Brand Portfolio Architecture and Firm Performance: The Moderating Impact of Generic Strategy

Even a casual observation of brand portfolio architecture used in marketing practice shows that different firms operating in the same market segments have different architectural preferences for their brand portfolios. Consider the automobile industry. Mercedes-Benz employs a corporate branding architecture (also known as a ’branded house’ architecture), while Volkswagen makes use of a house-of-brands architecture (e.g., Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and VW). Clearly, both brand portfolio architectures are used with great success within the same market segments. Consider also the confectionary industry. Cadbury emphasizes a corporate branding architecture (e.g., Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Top Deck, and Cadbury Old Gold), while Mars uses a house-of-brands architecture (e.g., Mars, Snickers, and Maltesers). Again we observe the use of the two brand portfolio architectures within the same market segments with great success.