Brand definition + architecture

Brand strategy is about staking out territory and building a solid foundation for the future. But you can’t claim that turf and begin building until you can articulate your brand’s essential elements.

What’s a brand definition?

Broadly speaking, brand definition is a boiled down profile that helps answers the question, why does your brand deserve the attention of prospective fans or the loyalty of existing stakeholders?

We use a variety of tools to define your brand along different dimensions. The most common tools include:

• Brand perception;

• Brand space;

• Brand vibe;

• Brand point of view or belief; and

• Brand essence.

These tools force us to come to terms with the true nature of your brand—not only what differentiates it, but why anyone should care about it. By the end of this exercise, we should all concur on exactly why your brand exists.

What’s brand architecture?

No matter the size of your organization or the number of your offerings, you have a brand architecture, whether you recognize it or not.

The simplest brand architecture, of course, is a single brand name associated with a single product or service. Chances are that is not your situation.

If you’ve added products and services over the years, or have participated in mergers or acquisitions, it’s likely that you have something of a patchwork on your hands. Maybe your organization now has divisions and silos, or an array of offerings with very diverse names, possibly without any clear relationship to each other or to your parent brand.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with growth or complexity, but there can be drawbacks to a brand architecture that has evolved primarily through happenstance.

Picture a house with many room additions, each added by a different builder at a different time. Unless the homeowner has been very careful along the way, the house will have probably lost any unifying character.

An incoherent architecture may confuse partners, consumers, or supporters with a jumble of names or a needlessly complex hierarchy. You may find that some of your sub-brands are becoming more difficult to manage—heading in directions that don’t benefit the parent brand.

Mature and growing organizations should periodically review their brand architecture to make sure their house is in good order, makes immediate sense to others, and reflects well on the owner.

Depending on the issues we identify together, we may recommend some combination of streamlining, reorganization, renaming, or a revision to your corporate brand standards.