EXPERT TAKE

The shift towards umbrella branding is inescapable

hould a firm organise all its market through the marketing effort. Brands like offerings under the common umbrella Ray-Ban or Raymond add a certain brand name (for instance, Tata) or should it intangible value to the underlying product. maintain a portfolio of independent brands Many customers may not recognise (Fanta, Sprite, Kinley, etc. by Coca Cola)? What sunglasses as Ray-Ban by appearance and is the right approach? The truth is somewhere suiting as Raymond by touch. But when the in between and the classical answer is it brand identifier is there (a logo or a name or depends. The brand must add value to the other insignia), the customers have a higher marketing effort and if it does, it makes sense recall, they have an associated vivid imagery, to use an umbrella brand. The brand Dove, an assurance of consistent quality. This results when it appears on a bottle of body lotion or in preference for the brand and willingness to shampoo, communicates certain pay a premium. ideas about the product. The name Since brands are expensive Johnson & Johnson, when it to create and maintain, it appears on a bottle of baby oil or a makes sense for a firm to pack of ear buds, carries positive leverage the strength of an associations and the customer is already established brand prepared to pay a premium for it. across product categories. Most These are cases where the umbrella firms maintain portfolio of brand has added value. There is a product variants and brands. leveraging effect of the brand; a Managing several premium for the product obtained independent brands as and brand is strengthened. But this ANANDAKUTTAN separate entities without need not be the case always. cannibalising each other is not B UNNITHAN If the brand is diluted as a easy. The media is PROFESSORresult of the product association, fragmented; managerial MARKETING, IIM or the brand has specific bandwidth available is a KOZHIKODE meanings that do not rhyme well constraint. The focus a brand with the product category, needs from the marketing and umbrella branding is not good strategy. A sales organisation may not be easy to Harpic chocolate or Dettol ice cream may provide. Many firms can find the challenge of never be attempted. managing multiple brands intimidating. Brands are not just labels to discriminate Therefore, the trend towards umbrella product offerings in the market. May be this brands is inescapable and has many was the beginning of branding brands as advantages economies of scale, ease of identifiers. But today, brands represent the management, and higher customer recall intangible value that is created by the firm due to higher available budget. The

challenge is how to organise many offerings, sometimes cutting across product categories, into a common consistent architecture (brand architecture). This is where umbrella brands and sub-brands help. The umbrella brand could be the corporate brand under which there are multiple sub-brands (Mahindra, Ford, Apple iPad and iPad Mini). Maruti Suzuki balances many close variants like AStar, Alto, Estilo in a narrow price range targeted at very similar demographic profiles. Umbrella brands could be independent of corporate name. For example, Lifebuoy, Close up or Dove these are not corporate brands but powerful brands that straddle across product variants and categories. How can a firm manage a portfolio of brands? The decision must be based on two criteria: 1) What are the brand meanings? 2) How do these brand meanings fit with the product offerings? It means, there is a synergy between the brand and the product. A brand can have a specific imagery that is bound to a product category or a benefit. Such narrow meanings restrict the extensibility and usefulness to serve as an umbrella brand. So, Dettol might make a good umbrella brand for anti-septic products, health soaps, but never for ice creams. The perceived fit and synergy is not there because of the specific imagery customers have about the brand. Umbrella brands tend to be defined and managed at a broader level with more abstract meanings and symbolism. Such meanings make the transferability across categories easy to navigate.