Brand Architecture

Supporting M&As and Business Ambitions 

Has expeditious growth of new products or a service line left a Value Proposition cloudy, diluted?  Confusing or isolating your customers?  A series of M&As or a Re-brand that lacked the necessary engagement/ cultural integration?  Or have products, services been introduced over time, with scant understanding of how they need to fit into a far bigger picture?

Perhaps you’ve ended up with an out-of-control product portfolio that’s difficult (expensive) to manage?   There are all branding scenarios The Higher Mix can help organisations counter.    

Higher-Order of Rational

Any brand restructure or revitalization invariably focuses on Brand Architecture – necessary imperative to be able to meet current (and future) requirements for optimal brand positioning. 

The Higher Mix does the deep strategic stuff.  Examining, re-examining, clarifying or simplifying brand models; structural, strategic and relational aspects of brands in the portfolio, setting or resetting future business strategy and direction, outcomes delivered in the most agile, thoughtful, and logical manner.

Brand Architecture: one of the most difficult of all brand management tasks

In a nutshell, Brand Architecture equates to CLARITY.    Externally, reflects your corporate strateg while internally, introducing the criteria (empowered guidelines) for more effective brand decision-making from your teams.   

Our process addresses a whole range of ‘decision rules’ for company structure, naming, creation of new brands, entities interplay, key audiences, narratives and more (creative agencies simply aren’t geared for, or equipped, to be able to facilitate those sort of projects.)    

Brand consistency – with a high degree of trust, baked in.

For any organisation considering a re-brand or re-position, careful preparation and insights are necessary.  Can turn ‘pear-shaped’ pretty fast when companies approach this exercise either from a balance sheet perspective; worse still, approach the rebrand as some sort of ‘creative project’  between the two logos only.   Severe risk there of your new M&A dissolving into a cultural mess.    

Brand Architecture is a business imperative – if for nothing else, or its far-reaching ramifications on future strategy your organization aims to develop.  Get the process right and it translates into greater confidence internally, and for external stakeholders real clarity on strategic direction for both the brand and its business.   

M&A Services and Support 

Assessing and establishing a logical brand architecture for new or existing brands to:  

  • Introduce common framework, capabilities required to create | manage brand portfolios, growth initiatives
  • Determine overarching branding approach to adopt – e.g master brand, sub/brands, endorsed or a combination?
  • Transition other brands to the parent brand
  • Illustrate connections in the organization’s portfolio (brand associations, linkages, hierarchy)
  • Specific levels of branding (consider current | anticipated branding situations)
  • Measure existing brand equity to inform decisions
  • Evolve brand/sub-brand systems for adaption and flexibility
  • Decide on the treatment of acquired brands (downstream steps giving teams and customers what they need/ when they need it.)
  • Ascertain dominance of certain brands (recessive brand identity/ies)
  • Naming conventions
  • Pricing, Price points
  • Overcome channel conflicts
  • Create distance if required between offerings
  • Increase value flow / visibility to customers
  • Engage teams internally for uptake and advocacy of the new business.
  • Improve brand appeal > market segments (needs, narratives.)

Supporting M&As and Business Ambitions 

Has expeditious growth of new products or a service line left a Value Proposition cloudy, diluted?  Confusing or isolating your customers?  A series of M&As or a Re-brand that lacked the necessary engagement/ cultural integration?  Or have products, services been introduced over time, with scant understanding of how they need to fit into a far bigger picture?

Perhaps you’ve ended up with an out-of-control product portfolio that’s difficult (expensive) to manage?   There are all branding scenarios The Higher Mix can help organisations counter.    

Higher-Order of Rational

Any brand restructure or revitalization invariably focuses on Brand Architecture – necessary imperative to be able to meet current (and future) requirements for optimal brand positioning. 

The Higher Mix does the deep strategic stuff.  Examining, re-examining, clarifying or simplifying brand models; structural, strategic and relational aspects of brands in the portfolio, setting or resetting future business strategy and direction, outcomes delivered in the most agile, thoughtful, and logical manner.

Brand Architecture: one of the most difficult of all brand management tasks

In a nutshell, Brand Architecture equates to CLARITY. Externally, reflects your corporate strategy while internally, introducing the criteria (empowered guidelines) for more effective brand decision-making from your teams.   

Our process addresses a whole range of ‘decision rules’ for company structure, naming, creation of new brands, entities interplay, key audiences, narratives and more (creative agencies simply aren’t geared for, or equipped, to be able to facilitate those sort of projects.)    

Brand consistency – with a high degree of trust, baked in.

For any organisation considering a re-brand or re-position, careful preparation and insights are necessary.  Can turn ‘pear-shaped’ pretty fast when companies approach this exercise either from a balance sheet perspective; worse still, approach the rebrand as some sort of ‘creative project’  between the two logos only.   Severe risk there of your new M&A dissolving into a cultural mess.    

Brand Architecture is a business imperative – if for nothing else, or its far-reaching ramifications on future strategy your organization aims to develop.  Get the process right and it translates into greater confidence internally and for external stakeholders real clarity on strategic direction for both the brand and its business.   

M&A Services and Support 

Assessing and establishing a logical brand architecture for new or existing brands to:  

  • Introduce common framework, capabilities required to create | manage brand portfolios, growth initiatives
  • Determine overarching branding approach to adopt – e.g master brand, sub/brands, endorsed or a combination?
  • Transition other brands to the parent brand
  • Illustrate connections in the organization’s portfolio (brand associations, linkages, hierarchy)
  • Specific levels of branding (consider current | anticipated branding situations)
  • Measure existing brand equity to inform decisions
  • Evolve brand/sub-brand systems for adaption and flexibility
  • Decide on the treatment of acquired brands (downstream steps giving teams and customers what they need/ when they need it.)
  • Ascertain dominance of certain brands (recessive brand identity/ies)
  • Naming conventions
  • Pricing, Price points
  • Overcome channel conflicts
  • Create distance if required between offerings
  • Increase value flow / visibility to customers
  • Engage teams internally for uptake and advocacy of the new business.
  • Improve brand appeal > market segments (needs, narratives.)