iPhone or Samsung? Coca-Cola or Pepsi? Mercedes or BMW? Real or Barca? These are never-ending discussions, often with truly subjective arguments. Supporters of both parties always attach to products and services their own perception for quality, taste, associations, and experience, beyond the functional benefits, technical parameters and effectiveness of the respective product. And this is exactly what we mean when we say a strong brand influences the marketing strategy of a company. And this impact is not always positive, though.
Below we share thoughts on the value of the brand for the organization with a deep dive on the Umbrella Branding strategy and when it works well for the positioning of the value proposition of an organization.
What Is Umbrella Branding?
Umbrella Branding is the strategy to rely on a single main brand to position and communicate an entire product or service portfolio. Thus, all value propositions are related to the main brand which is considered the “umbrella” over separate product lines, sub-brands, etc. They all share the main brand identity, colors, logo, style, tone of voice and brand archetypes.
Does it already ring a bell to you? An obvious and a favorite example of ours is the business empire built by Richard Branson, and the Virgin brand, being the umbrella of over 40 global businesses with various activities - fitness clubs, airlines, banks, and more. No matter which one you come across, you immediately associate it with the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, don’t you?
Umbrella Branding or Traditional Branding?
At the same time, many companies adopt the opposite approach while developing and positioning their products. The most popular example is the Procter & Gamble conglomerate, which has among its brands prominent names such as Tide, Pampers, Gillette and many more, who are even competitors on many markets. However, you would not see any associations with the mother brand as part of their communication. Every brand has its own positioning targeted to different consumer segments.
Advantages of the Umbrella Branding Strategy
If your company has a various portfolio of offerings, you would probably benefit from umbrella branding as your main positioning strategy. Rely on it:
- when you emphasize on the association of every product with the perception for the main brand;
- when the products and solutions are targeted to the same consumer segments;
- when your new product or service needs to penetrate the market leveraging the potential of the already established brand.
Example: Even prior to the official launch of the iPhone the market knew what to expect from Apple: innovation, revolution in design, functionalities and parameters unseen before, and style and elegance that turn the device into a personal item symbol of prestige. It is not by chance that we mention Apple - the brand with the highest brand equity incomparable with many competitors even if they outperform Apple products on a functional level.
When the Individual Branding Is a Better Choice
We are also familiar with many examples of companies that focus on some of their products and distinguish them from the main brand. Also, in some cases umbrella branding could impact the company negatively by reasons like:
- a product from the portfolio is considered worse compared to the normal perception for the rest;
- the company suffered reputational damage. In this case the perception for the main brand is transferred to all products and services, associated with it.
Example: We still associate the Volkswagen brand with one of the major scandals in the automotive industry of our time. Although the company keeps investing billions in e-mobility and contemporary technologies, Dieselgate still impacts the image of the business. At the same time, individual brands part of Volkswagen Group report peak performance. Take Lamborghini for example, witnessing a record in the sales of luxury cars since their founding more than 60 years ago.
Another good (or bad) example from the near past is the Windows Vista OS which is still pointed as one of Microsoft’s major failures, despite the great campaign that puts Windows back in the game with Windows 7.
No more proof needed that building a strong brand is vital for any sustainable business today. If you are looking for the right approach to creating and developing your brand offline and in the DGTal space, make us part of your team when crafting your marketing and brand strategy for success.
