Marketing Communications

BRAND PORTFOLIO 51

Brand portfolio

Building a strong brand is one thing, sustaining brand equity in the long run is something

else. Besides a well-balanced marketing programme and continuous and consistent integrated

marketing communications support, it may be necessary to adapt the brand portfolio

over time. A brand portfolio can be defi ned as the set of all brands and brand lines that a

company possesses. Th e rationale behind every brand portfolio should be threefold. First of

all, a company should try to maximise market coverage in the sense that diff erent market

segments can be serviced. Secondly, brand overlap has to be minimised in such a way that

brands are not competing among themselves. Furthermore, some overlap may be necessary,

or as the CEO of Liz Claiborne put it: ‘Cannibalization is inevitable, but it’s much better to

steal market share from yourself than to sit back and let somebody else do it.’^40 Th irdly, every

brand in the brand portfolio should have an added value for the company. For example, in

2000 decfided fto ftrfim fifts brand porftffoflfio ffrom abouft 1600 fto 400 fleadfing brands.

Two criteria were used to select the leading brands: (1) brand appeal , meaning the appeal of

the brand to the consumer and how well the brand meets the expected consumer needs over

fi ve to ten years; and (2) prospects for sustained growth , indicating the brand potential to

justify signifi cant investments in technology, innovation and brand communications. Focusing

on the 400 brands with a positive growth rate (such as Dove, Lipton, Magnum, Calvin Klein)

aflflowed fto reduce overTheads and fto ffocus resources wThere ftThey were mosft eff ective.^41

Brands in a portfolio usually serve diff erent functions and can be classifi ed as bastion,

fl anker, fi ghter and prestige brands (see Figure 2.3 ). Bastion brands provide most profi t for

the company, oft en follow a premium price strategy, are characterised by a high level of

psycho-social meaning and are generally considered as high-performance brands. In order to

Photo: San Pellegrino and

Bulgari join forces in Switzerland

Source : Patrick De Pelsmacker.

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