How can you create a flexible brand architecture model for future changes?

El modelo de arquitectura de marca, en mi opinión, se puede ir adaptando a las oportunidades de crecimiento, expansión y diversificación que vayan surgiendo a lo largo del tiempo. Un ejemplo de ello es INDITEX: hasta hace pocos a?os operaba bajo un modelo de marcas independientes ( Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Uterqüe, etc.), pero se decidió por utilizar una arquitectura de marca monolítica en el caso de Zara Home.

You have to understand why you and your brand need to have the brand architecture model. See if there’s a point in it or not

Brand architecture refers to the way a company organizes and presents its portfolio of brands to consumers, stakeholders, and the market. It can define the relationships between the parent brand and its sub-brands or product brands within a company. The architecture provides a framework for how different brands coexist, interact, and contribute to the overall perception of the company. Types of brand architecture. 1. Branded house (Eg., Apple, FedEx) 2. Sub brands (Eg., Virgin) 3. Endorsed brands (Eg., Marriott) 4. House of brands (Eg., Unilever, P&G) 5. Hybrid (Eg., Google) The choice of brand architecture depends on factors such as the company's size, the diversity of its products or services, and its strategic goals.

A well-designed brand architecture helps in creating a cohesive brand strategy, optimizing marketing efforts, and enhancing consumer understanding of the brand portfolio. Roles and relationships within a brand architecture should be clearly defined to avoid confusion. Each brand should have a distinct identity and purpose. Take the Marriott International as an example. With its endorsed brand architecture, each sub-brand (e.g., Marriott, Ritz-Carlton) has a specific role and relationship within the overarching structure.

To establish a resilient brand architecture for evolving changes, prioritize modularity. Design a core brand identity with timeless elements, allowing peripheral components to adapt easily. Implement clear guidelines for consistent messaging, ensuring coherence across products or services. Regularly reassess market trends and consumer behaviors to inform adjustments. Foster an agile organizational culture that embraces change and innovation. Establish feedback loops to capture insights, enabling swift responses to emerging opportunities or challenges. Ultimately, a flexible brand architecture integrates adaptability as a foundational principle, positioning your brand to thrive amid dynamic market landscapes

A scalable and modular brand architecture system ensures adaptability to evolving business needs. Lego is a classic example. Its modular system allows for endless combinations, providing a scalable structure for various product lines while maintaining a cohesive brand identity. Within the broader Lego brand, there are distinct sub-brands or product lines, each catering to specific themes and audiences. Examples include Lego City, Lego Friends, Lego Star Wars, and Lego Technic. These sub-brands allow Lego to segment its product offerings for different customer segments and interests.

As an Identity Designer, my goal is to weave a narrative that has the ability to seamlessly integrate new sub-brands, products, or services into the overarching brand architecture. It's about crafting a visual and verbal identity system that transcends the individual elements within it, giving way to a unified brand experience. Striking the right balance between standardisation and customisation ensures a cohesive yet adaptable framework, allowing our brand to evolve gracefully in various scenarios, while maintaining a distinctive and recognisable presence.

While working on brands that attract millions of eyeballs across borders, cultures and ages, the iterative nature of maintaining a dynamic brand architecture is paramount. Regular audits allow us to align the brands positioning with evolving goals and market dynamics, embracing change as an opportunity for improvement. Although, it's crucial to navigate the tweaks judiciously, understanding the delicate balance between continuity and innovation.

Strategy is based on decision making with mostly incomplete information. Allowing changes to the architecture is critical if the company is to stay relevant to the target audience and business strategy changes. It should be part of the mindset and processes to continually evaluate if the current architecture is still working.

In my view it’s important to regularly monitor your competitors’ activity in order to ensure you stay ahead of. Have they changed their brand positioning or architecture? Is someone leveraging an emerging technology or segment to stand out in the category? Has a competitor launched new offerings or expanded or stretched their brand in ways that are intriguing to the consumer? Brand architecture can be used to effectively determine new threats and opportunities as well as gauge the appropriateness of brand stretch or expansion, helping you match your competitors’ moves or become better.

Creating a brand architecture model is akin to constructing a house. It involves a long-term strategy that guides you through the brand development process

To add and contribute to this, I will say that, the actual choice of brand architecture model is a critical decision for any company, as it can have a significant impact on the company's brand strategy, portfolio management, and overall success. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best model for a particular company will depend on its specific circumstances. I believe that the best way to choose a brand architecture model is to carefully consider the company's brand strategy, portfolio size, target segments, and positioning. It is also important to consider the company's future goals and objectives, as the chosen model should be able to support the company's growth and expansion plans.

My perspective on this as an architect and a brand strategist is to design the brand architecture to align with the North Star metric of the business. Think of over designing the foundation, with larger than required structural elements - which translates to investing leadership effort and time into shaping brand strategy - starting by identifying ideal consumer profiles, defining core value proposition, tone of voice etc. Now with an anti-fragile foundation, the structural lattice built over it can accommodate for experiments and agility - which are key to growth and expansion targets in today’s business climate.