How do you decide when to add or remove a brand from your portfolio?

The SUPER powerful 3 bucket framework – CORE, MORE, EXPLORE- framework. 1. The CORE – These are todays’ bread & butter brands with well-established product market fits. They have significant volumes, value, growth & create net value for the business. 2. The MORE – These are nascent brands that don’t have big volumes/ values today but are critical to stay relevant with consumers in the immediate future. 3. The EXPLORE – These are big bet innovations that require significant time, effort & energy investments today with a view to create value in the future. Brands that don’t fall into the 3 Buckets are “Zombies” & should be axed at the earliest. This releases organizational energy to drive the CORE, MORE & EXPLORE brands.

Brand Fit: Evaluate how well the potential new brand aligns with your existing portfolio in terms of target audience, brand positioning, and overall strategic direction. Growth Potential: Assess the growth potential of the new brand and its potential impact on your overall portfolio's performance and market positioning. Removing a Brand: Performance Analysis: Evaluate the performance of the brand within your portfolio, considering factors such as market share, profitability, and brand relevance. Strategic Alignment: Determine whether the brand aligns with your current business strategy and long-term objectives. Assess if its presence adds value to your portfolio.

Brands always needs to be innovating and staying relevant to its customer. A perfect example is MINX. They didn't move with the times and allowed knock offs to happen all over the world. Sometimes you have to spend at the beginning of your brands journey and do the right and relevant things, to protect your brand. Minx was and still is (IMHO) the best nail 'sticker' coating, but the cost of Minx compared to the cheap knock-offs available on the high street, doesn't justify itself to the consumer, hence, very few pros use it in the salon anymore!! Sad but true.

1. Look at the category growth: is the CAGR slowing down on a rolling basis? 2. Look at other markets: have markets successfully and sustainably added to the portfolio? 3. Look at consumer appetite: does research indicate appetite for innovation?

The brand must continuously evolve and adapt to remain relevant to the ever-changing needs and aspirations of its target audience. When a brand has lost its relevance and connection with consumers that's the time to either reinvent the brand strategy or remove the brand from one's portfolio.

O portfólio precisa ser de verdade. Se você contribuiu com o processo de alguma marca que n?o teve resultados satisfatórios, e, após isso, você fez uma reanálise e percebeu onde errou, pense em documentar e registrar sua vis?o mercadológica ao invés de simplesmente apagar do portfólio. Porém se a marca atendida agiu de má fé em algum momento, tirou proveito, fez práticas como greenwashing, abriu m?o de valores que s?o inegociáveis para você como profissional, remova todo e qualquer vínculo. Em linhas gerais, n?o s?o só as marcas com melhor desempenho que merecem ir ao seu portfólio pois nossa trajetória profissional é também feita de erros.

To decide whether to add or remove a brand, evaluate your portfolio's performance against objectives using metrics like market share, growth rate, profitability, customer satisfaction, brand equity, and portfolio matrix. Compare with competitors to identify gaps or overlaps, helping pinpoint underperforming, overextended, or redundant brands that may need adjustment.

The portfolio should serve as an umbrella fit for the strategic objectives of the company. Brands should fit in the need space for customer sets. Different brand propositions would appeal to different target segments, and potential to win and retain the audience would be a key parameter to include and exclude individual brands.

La decisión de retirar una marca del portafolio de una empresa generalmente se basa en varios factores, como el rendimiento de la marca en términos de ventas, rentabilidad, posicionamiento en el mercado, relevancia para el público objetivo, y si la marca está alineada con la estrategia general de la empresa. Además, se consideran factores externos como cambios en las tendencias del mercado, competencia, regulaciones gubernamentales y percepción pública de la marca.

When deciding to add o remove the brand I always evaluate these 3 things: - Does the brand value align with the values of my clients? How can their needs be satisfied by the brand? - KPI metrics of brand performance and if it can help me to achieve my business goals in terms of sales volume, margins and growth rate. - Human factor: if the brand representative/employee has the same vision and we can grow together on a long term basis or is he only interested in achieving short term goals while he is in his chair and what happens on the market after he leaves doesn’t matter for him.

*Value Addition *Topline Addition *Creating niche segment *Slow but sure resonance with new audience If these are missing...then one has to either revise or course correct!

Evaluating the fit is so important. Can you execute what the brand requires? Are you connected with the brand? The moment you feel disconnected as a team, it’s hard to produce the quality of work a brand perhaps requires. Do you “get” the brand. Can you effectively make branding or marketing suggestions that make business and creative sense for the brand.

When considering adding a brand, evaluate the market opportunity it represents. This includes understanding the target market, the competitive landscape, and the brand's unique value proposition. Conduct market research to validate the demand and potential for growth. For me, a thorough opportunity assessment has often illuminated how a new brand could capture untapped market segments or enhance our portfolio's competitive edge.

When adding a new brand to your portfolio, conduct detailed market research to understand customer preferences and the competitive landscape. Assess the brand's feasibility, required resources, and how it aligns with or impacts existing brands. You can consider reading this resource "Brand Portfolio Strategy" by David Aaker for insights on managing brand portfolios effectively

A new brand is a new direction. Hence, it is essential to consider what goals the brand serves to achieve. The value proposition should augment brand strategic objectives, be in customer segment engagement and brand growth potential.

A key point to consider when launching a new brand is its incrementality (to your current portfolio offer and to the category) and if it can generate its own margin to invest without diluting both focus and resources from the rest of your business, specially your core.

Consumers think and shop by category - brands can arch over multiple categories but there comes a time when a brand cannot be stretched - that’s when we look at a new brand. It’s not easy and very expensive.

I believe there's no fixed method to decide to add or remove a brand from a portfolio. But bringing in the probable solution involves strategic considerations such as market trends, brand performance, alignment with company goals, and potential for growth. Analyze market research, financial ratoos and consumer feedback is helpful. We can't be a hyperactive or laid back in our approach, a regular balanced assessment on each brand's contribution to overall objectives helps to adjust the portfolio accordingly.

The Brand Dilution is a risk. This occurs when a brand extends its identity too far, resulting in confusion or a loss of brand focus. For example, if a luxury brand starts offering lower-priced, mass-market products, it may dilute the perception of exclusivity and quality associated with the brand.

Every brand carries risks, whether it's market acceptance, regulatory challenges, or competitive threats. When adding a brand, assess these risks carefully against your company's risk tolerance and the potential impact on your existing portfolio. When contemplating removal, consider the possible loss of customer loyalty or market presence. Weighing these risks has sometimes led to creative mitigation strategies rather than outright addition or removal.

Google has a theory called "Failing Fast" on their beta programs and new releases. Fail fast is a streamlined, trial-and-error approach to software and product development. It simply means spending the littlest amount of time Learning how it works as well as its benefits and challenges. Cutting your losses if necessary or digging deeper if it has merit.

Here are some general guidelines ? Alignment with Company’s Strategy and Objectives- - Evaluate if the brand aligns with the core values and objectives like revenue, profitability, market share etc. ? Brand Performance- - Evaluate the brand’s performance against the objectives not only in the past but also the future opportunity ? Market Trends and Competition- - Asses the market trends and consumer demand along with competitive landscape to identify gaps ? Brand Equity- - Evaluate the contribution of the brand towards company’s reputation and image ? Test and Evaluate before Implementation- - Test with stakeholders & TG to get feedback and check the results against the objectives

Before making final decisions, test your hypotheses if possible. This could involve market tests for a new brand or assessing the impact of phasing out a brand on customer perception and sales. Once a decision is made, closely monitor the outcomes against your expectations, being prepared to adjust your strategy as necessary. This iterative approach has allowed for flexibility and responsiveness in managing our brand portfolio.

I disagree here. I come from a marketing research background, and I’ve watched dozens of focus groups and performed studies to test these decisions. My experience tells me that target audiences might reject new brands until they are fully deployed and implemented in a tangible way in the real world. Except for big red flags we might have missed when they are tested abstractly in focus groups while still in the “beta phase,” people often react conservatively, and great ideas get buried. The decision to add or remove brands should be mainly a strategic intent by the company management based, of course, on data to support that decision, like, for example, market research that shows previously existent brands cannot stretch to those segments.

A cette étape, il est en effet essentiel de tester. La clé pour réussir à prendre une décision après des études quanti ou des entretiens quali, c'est la définition des objectifs à nouveau ! - qu'est ce que je souhaite tester ? - quels sont mes certitudes ? - quels sont mes doutes ? - quelle est ma capacité d'adaptation post test ? Si on ne cadre pas suffisamment en amont la démarche de test, on peut se retrouver dans l'incapacité de prendre une décision de lancement !

It is a very challenging and strategic decision of adding/removing a brand from your portfolio. It's important to consider whether the brand aligns with the overall portfolio strategy and the target market. You need to monitor market trends and consumer preferences. Brands that are no longer resonating with the target audience or are experiencing declining demand may need to be reevaluated for their place in the portfolio. Reviewing key performance indicators (KPIs)such as sales, customer feedback, profitability, and market share for each brand helps in determining its effectiveness within the portfolio. If a brand is not aligned with the long-term vision or direction of the portfolio, it may need to be removed to streamline the focus.

If a product's place inside the organization no longer meets those objectives, it is no longer relevant. Products that aren't doing well should be eliminated. They deplete the company's resources and funds, which could be employed for profit elsewhere. Harvesting is a method that allows an organization to maximize the cash flow from a product while it is still available. This method is typically used when a product's sales volume and market share are gradually falling. Harvesting involves lowering company expenses or raising product prices without increasing production or operating expenditures. This strategy's consequence is a steady fall in revenues. When the product no longer generates positive cash flow, it is divested.

Deciding when to add or remove a brand from your personal portfolio demands careful thought. Consider its alignment with your long-term goals and values, as well as market trends. Adding a brand should enhance your skills and marketability, while removing one might free up resources for more promising ventures. Evaluate each brand's performance and impact to ensure your portfolio reflects your best work and resonates with your audience.

Just like a CV, the more you advance in your career, the more older portfolio elements become a little less relevant. As the world progresses and different ways of doing things emerge, one has to be able to showcase that movement in your skill set, clientelle and product offerings. As a brand consultant, I like to be able to showcase a portfolio across different industry's to show my range and success profile in transferable skillset. As a general brand manager/person, it maybe great to be more industry specific to showcase years of experience and expertise in the same sphere. At the end of the day, knowing which foot is your best one, may be case specific to what you are using your portfolio to achieve

Tras muchos altos y bajos en mi carrera empresarial, he aprendido a no hacer de menos a nadie. Pero si alguien me genera más inconvenientes y problemas que beneficios, tengo la potestad de rescindir mi colaboración, porque lo mío con lo suyo es siempre una colaboración. Hay que tener presente que tiene que dejar de compensar cualquier traba que ponga.