Brand Relationship Spectrum.

PRESENTATION
NANDANA ZUBAIR
Introduction
 Market place is now changing. Brand
managers now face market fragmentation,
channel dynamics, global realities and
business environments that have drastically
changed their task, and then there is also the
cost factor which forces a manager to
leverage brand assets in parts.
 To cope up with these pressures and
complexities, brand managers have had to
create and manage brand teams that are
often intricate and complex, involving sub
brands and endorsed brands.
 This leads us to a new discipline called
“brand architecture”
Brand architecture
 Brand architecture is an organizing
structure of the brand portfolio that
specifies brand roles and the nature of
relationships between brands. A
coherent brand architecture can lead to
impact, clarity, synergy and
leverage rather then than market
confusion, waste and missed
opportunities.
 A tool was introduced in brand architecture
to employ with insight and subtlety, sub
brands and endorsed brands, called
“brand relationship spectrum”
Brand relationship spectrum
 The brand relationship spectrum is related to the role
that brands play. This driver role reflects the degree to
which a brand drives the purchase decision and use
experience
 When a person is asked “what brand did you buy?” the
answer they give will be the brand that had primary
driver role responsibility for the decision.
 The brand relationship spectrum recognizes that these
options define a continuum that involves four basic
strategies and nine sub strategies.
 The position on the spectrum reflects the degree to
which brands are separated in strategy execution and,
ultimately, in the customer's mind.

 (read the importance of sub brands and endorsed brands

from notes)
Brand relationship spectrum
Read
example
s from
the
notes!
Branded • brands
Different
Same identity
house •
1.A house of Brands
 It involves an independent set of stand –
alone brands, each maximizing the impact
on a market.
 Example of P&G : having many major brands
with little or no link to P&G
Negative points:
1. economies of scale and synergies (that came

from leveraging a brand across multiple
businesses) is sacrificed
2. Those brands which can not stand
investments themselves risk stagnation
and decline
3. Individual brands tend to have a narrow range
Positive points: (functional benefits and domination of

niche segments)
1. Avoiding a brand association that would be
incompatible with an offering
 (example of budweiser-associated with beer taste,
with budweiser cola)
2. Signaling breakthrough advantages of new offerings
 (toyota’s example of introducing the separate Lexus
name and differentiating it from any
predecessors at toyota)
3. Owing a new product class association by using a
powerful name that reflects a key benefit
 (examples of shampoo: head and shoulders-dandruff
control shampoo, pantene-enhancing hair
vitality)
4. Avoiding or minimizing channel conflicts
 (L’Oreal reserves the Lancome brand for department
and specialty stores that would not support a
brand available in drug and discount stores)
Shadow endorser
 A shadow endorser brand is not connected
visibly to the endorsed brand but many
consumers know about the link.
 It provides some of the advantages of having
a known organization backing the brand,
while minimizing any association
contamination.
 It communicates that the organization
realizes that shadow – endorsed brand
represents a totally different product and
market segment.

 (example of a restrurant)
2. Endorsed brands
 Endorsed brands are independent brands
but they are also endorsed by another
brand, usually an organizational brand.
 It provides credibility and substance to the
offering and usually plays a minor driver
role
 (example of Cadbury, mars, nestle,
terry’s, walls and a control which had no
endorsement- endorsement really helps)
 Making the endorser brands strategy work
involves understanding the distinction
between an organizational brand and
product brand.
Token endorser
 A variant of the endorser strategy is a token
brand endorser, usually a master brand
involved in several product-market context,
which is substantially less prominent than the
endorsed brand.
 It can be a logo, like nestle written on Kitkat bar.
 Its basic role is to provide reassurance and
credibility
 It will have impact if it is well known,
consistent, has a visual metaphor
symbol and appears on family of
products that are well-regarded.
 Mistake: if the endorsement is not well known
or well regarded or if the endorsed brand is
well regarded and does not need
endorsement.

Linked name
 Name with common elements creates a
family of brands with an implied or
implicit endorser
(McDonalds- Big Mac, Mc Crispy, Mac Arabia,
here “Mc” links to McDonalds in effect

creates an implied McDonalds’s endorser.
 A linked name provides the benefits of a
separate name without having to
establish a second name from scratch
and link it to a master brand.
3. Sub brands
 Sub brands are brands connected to a master
or a parent brand and augment or modify
the associations of that master brand. The
master brand here is the primary frame of
reference, which is stretched by sub brands
that add attributes associations, application
association, a signal of breakthrough
newness, a brand personality and even
energy.
 One role of sub brand s to extend a master
brand into a meaningful new segment.
 The link between a sub brands is extremely
close thus a sub brand has considerable
potential to affect the associations of the
master brand.
 It can either be a RISK or an OPPORTUNITY.
 Master brand here will have a major driver
The sub brand as a co-driver
 When both master brand and sub brand
have major driver roles, it is
considered a co-driver situation,
usually for this case the master brand
already has some real credibility in
the product class, it may be providing
presence, visibility and attitude.
(Gillette and Mach3 example)
 Here unless the two brands stand for
comparable quality, the association
might tarnish the more prestigious
brand.
4. A branded house
 In a branded house strategy, a master brand moves
from being a primary driver to a dominant driver
role across a multiple offerings. The sub brand
goes from having a modest driver role to being a
descriptor with little or no driver role.
 This option this puts a lot of eggs in a single basket,
which of course is very risky as it is difficult to
maintain a cool image or a quality position with a
large market share, it can also limit the firms
ability to target specific groups: compromises
must be made. However the branded house
enhances clarity, synergy and leverage and thus
should be the default brand architecture option.
 It is much easier to understand and recall.
Same brands with different
identities
 Two assumptions:
1. There can be different brand identities and positions
in every context despite the common brand
name. (though the use of dozen brand identities
cause brand anarchy and is recipe for ineffective
and inefficient brand building)
2. There is a single brand identity and position
everywhere even through the imposition of a
single brand identity risks a mediocre
compromise that is ineffective in many of its
context

 There usually needs to be a limited number of

identities that share common elements and have
distinctions as well.
Selecting the right position in
the brand relationship
spectrum
View figure 2 from the article
Does the master brand
contribute to the offering?
 Associations enhancing the value

proposition
 Credibility with organizational
associations
 Visibility
 Communication efficiencies

Will the master Brand be
strengthened?
Is there a compelling need
for a separate brand?
 Creating and owning an associations

 Representing a new, different offering
 Avoid an association
 Retain/capture a customer/ brand bond
 Avoiding channel conflict
Will the business support a
new brand name?
Conclusion
Q&A

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PRESENTATION

 (read the importance of sub brands and endorsed brands

1. economies of scale and synergies (that came

here “Mc” links to McDonalds in effect

 There usually needs to be a limited number of

 Associations enhancing the value

 Creating and owning an associations

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