11. Brand Architecture

Brand extension, mergers and acquisitions extend the product line of a brand. There are many brands now operating under a big brand umbrella. It is now essential for the brand manager to arrange new brands and structure them for effective administration and control. This may involve employing more people, perhaps different brand managers for each product line. In this chapter we will explore these arrangements with master brands and sub-brands, to understand their architecture and use different case studies and examples to illustrate the different types of brand architecture that are available. Importantly, we will look at the essence of having a brand identity. Even though brand architecture may be more relevant for established brands, this knowledge will be essential for emerging smaller brands which are considering brand extension and acquisitions, to help them plan and identify how they want to structure their sub-brands.