A clearly defined brand hierarchy and brand extensions strategy will save time and money.

Brand architecture refers to the hierarchy of brands within a single company. It is the interrelationship of the parent company, subsidiary companies, products, and services, and should mirror the marketing strategy. Brand identity design brings consistency, visual and verbal order, thought and intention to disparate elements to help a company grow and market more effectively.

As companies merge with other sand acquire new companies and products, the branding nomenclature, and marketing decisions become exceedingly complex. Decision makers examine marketing, cost, time and legal implications.

The need for brand architecture is not limited to Fortune 100 companies or for-profit companies. Any company or institution that is growing needs to evaluate which brand architecture strategy will support future growth. Most large companies that sell products and services have a mixture of strategies. A number of different types of brand architecture have been identified over the years by various marketing strategists. There is no universal agreement on the types of brand architecture terms.

Here are some of the typical brand architecture terms:

1) Monolithic brand architecture – like Starbucks, Vanguard and FedEx

2) Subbrand or subsidiary brand architecture – like Subary Outback, Nike Air Jordan and Adobe Acrobat

3) Endorsed brand architecture – like iPod and Apple, Polo and Ralph Lauren and Residence Inn and Marriott

4) Pluralistic brand architecture – like Jeep Cherokee (Chrysler), Prozac (Lilly) and Hellman’s Mayonnaise (Unilever)