We have recently been having this conversation with a number of companies and clients who seem to think focusing on a house of brands is the right way to go!
No, we cry, and here’s why.
It’s incredibly important and vital to get your company’s brand architecture right. It has to be understood, thought through, agreed, and stuck to right across your entire organisation.
Brand architectures fall into four categories:
- Branded house (example FedEx)
- Sub-brands (example Apple)
- Endorsed brands (Kellogg’s)
- House of brands (P&G)
All of these different routes provide pros and cons. BUT (and this is a big but) if you are a new start-up or a small SME business (with limited resources/budget), Florence and James strongly recommend a branded house approach.
When talking to smaller businesses about why they want to use a different brand architectural approach the response is often because they have:
- Other products or services
- Different target audiences for products
- Want to focus on / launch one service/product first
All of which works under a branded house that holds them all together. 100% it does work. Plus, the additional benefits of a branded house are:
1. It’s cheaper
It costs a lot less to create and build one brand not several.
2. More efficient
It will take up less of your limited resources and time. Your focus is on one brand across your business, not split and competing in several ways. For marketing, this takes a lot less time and people to manage – fewer versions, variations, and channels.
3. Stronger brand consistency
This will aid your brand awareness, recognition, and traction. As a new or small business trying to compete with larger companies, it’s hard to get your name known, to be seen and heard. As a branded house the consistency of your branding will build momentum and drive recognition and growth more quickly.
4. Aids audience clarity
If you are a consistent branded house, people will understand who you are, what you do, and what you offer. It’s less confusing. This is hugely important when you are starting out or still relatively small. You don’t have a large global brand name (or the money) to support sub-brands or extended brands.
If you would like further information on the different pros and cons of the brand architecture options, please contact us and we can send across our free information, or if need help working out how to position your brand, please get in touch at susie@florenceandjames.co.uk .
