Types Of Brand Architecture

02 June 21

Brand architecture is the system of organizing multiple brands under the same entity. It differentiates the brands that are related yet distinct from one another, with integrated names, colors, and other branding elements. Generally, brand architecture falls into one of these types: branded house (monolithic), house of brands (pluralistic), or endorsed. With experience in brand architecture, Milestone understands how the system works and can guide you through its different types.

The branded house, such as Google, is headed by a strong master brand with correlated sub-divisions. According to Alina Wheeler, branding consultant and author of Designing Brand Identity, sub-divisions utilize the name of their master brand to entice customers in making choices based on brand loyalty. As a result, Google Maps and Google Translate also became popular since people recognize the reliability of its master brand and expect the same quality of service. 

Contrastingly, the house of brands like Unilever has a parent brand and sub-divisions with different identities. These brands would have unrelated names, personalities, and even logos and color schemes.

This type allows for an entity to reach different audiences and markets through its various brands. Dove, Ponds, and Lipton enjoy this freedom, gaining the trust of different target audiences according to the identities they project. Some brands can be a hybrid of the two approaches, with subdivisions distinct from their parent brand yet benefitting from the association. Apple is a real-life example of endorsed brand architecture, with its subdivisions iPhone and Mac gaining the trust of Apple’s customers yet distinguishing themselves as different products. 

Hence, brand architecture and its types are vital to understand as it also helps to build customer perceptions. Through names, colors, and other branding elements, customers could develop trust towards a brand due to its parent or target new audiences according to its unique identity. With the guidance of the leading brand consultant in Indonesia Milestone, choosing the right brand architecture type would help in managing your brands easily.