Sub-branding 101: How to decide if your new program or initiative needs its own brand
Let’s set the scene…
You’ve got an exciting new project or initiative ready to go. Your team is pumped - they want it to feel fresh and bold. Someone suggests a sub-brand, so the project can really shine on its own. And then the debate starts.
Do we really need a new brand?
Will it make our brand architecture too complicated?
Can the master brand really represent the new initiative properly?
These are complicated questions for any team to answer. You want to keep your brand streamlined, neat and tidy. But you also want to ensure this new initiative cuts through as effectively as possible to reach the audiences it was built for. Or, maybe you’ve realised your brand architecture is already overburdened.
Maybe you want to bring some of the existing programs back under the parent brand. But you’re not sure how to decide which ones, and how to go about it. Everyone in your team has different opinions - and you want to make sure everyone feels heard, without sacrificing efficiency.
Why it’s important to ask the right questions
Brand architecture is a challenge that many organisations face at some point in their journey - especially those serving many different audiences.
Having a clear brand architecture and taking the time to consider the role of each project and sub-brand can help your organisation in many ways, such as:
Making it easy for your internal teams to navigate their roles and responsibilities, and find the area of work they’re most passionate about
Helping your audiences get what they need from your organisation quickly and easily
Increasing brand recognition and impact
Managing this brand architecture can be a big undertaking. From finding ways to integrate programs back into the main brand identity (without losing loyal audiences), to hearing and valuing the range of opinions within your organisation - there are so many facets to consider.
The good news is, there is a system for working your way through the confusion.
Here's a set of questions we often use to help guide our projects and clients through the process of reviewing a brand architecture…
The most important consideration
We’re firm believers that any brand (and its architecture) should be audience-centric. For us, that means it’s most important to consider how your architecture helps your audiences get what they need from your organisation.
To read more about the power of audience-centric branding, check out our earlier blog.
And, if you need help solving your brand architecture problems or creating new programs after reading this guide, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve helped many organisations figure out their brand architecture.
Our recent work with Drummond Street Services is a great example of an organisation that streamlined their brand architecture - and can now make even more impact for the communities they serve.
