What is Brand Architecture?
And why it’s important for entrepreneurs.
When I first started my business in 2004 I didn’t know the term Brand Architecture and to be honest, it wasn’t really relevant at that time. Not just for me, but for many other entrepreneurs. I had my business brand (which was me) and that was basically it.
Today I have Lab Creative, my personal brand, Brand Camp and my book Brand Chemistry.
In Brand Architecture terms, Lab Creative is my parent/master brand and everything else is a child/sub brand. If you take a look at the chart below, you’ll see that while each has its own unique look, they all use the same colours, fonts and style. As for my personal brand, I’m often wearing yellow, pink or blue.
I can post about any of our offerings on my social media feed and they all work together so it’s not jarring to our audience. They know exactly who is posting and what I’m posting about.
You might be thinking that brand architecture is just for massive businesses like Coca Cola and Apple, however it is hugely relevant for ALL businesses.
It helps you:
Increases brand awareness and show up consistently
Create easily recognizable products or services
Leverage your parent brand to quickly launch new products or services to a warm audience
Make better business strategy and growth decisions
Clarify your messaging
As a solo entrepreneur or micro business owner (under 5 employees and typically low to mid 6 figures) you might have a business or personal brand, a podcast, book and online program etc…
Quite often when I speak with entrepreneurs, they have a huge lack of consistency between all these entities and don’t know how to fit everything together or talk about them on the same social media handle.
Here are a two examples to show how our clients brands work together - whether it’s a personal brand, podcast, program or book.
Another option is that you have something called a Branded House or Sister Brands. This is when you have 2 (or more) brands that have a separate audience but a similar naming structure and look. Each usually have their own website and social media. Take a look at the two samples below.
Consistency between your parent and children brands or your branded house is key because it helps you influence the perception of your business, stay organized internally and create harmony between the various brands.
If you have multiple brands like I’ve mentioned above, it’s time to take a step back to look at the big picture to see how (or if) everything fits together. Book a call with me today for a big picture view of your brand architecture and I’ll share tips on improvements you can make.