Sarah Worsham

On Monday, we talked a bit about various branding strategies and why you should consider picking one to help your business and marketing strategies. With each branding strategy comes both advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of.

• Corporate Brand – For companies that only offer one benefit to a customer, they usually use a corporate brand (unless they have an overall holding company).
  • Advantages: Everything the company does is attributed to its brand.
  • Disadvantages: Everything the company does is attributed to its brand.
• Distinct Brand – Some companies choose to release each product or service as its own brand (ex. Proctor & Gamble).
  • Advantages: Each product stands alone so failures do not affect the entire company or other products.  Distinct benefits for each product can be directly attributed to a specific brand.
  • Disadvantages: Each product will require its own marketing strategy and budget, with no synergy possible between products.  Successes will not be directly attributed to the company’s brand.
• Hybrid Brand – When a product extends the benefit of an overall brand or company, some companies use a hybrid branding strategy.
  • Advantages: Marketing and branding can take advantage of the overall brand for budgets and reputation.
  • Disadvantages: Any problems or negative press for either the product or the overall brand will affect both brands.
• Umbrella Brand – If a company offers different products with different benefits, but they all extend the same value to the customer, sometimes they are all offered under an overall brand (ex. Nike – athletic gear).
  • Advantages: Each product contributes to the shared value offered to the customer.  Marketing and branding strategies can be at the shared value level, touting all the specific benefits.
  • Disadvantages: Any product can negatively affect the overall brand and specific benefits may be muddled in the overall shared value.

Whichever branding strategy you choose, once you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each, you can take those into account when preparing your marketing strategies.

(photo by Sarah Jane @ Flickr CC)

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