Even more ways for a brand to reel us in...

As I discussed in the last post, brands are constantly coming up with ways to expand themselves and grow under the assumption that people will recognize their brand and associate it positively. Brand architecture is another example of this, where an organization will have sub-brands beneath it that all maintain the brands image but help that brand to remain present in a competitive environment. Brand architecture can be small scale or big scale and lets a brand have specialized sectors beneath it in an umbrella formation.
As a horse rider I travel a lot and a brand that comes to mind that has a well structured brand architecture is the Marriott hotel brand.

By having multiple sub-brands beneath the Marriott name, they are giving customers an option. This is effective in the hotel business as there are so many brands and many of them are in the same areas. By having these sub-brands they are covering all aspects of the market because every hotel line has its own strengths to match each person's needs. The Marriott hotel is known to be fancy and expensive so they are allowing people a less expensive choice, or more specialized choice with different hotel lines. Regardless customers will associate these sub-brands as classy, quality and luxurious regardless of the differences in prices.
Above are only some of the different Marriott sub-brands. They describe the Courtyard Marriott's as traveller oriented where there are many different types of rooms to choose from in order to suit the busy traveller lifestyle. These hotels offer on the go breakfasts for busy people who are up early and on the move. Residence Inn Marriott's are designed for travellers who are intending to stay for a long time. They provide kitchens, fridges and everything you may need if you are planning on making the hotel your home for a while. Finally, the Fairfield Marriott hotels are designed for great value for all travellers.
For me it is comforting to be able to stay within a brand when I travel as you know exactly what to expect. It is also nice that a brand cares enough about the variety of customers that it supports to develop different options for them that will truly suit their needs and wants.

Natalie