Brand Strategy and Architecture
February 09
© 2009 Blueprint Advisory Pty Ltd

Brand Strategy

What is brand strategy?
• Central unifying idea which aligns behaviours, actions, communications
• Works across services
• Builds on a vision and is aligned to business strategy
• Illustrates who you are and what you do
• Defines positioning, differentiation, competitive advantage
• Needs to resonate with all stakeholders – internal and external
• Guides marketing
• Makes it easier for the salesforce to sell more
• Provides clarity and inspiration to employees

Who are you?

Who will you be?

What do you need to do?
• Be true and committed to your strategy – sound, don’t waiver
• Invest in developing your identity – this will cost - management time, $$
• Be consistently consistent – needs addressing
• Have a brand strategy – drives marketing, sales, inspires employees
• Have Board support – starts at the top; it is a top down process
• Walk the talk – need to be clear on what is ‘walked and talked’

Types of brand architecture

Monolithic

Monolithic
• Single master brand which everything is unified
• One name – one visual system
• Features/benefits of product or service are less important than brand
promise
• Client trusts the brand
• Brand extensions built by descriptors

BMW

British Airways

Commonwealth Bank

Endorsed

Endorsed
• Marketing synergy between product and service name and the parent
• Product and service has a clear market presence; benefits from parent
association
• Parent endorses the product/service

Endorsed logos: Product, Corporate, Service and Event

Branded

Branded
• Found in FMCG companies
• Separate corporate identity from brands – Unilever, Kelloggs
• Brands have names, lifecycles, personalities of their own
• Often compete with each other

Proctor & Gamble

Hybrids

Hybrid
• Combination of all three – monolithic, branded and endorsed
• Occur through M&As
• Preserve the goodwill associated with the acquisition

Telstra

Which architecture matches
your desired attributes?

Consider
• Reflects business strategy
• Simple structure
• Designed around client needs
• Flexible
• Consistent with values
• Reflects brand value synergies

The process to develop your brand
strategy and architecture

Developing the brand
• What are we? What are our competitive strengths? What are our deep
capabilities that are sustainable? What founding characteristics need to
endure? What are we proud of and proud to be?
• What do we do? What are our key services? What future services will we
offer?
• How do we do it? What skills, approach do we have? How do we work
these to our competitive advantage?

Developing the brand
• Who are we? What’s our personality, our values? What has made us who
we are today? What do we do or need to do to deliver?
• Why do we do it? What’s our cause, purpose, mission? What do you like
about coming to this place?

Stages
Brand Audit and Brand Strategy and Group Brand Design Enthusiastic and
Discovery Service Brand and Service Brand Committed Leadership
Strategies Design
Create a Project, elevate as Develop Brand architecture Implementation of
Mission critical. brand essence. and Market offerings new identity –
Brand audit of key collateral. Stakeholder consensus on Development of internal and external
Review and assess values, brand brand architecture, visual expression,
essence, and competitive values, brand essence. across core applications Systems and processes
Brand brief. and communications for maintaining standards
strengths.
Test/feedback
Guidelines and standards

Making this happen

Making this happen - focus
• Determine project name –Communicate. Establish communication
channel for awareness, involvement and accountability
• Undertake brand audit – gather and assess collateral
• Develop brand essence – workshop and get consensus
• Consider architecture direction – leadership to determine in light of
strategy
• Engage a designer – experienced, capacity and quick understanding
• Determine collateral – business critical; a unique & defining application