Your privacy, your choice

We use essential cookies to make sure the site can function. We also use optional cookies for advertising, personalisation of content, usage analysis, and social media.

By accepting optional cookies, you consent to the processing of your personal data - including transfers to third parties. Some third parties are outside of the European Economic Area, with varying standards of data protection.

See our privacy policy for more information on the use of your personal data.

for further information and to change your choices.

Skip to main content
Log in

Designing and implementing brand architecture strategies

  • Commentary
  • Published:
Journal of Brand Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Given the importance of brands as intangible assets for organizations, the ability to strategically manage those brands is critical. A well-designed and well-implemented brand architecture strategy can provide a product roadmap to the future for a brand, clarifying where it can go and how it can get there. The brand architecture strategy of a firm determines which brand elements a firm should apply across new and existing products and services. It is virtually impossible to manage and maximize the value and equity of a brand without a clear, compelling brand architecture strategy, whether explicitly written down or not. Toward that goal, we outline a three-step process by which a firm can design and implement their brand architecture strategy. Throughout our discussion, we introduce key concepts, provide insights and guidelines, and offer illustrative examples.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from ¥17,985 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Japan)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Automotive News Europe (2010) VW to Bring Back Phaeton to U.S. After Flop, 19 August.

  • Bahadir, S.C, Bharadwaj, S.G. and Srivastava, R.K. (2008) Financial value of brands in mergers and acquisitions: Is value in the eye of the beholder? Journal of Marketing 72 (6): 49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedbury, S. (2002) A New Brand World. New York: Viking Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulik, B.S. (2005) Tech sector ponders: What’s in a name? Advertising Age 9 (May): 24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutright, K.M., Bettman, J.R. and Fitzsimons, G.J. (2013) Putting brands in their place: How a lack of control keeps brand contained. Journal of Marketing Research 50 (June): 365–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damoiseau, Y., Black, W.C. and Raggio, R.D. (2011) Brand creation vs acquisition in portfolio expansion strategy. Journal of Product & Brand Management 20 (4): 268–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, S. (2013) Lipton goes back to basics with a tea bag. New York Times 9 January.

  • Fortt, J. (2010) Cisco's Online Video Gamble, Fortune, 1 November 2010.

  • Gunther, M. (2010) Waste management’s new direction. Fortune 6 December, http://archive.fortune.com/2010/12/03/news/companies/waste_management_trash.fortune/index.htm, accessed 10 November 2014.

  • Keller, K.L. and Aaker, D.A. (1992) The effects of sequential introduction of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing Research 29 (February): 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, K.L. and Lehman, D. (2009) Assessing brand potential. Journal of Brand Management 17 (1): 6–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathur, P., Jain, S.P. and Maheswaran, D. (2012) Consumers’ implicit theories about personality influence their brand personality judgments. Journal of Consumer Psychology 22: 545–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyvis, T., Goldsmith, K. and Dhar, R. (2012) The importance of the context in brand extension: How pictures and comparisons shift consumers’ focus from fit to quality. Journal of Marketing Research 49 (April): 206–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monga, A.B. and Guhan-Canli, Z. (2012) The influence of mating mind-sets on brand extension evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research 49 (August): 581–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, J. (2012) Just how well-defined is your brand’s ideal? Advertising age 16 January, http://adage.com/article/news/defined-brand-s-ideal/232097, accessed 10 November 2014.

  • Newmark, A. (2010) 2011 Volkswagen Phaeton facelift in depth, 7 June, http://www.worldcarfans.com, accessed 10 November 2014.

  • Newmark, Z. (2010) VW phaeton to return to U.S. market, 20 August, http://www.worldcarfans.com, accessed 10 November 2014.

  • Raggio, R. and Leone, R.P. (2007) The theoretical separation of brand equity and brand value: Managerial implications for strategic planning. Journal of Brand Management 14 (5): 380–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiggle, S., Nguyen, H.T. and Caravella, M. (2012) More than fit: brand extension authenticity. Journal of Marketing Research 49 (December): 967–983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stengel, J. (2011) Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies. New York: Crown Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Völckner, F. and Sattler, H. (2006) Drivers of brand extension success. Journal of Marketing 70 (April): 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warc (2012) Ideals key for top brands, 4 January, http://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Ideals_drive_top_brands.news?ID=29270, accessed 10 November 2014.

  • Yorkston, E.A., Nunes, J.C. and Matta, S. (2010) The Malleable brand: The role of implicit theories in evaluating brand extensions. Journal of Marketing 74 (January): 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin Lane Keller.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lane Keller, K. Designing and implementing brand architecture strategies. J Brand Manag 21, 702–715 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.38

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.38

Keywords