferences. On the other hand, where customer preferences and desired product
attributes are relatively homogeneous worldwide, and products share common functions, there
are greater opportunities for global or international brands at the corporate or product divisional
level. The brand architecture helps in the revival, retention or merger of brands that have low

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market impact and tend to cause organizational conflicts with the strong brands of the company.
This process of brand building categorically 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 market place. The firm’s
history creates ‘brand baggage’. This includes strong brands with rich traditions as well as the
burden of weak brands with strong traditions. Management inertia and vested interests within the
firm often create barriers to the pruning of weak brands or their absorption into strong brand
categories.
“Brand architecture refers to the structure a business chooses to give to its brand properties.
Choosing the right brand architecture enables a business to improve”
 The cost-effectiveness of its brand and marketing investments.
 Brand architecture can improve marketing ROI by helping ensure brand
positioning and value propositions are properly aligned to specific markets and
segments.
 The scale of branding and marketing investment needed.
 The ease with which individual products can be updated, to keep pace with competitive
and market changes, without discarding previous marketing investments.
 Generally speaking, marketing a large number of brands requires more investment
in time and money than a small number of brands will consume.
 Alignment with internal organizational structures
2.1 Types of Brand Architecture
There are mainly three types of brand architecture in any organization or business.
 Corporate brand or umbrella brand. It means that company has a single brand which
appears or shows on all the products and services.
 Endorsed brand or sub brand, sometimes called “a house of brands”
 Individual brand. In this brand each product of the company has its individual brand
representing that product. Consumer may not know actually the parent company that
owns all these brands.

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Brand architecture makes the connection among all the brands whether it is a corporate or master
brand, product brand or individual brand.
Great architecture is essential to the business as it has all the details on which brand depends and
which are important for touching the consumer’s thoughts and desires.
2.2 Conceptual Analysis of Brand Architecture and Relationships within Product
Categories
For example, has launched an ice-cream line as well as a soft drink under the Mars brand name.
Cadbury’s Milk Tray brand has been extended to desserts, leveraging the brand’s association
with creaminess. Strong international brands often have high visibility and are prime candidates
for brand extensions, especially for entry into new and emerging markets such as Eastern
Europe, India or China. In some cases, a well-known brand name is used on a product line which
is marketed under another brand name elsewhere. For example, Nestle’s Maggi brand, used on
sauces and seasonings, had high recognition in Eastern Europe.
The growing prevalence of corporate endorsement and brand extensions, coupled with a focus on
building a limited number of strong brands in international markets, has led firms to develop
procedures to manage and monitor key strategic brands. A key objective is to maintain their
identity and value in international markets.
Two important aspects need to be considered:
1. The consistency of brand positioning in different countries and across product lines.
2. The value and/or risks of brand extensions in international markets.
Widely different approaches have been adopted for managing strategic brands in international
markets and assigning custody for them. Typically these vary depending on the organizational
structure of the firm product brands. This helps to forge a global corporate identity for the firm
and gathers its products under a global umbrella, thus generating potential cost savings through
promotion of the global corporate brand rather than multiple independent product brands. At the
same time, endorsement by the corporate brand provides reassurance for the customer of a
reliable corporate image and enhances visibility.
The advantages of the corporate endorsement of the product brands include:
 Building umbrella brands
 Establishing global corporate identity
 Developing customer confidence

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  Monitoring key strategic brands
 Enhancing the brand value in the new segments.
Corporate endorsement of product level brands is increasingly used as a mechanism to integrate
the brand structure across country markets, providing a unifying element across product
offerings. For example, Cadbury uses the Cadbury name on all its confectionery products, in
conjunction with product brands such as Dairy Milk, Whisper and so on. Equally, a house brand
is sometimes used on a product worldwide.
At the other end of the spectrum, rising media costs, coupled with the importance of building
high visibility and the need to obtain cost economies, create pressures to extend strong brands
across product lines and country borders. Increasingly, new products and variants are launched
under existing brand names to take advantage of the brand names’ strength and consumer
awareness.
2.3 Alternatives of Brand Architecture
There are many differences in approach when businesses are deciding what brands to market and
one of the most crucial is deciding exactly what scope a brand should have.
2.3.1 Single Brand Strategies:
A simple business may only have one brand, for example, based on the company's name. It could
have many different products, but all promotion would develop the single brand identity. This is
often a good choice for businesses where:
 Products change or are updated quickly (brands can be made more permanent than
product lines).
 The reputation and identity of the company products are bought from is a major
consideration for customers.
 There is some consistency among the business' products even if there are a great many of
them (e g. they solve similar problems, are focused around a single market or broad
segment).
2.3.2 Multi-Brand Strategies:
For more complex customer markets or more diverse product solutions, a multiple brands and
possibly sub-brands may be needed. It is for these multi-brand strategies that brand architecture
is most important.
2.4 Levels of Brand Architecture

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Our brand architecture model defines four levels of activities:
 core activities
 sub brands
 co branding
 stand alone brands
2.4.1 Core Activities:
Core brand activities, literally, are central to what we do and everything we expect a product to
provide: The output of our attributes, availability, price and services.
2.4.2 Sub Brands:
A product or service brand that had its own name and visual identity to differentiate it from the
parent brand. A sub brand may not be a core product of the coca-cola or there may be marketing
or commercial reasons.
Sub brands build on the strength of the product brand. In marketing communications, individual
sub brands will be the heroes of the communication but the company logo will be positioned
prominently.
2.4.3 Co-branding:
The use of two or more brand names in support of a new product, service or venture, Co
branding is when two or more brands are used in support of a new product, service or venture.
We've developed some principles to define the visual relationship with our external partners and
supporters at different levels of participation.
2.4.4 Stand alone brands:
In this type of Brand Architecture each brand stands independently from its parent company with
no visible link between the brand and its parent company. This focuses relevance while
mitigating risk. (e.g.,coke, Tide, Pampers and Duracell are all Proctor & Gamble brands.
2.5 Types of Brand Architecture Strategies
BRAND ARCHITECTURE

Corporate Dominant Mixed Brand Brand Dominant

Strategy Strategy Strategy

Dual Brand Endorsed Brand

Strategy Strategy

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2.5.1 Corporate dominant strategy:
Dominant business strategies define how businesses approach production, marketing and service.
Owners make certain strategies paramount while downplaying other approaches. Company
management focuses on a strategy, such as a marketing emphasis on quality, as part of a distinct
business model that owners hope places the firm in the best competitive position. Large
corporations blend dominant strategies, using one to sell one line of products and other
approaches to market additional company products.
2.5.2 Mixed brand strategy:
The ingredient brand versus the main brand can of course be reversed depending on consumers’
experiences with the two individual brands that constitute the mixed-brand.
a) Dual brand strategy
Dual branding strategy - the association of two or more already well recognized trademarks in a
synergistic retail setting designed to benefit each - is one of the fastest growing areas in
franchising. Numerous systems are learning that they’re significantly more effective in
presenting their products and services to the public when they do so in association with another
brand.
While the business advantages of dual branding are being made more and more clear to
Franchisors, some of the mechanics involved in setting up relationships and negotiating deals
remain murky for those who haven’t been involved in the field.
b) Endorsed brand strategy
A brand that carries the endorsement of a source brand (the parent company), for example
Thums- up! Here, Thums-up! promises a specific taste profile and experience, while sprite (the
source brand) offers an endorsement of overall quality, heritage, and drink expertise. The source
brand is leveraged to communicate value or expertise that strengthens the promise of the
endorsed brand.
2.5.3 Brand dominant strategy:
Strategies Low High tangible differentiation intangible differentiation image brand “ The Brand
represents personal values” utility brand “ The Brand represents a threshold of quality”
functional brand “ The Brand represents functional superiority” experience brand “ The Brand
represents an experience Create emotional attachment & advocacy by appealing to consumers’
aspirations & ego Built by creating the right image, aspirations or associations Works Best:

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Demand-driven categories Higher involvement consumer behavior End result: Behavioral
loyalty - Image-based Examples: Coke, Create emotional attachment & advocacy through
feelings generated by an end-to-end customer experience Built through consistent delivery across
all access .
2.6 Process of Brand Architecture
Normally in small business the brand architecture is simply the compilation of documents which
gives the characteristics of brand architecture and the essential guidelines to the marketers. But
in detail the brand architecture is a very long process.
The brand architecture process consists of following steps.
Step 1: Brand is used as a reference for the buying and selling decisions for providing the
excellent level of satisfaction to the customers.
Step 2: In this step the brand characteristics are defined and brand personality is revealed to
customers. Like a caring mother, an expressive connection and emotional stability is maintained
among customers and brand personality.
Step 3: When the personality is established about the brand, next step is to develop a brand
icon. It’s just like the steps of Maslow’s Hierarchy of need theory in which ladder is moved
upwards. Brand icon is established in the minds of customer to always stay on the top.
Step 4: At this stage the brand is the solid statement of the company and the company is
recognized by that brand.
This whole process makes the brand architecture visible and clear to the targeted customers. But
is very critical decision to choose which brand architecture should be used. For introducing new
product, corporate brand should be used. If another company is being acquired, then individual
branding is best. Sub brands are between the individual and corporate brands. Before choosing
the right brand architecture, business should have a look on the pros and cons of that brands
architecture.

CONCLUSION:
New opportunities for brand expression have created a demand for a new breed of creative
consultant who is not limited by role definitions. These creative consultants, called brand
architects, cross the boundaries of traditional disciplines to provide innovative and cohesive
brand solutions in a variety of mediums.Business leaders are habituated to relying on specialists

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to further their business plans. MBAs, CPAs, marketers and advertising agencies have been
regular fixtures in the development of products and services. But our world has changed,
Competition is severe. There are too many brands and brand messages out there. Market
dynamics are often too volatile for even the most visionary business plan. Even having a great
product is no longer a guarantee of consumer awareness and increased market share. The new
wild card is brand recognition.
In complex multi-brand systems, the market power of the individual brands and synergy effects
are structurally opposing forces. With the instruments provided by the Brand Architecture, these
two parameters can be optimized even in difficult cases (e.g. mergers and acquisitions). To
achieve this, the process of joining and separating brands must be carried out consistently
throughout the entire value-added chain –from R & D to production, from marketing to sales,
and even to distribution channels.

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