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Brand Extension
BY MARTY NEUMEIER
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The era of the stand-alone brand is coming to a close, as more and more
companies understand the value of linking brands together. While brand
portfolios can have valuable synergy, they face four dangers that single brands
dont: contagion, confusion, contradiction, and complexity.
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CONTAGION is the dark side of synergy. Just as customer loyalty can spread
quickly through brand linkages, so can bad news. If one brand has a problem,
the rest of the portfolio can become infected too. For example, a number of
years ago, 60 MINUTES aired a story on the Audi 5000s tendency toward
sudden acceleration, an untrue claim that spread like wildfire. It ruined the
reputation of the 5000 and affected the reputation of ALL Audi models. It took
years for Audi to restore luster to its brand.
By contrast, if the same fate were to befall Mini Cooper next year, its parent
company BMW would suffer less damage. By building a separate brand for
Mini, the company has built a firewall between the two brands.
Thus, the choice between building a brand portfolio or stand-alone brand
involves the trade-off between synergy and safety.
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1. CONTAGION
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2. CONFUSION
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3. CONTRADICTION
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4. COMPLEXITY
GE Commercial Finance
GE Healthcare
GE Industrial
GE Infrastructure
GE Money
NBC Universal
A brand portfolio
can easily become
overgrown.
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Capital Solutions
Corporate Financial Services
Healthcare Financial Services
Real Estate
Diagnostic Imaging
Global Services
Clinica lSystems
Life Sciences
Medical Diagnostics
Integrated IT Solutions
Interventional, Cardiology
and Surgery
Consumer & Industrial
Electrical Distribution
Equipment Services
GE Fanuc
Inspection Technologies
Plastics
Security
Sensing
Aviation
Commercial Aviation Services
Energy
Energy Financial Services
Oil & Gas
Transportation
Water & Process Technologies
Americas
Europe, Middle East & Africa
Asia Pacific
Networks
Cable
Film
Parks & Resorts
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