Managing the relationship with stakeholders is one of the key strategic tasks within an organization. One crucial task of the chosen Brand Architecture is to actively play an important role in keeping all relevant stakeholders “on board”, which means that they are supporting or at least not opposing the envisaged goals and the necessary actions of the organization. This is why the Brand Architecture has to be chosen to best support the reach of the defined business strategy objectives. The four basic design variants for Brand Architecture are “One Firm”, “House Branding”, “Endorsed Branding” and “Separate Branding”.

One Firm

Here, the company with its corporate brand is in the centre of communications. All individual sub-groups and sub-services or products within the company share a joint appearance. All products and services communicate a joint appearance, in which the company logo serves as the central character and symbolizes the corporate brand. An example of this type of Brand Architecture is McDonald’s.

House Branding

House Branding is also called Co-branding 1. The sub-brands are in the background, whereas the corporate brand – or umbrella brand – is prioritised. The sub-brands, service and/or product brands of the company are mainly used as an additive. Examples are Renault with its products Espace, Clio, Scenic, Kangoo etc.

Endorsed Branding

Endorsed Branding is also called Co-branding 2. Here, the corporate brand – or umbrella brand – is in the background and the focus lies on the sub-brand(s). Thus, the sub-brand(s) can develop independent and strong identities. Nestlé and its various fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), Frisco, KitKat, Smarties, LC1, employ Endorsed Branding.

Separate Branding

Usually, the company brand does not appear at all in communication, especially towards the customer market. If it appears, it does so only very discreetly. All individual sub-groups or products and services develop their own specially branded market presence. Synergies in brand management, however, are not pursued. In general, the corporate brand only addresses the stakeholders in the financial market. Examples for separate branding are P&G and its brands Ariel, Pampers, Tempo, Always, Pringles, etc.

We develop the best-fitting Brand Architecture for your organization

With our proven stakeholder-guided Brand & Reputation Management methodology, we actively support organizations in developing the best-fitting Brand Architecture for their defined strategic objectives.

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