The third of my guides on brands, this focuses on a brand's architecture. Here, I discuss how brand strategy, brand culture, and the brand communication which flows from them, are the building blocks of a brand's architecture with examples.

1. A brand's architecture
The third in a series of guides on brand building
by Geeta Sundaram

2. By virtue of a brand being a relationship between customers/stakeholders and products/services/companies,
a brand is an artificial construct. To complicate matters, it is an intangible asset that companies own.
It is created by advertising and brand communications and marketing professionals, in order to persuade
consumers/stakeholders to buy from, or to do business with a company.
Besides unique product features which companies are always trying to introduce into their products and
services – which might or might not constitute intellectual property – there are creative aspects that make a
product a brand, and help it grow.
Here, we shall look at the building blocks of a brand’s architecture and what it takes to make brands
distinctive.

3. A brand is a product, embellished with features, benefits and cultural values, that forms a relationship with
customers and stakeholders.
It begins its journey at Point A, which we can define in terms of it being a new, unknown brand, or one that is
ageing for its audience, or that is being left behind by competition, or about to be relaunched.
It has to reach point B, which we define in terms of the company’s objective. It would depend on where we
are at Point A, but let’s say it is about getting our new brand into the considered set of brands by the
consumer, or repositioning the brand as one for an older audience, or introducing new features that help us
stay ahead of the competition, or a new positioning for relaunch.
Once we have point A and the destination, point B, worked out, there are certain building blocks of brand
building that we need to consider.
The starting point of a brand’s journey

4. Since a brand is a construct, it has certain dimensions to it, all of which are carefully created.
The three main building blocks of a brand’s architecture and its journey, are
- Brand strategy
- The brand’s cultural values
- The communication that conveys the consumer benefit and helps the brand reach point B.
The brand strategy leads us to the brand’s cultural values and both, independently, influence
the kind of brand communication we create.
Building blocks of a brand’s architecture

5. The brand strategy charts
out the route for the brand,
and the cultural values
provide the guiding
principles for the journey,
both of which reflect in the
communication.
How brand strategy and culture affect communication
Brand Strategy Brand Culture
Brand Communication

6. - The route map from point A to point B
- Based on understanding competition
- Based on insights into consumer behaviour
- Positions the brand the way we want consumers to think of it
- Promises consumers a benefit which helps them believe the positioning
Based on the OMI Strategy Blueprint that we used to apply at Ogilvy, it comprised the competitive
landscape, the consumer’s decision-making model, the risks of changing brands for the consumer
and ways of overcoming it, and finally arriving at a positioning for the brand based on a brand
benefit or promise that would help consumers believe us.
Brand strategy

7. As I mentioned in an earlier presentation, a brand must have attributes, and an attitude, a personality.
A brand has several cultural underpinnings:
- Outer symbols by which it is recognized
- The way it performs
- How it makes us feel or think of ourselves
- The core values that drive it to be what it is
The stronger the brand, the more widely accepted and known its cultural aspects will be.
It is important to note that in a brand’s long journey, it might sometimes be necessary to change some
of these cultural values. The brand culture mapping architecture allows us to do so, without
changing the core values.
Brand’s cultural values

8. In the old days in advertising, we had tone and manner that sufficed to capture
the kind of brand we wanted to be in the communication.
However, as more brands entered the marketplace and unique product features
became harder to find, cultural values started to play a bigger role in bran
differentiation.
Inspired by Geert Hofstede’s seminal work, Cultures and Organisations, we at Ogilvy India had adapted
his thinking to work on brands, since we believed brands are defined as much by who they are, as what
they do.
Geert Hofstede as well as the World Values Survey continue to provide invaluable direction and insights
on how people think and act in different societies.
Brand’s cultural values

9. Brand positioning and cultural values - some examples
Apple
IBM
Coca cola
Pepsi
Empowers you to be what you
want to be
Solve some of the world's
biggest problems
The taste that refreshes
The taste preferred by the new
generation
Friend and guide
Smart tech partner
Shared refreshment
Outspoken individuality
Brand Positioning Cultural values

10. Brand positioning and cultural values - some examples
Nike
Mercedes-Benz
BMW
Helps you to be better than
you know
The best-engineered car in the
world
The most advanced cars in the
world
Irreverent challenger
Classical excellence
Technologically ahead
Brand Positioning Cultural values

11. As I mentioned in a previous presentation, brand values assume even greater significance in the case of
corporate brands.
The cultural brand values for a corporate brand would flow from the corporate brand strategy, but my
view is that it would differ in some respects from product brands:
- In product brands, the consumer starts with being most concerned with the particular of how do I
benefit from using this brand
- In corporate brands, the consumer begins with the general bigger picture of what is this company all
about and what has it done for the community so far
- Product brands are driven more by consumer benefit or brand promise
- Corporate brands are driven more by brand values and track record
Corporate brand’s architecture

12. To that extent, corporate brands are not built by communication alone, but by proven performance and
the company’s values.
When there is corporate brand communication, the consumer might discover that he or she is actually a
consumer of a few of the company’s product brands, and has a favourable image of them.
The fact that product brands are better known than corporate brands is a telling comment on how little
companies invest in building their corporate brand.
It probably comes from a mistaken view that product brands are in direct contact with customers,
whereas companies are not.
Corporate brand vs product brand

13. - Brand strategy and brand cultural values are both important to building a brand and neither is a
substitute for the other
- It is possible to think through a brand’s cultural values even for a new brand, as a desired brand values
signpost and adhere to it
- That both brand strategy and brand values are not just tools to begin a brand’s journey, but to help
track its performance as well and allow for course correction whenever necessary.
To conclude

14. For more on brands, head to the Businesss and Brands page
on my blog www.peripateticperch.com