Ashesi University

COURSE TITLE : STRATEGIC BRAND

MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER : SECOND, 2010/2011
MODULE 9: Designing and Implementing a
Branding Strategy I: Brand Architecture, Brand-
Product Matrix, Brand Hierarchy
Lecturer: Ebow Spio


Learning Outcomes
Explain how to maximize brand equity across all the
different brands and products of the firm
Appreciate how a firm determines which brand
elements to choose to apply across the products it
offers for sale (Branding Strategy or brand
architecture)
Explain brand terminologies and concepts such as
brand architecture, brand-product matrix, brand
portfolio, brand hierachy,
Explain how cause marketing can build brand equity

11.3
Branding strategy
Branding strategy is critical because it is the
means by which the firm can help consumers
understand its products and services and
organize them in their minds.
Two important strategic tools: The brand-
product matrix and the brand hierarchy help
to characterize and formulate branding
strategies by defining various relationships
among brands and products.
11.4
Branding Strategy or Brand
Architecture
The branding strategy for a firm reflects the
number and nature of common or distinctive
brand elements applied to the different
products sold by the firm.
Which brand elements can be applied to which
products and the nature of new and existing brand
elements to be applied to new products
11.5
The role of Brand Architecture
Clarify: brand awareness
Improve consumer understanding and
communicate similarity and differences between
individual products
Motivate: brand image
Maximize transfer of equity to/from the brand to
individual products to improve trial and repeat
purchase
11.6
Brand-Product Matrix
Must define:
Brand-Product relationships (rows)
Line and category extensions
Product-Brand relationships (columns)
Brand portfolio
1 2 3 4
A
B
C
Products
Brands
11.7
Important Definitions
Product line
A group pf products within a product category
that are closely related
Product mix (product assortment)
The set of all product lines and items that a
particular seller makes available to buyers
Brand mix (brand assortment)
The set of all brand lines that a particular seller
makes available to buyers
11.8
Breadth of a Branding Strategy
Breadth of product mix
Aggregate market factors
Category factors
Environmental factors
Depth of product mix
Examining the percentage of sales and profits
contributed by each item in the product line
Deciding to increase the length of the product line
by adding new variants or items typically expands
market coverage and therefore market share but
also increases costs
11.9
Depth of a Branding Strategy
The number and nature of different brands
marketed in the product class sold by a firm
Referred to as brand portfolio
The reason is to pursue different market
segments, different channels of distribution,
or different geographic boundaries
Maximize market coverage and minimize
brand overlap
11.10
Ford Brand Portfolio
11.11
Designing a Brand Portfolio
Basic principles:
Maximize market coverage so that no potential
customers are being ignored
Minimize brand overlap so that brands arent
competing among themselves to gain the same
customers approval
11.12
Brand Roles in the Portfolio
Flankers
Cash cows
Low-end entry-level
High-end prestige brands
11.13
Brand Hierarchy
A means of summarizing the branding strategy
by displaying the number and nature of
common and distinctive brand elements
across the firms products, revealing the
explicit ordering of brand elements
A useful means of graphically portraying a
firms branding strategy
11.14
Brand Hierarchy Tree: Toyota
Toyota
Corporation
Toyota
(Trucks)
Toyota
(SUV/vans)
Lexus
Toyota
Financial
Services
Toyota
(Cars)
Corolla
Prius Avalon Celica ECHO Matrix
MR2
Spyder
Camry
CE
S
LE
SE
LE
XLE
Platinum
Edition
XL
XLS
SE
SLE
11.15
Brand Hierarchy Levels
Family Brand (Buick)
Corporate Brand (General Motors)
Modifier: Item or Model (Ultra)
Individual Brand (Park Avenue)
11.16
Corporate Brand Equity
Occurs when relevant constituents hold
strong, favorable, and unique associations
about the corporate brand in memory
Encompasses a much wider range of
associations than a product brand
11.17
Family Brands
Brands applied across a range of product
categories
An efficient means to link common
associations to multiple but distinct products
11.18
Individual Brands
Restricted to essentially one product category
There may be multiple product types offered
on the basis of different models, package
sizes, flavors, etc.
11.19
Modifiers
Signals refinements or differences in the brand
related to factors such as quality levels,
attributes, functions, etc.
Plays an important organizing role in
communicating how different products within
a category that share the same brand name
are
11.20
Corporate Image Dimensions
Corporate product attributes, benefits or attitudes
Quality
Innovativeness
People and relationships
Customer orientation
Values and programs
Concern with the environment
Social responsibility
Corporate credibility
Expertise
Trustworthiness
Likability
11.21
Brand Hierarchy Decisions
The number of levels of the hierarchy to use
in general
How brand elements from different levels of
the hierarchy are combined, if at all, for any
one particular product
How any one brand element is linked, if at all,
to multiple products
Desired brand awareness and image at each
level
11.22
Number of Hierarchy Levels
Principle of simplicity
Employ as few levels as possible
Principle of clarity
Logic and relationship of all brand elements
employed must be obvious and transparent
11.23
Levels of Awareness and Associations
Principle of relevance
Create global associations that are relevant across
as many individual items as possible
Principle of differentiation
Differentiate individual items and brands
11.24
Linking Brands at Different Levels
Principle of prominence
The relative prominence of brand elements affects
perceptions of product distance and the type of
image created for new products
11.25
Linking Brands Across Products
Principle of commonality
The more common elements shared by products,
the stronger the linkages
11.26
Brand Architecture Guidelines
Adopt a strong customer focus
Avoid over-branding
Establish rules and conventions and be
disciplined
Create broad, robust brand platforms
Selectively employ sub-brands as means of
complementing and strengthening brands
Selectively extend brands to establish new
brand equity and enhance existing brand
equity
11.27
Corporate Brand Campaign
Different objectives are possible:
Build awareness of the company and the nature of its
business
Create favorable attitudes and perceptions of company
credibility
Link beliefs that can be leveraged by product-specific
marketing
Make a favorable impression on the financial community
Motivate present employees and attract better recruits
Influence public opinion on issues
11.28
Using Cause Marketing to Build Brand
Equity
The process of formulating and implementing
marketing activities that are characterized by an
offer from the firm to contribute a specified
amount to a designated cause when customers
engage in revenue-providing exchanges that
satisfy organizational and individual objectives
11.29
Advantages of Cause Marketing
Building brand awareness
Enhancing brand image
Establishing brand credibility
Evoking brand feelings
Creating a sense of brand community
Eliciting brand engagement
11.30
Green Marketing
A special case of cause marketing that is
particularly concerned with the environment
Explosion of environmentally friendly products
and marketing programs

11.31
Crisis Marketing Guidelines
The two keys to effectively managing a crisis
are that the firms response should be swift
and that it should be sincere.
Key Points
1. Branding strategy is important as a means of enabling
consumers to understand and connect with the brand,
since it can help consumers organize a companys
products and services in their minds.
2. Designing a brand strategy involves decisions regarding
the number of levels to use, how brand elements at
different levels will be combined for a given product, and
how brand elements will be linked to multiple products.
3. Each successive level in a brand hierarchy allows the
firm to communicate additional, specific information about
products.
4. In general, associations for a higher-level brand should
be relevant to as many brands below it as possible, while
brands at the same level should be as differentiated as
possible.

Tutorial
1. Assign students the task of identifying pairs
of competing brands with different branding
strategies
2. Contrast the branding strategies and brand
portfolios of market leaders in two different
industries