Establishing Your Brand Architecture Strategy
Over the last three weeks I have delved into the strength of brand architecture, a branded house masterpiece & from chaos to clarity. Today we are going to consider how this dovetails into strategy – branded house, house of brands or hybrid.
So, which of the brand architecture models mentioned below is right for you? That’s the million-dollar question.
Your brand architecture can be the key to your entire brand strategy. Without one, you’d have no idea where your company is headed, how different elements of your organisation work together, or what you need to do to grow. When used properly, the types of brand architecture that appeal to you can align your personality traits, help to give consistency to your brand messaging or let you know when you need to create completely different stories for sub-sections of your organisation.
Just as no two families are the same, there’s no one-size-fits-all brand architecture that works for every business type. The structure you build for your organisation will depend on your specific circumstances. In fact – some companies even embrace a “hybrid” solution to make sure that their architecture suits their individual needs. To help answer the question “What is brand architecture for my company?” Ask yourself:
As complex as a brand architecture strategy can be to navigate, the more you work on understanding your company, your purpose, and where you want to go with your organisation, the easier it will be to create a plan that’s suitable for your venture. Whether you choose a monolithic brand architecture, an endorsed family, or house of brands, make sure your architecture is:
Top tips for better brand architecture models: How to begin building
The easiest way to develop a brand architecture that’s sure to work for your organisation, is to hand the hard parts over to an expert. A brand architecture consultant will be able to assess your existing structure and build a plan that adheres to the goals and targets of your organisation.
Remember, you’ll need to architect a brand reality in a way that benefits both your customers and your organisation. That means that you need to keep things clear and simple, without forgetting to spend plenty of time on innovation. Try to keep in mind that the goal behind all brand architecture models is to make your strategy clearer for everyone involved – not more cluttered or convoluted. To get started, make sure you take the following steps: