Brand architecture
Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organisation. It is the way in which the brands within a company’s portfolio are related to and differentiated from one another. The architecture should define how the corporate brand and sub-brands relate to and support each other.
There are three key levels of branding:
Corporate brand
Sometimes referred to as an 'umbrella' brand with good examples being Virgin Group and The AA. Often consumer-facing brands used across all of a firm's activities and this is how they are known to all their stakeholders. Corporate brands may also be used in conjunction with product descriptions or sub-brands: for example Virgin Trains or AA Insurance.
Endorsement (sub)brands
These brands include a parent brand (which may be an umbrella or corporate brand) which acts as an endorsement to the sub-brand. The endorsement should add credibility to the sub-brand in the eyes of consumers.
Individual product brand
An individual brand presented to consumers with little or no prominence given to the parent company name. Other stakeholders, such as shareholders or partners, will know the producer by its company name.