ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the types of brands that can be distinguished in terms of basic categories. It discusses the related concepts of brand span and brand extension. Brand portfolios and brand architectures reflect the imprimatur of previous generations of managers. As the brands are supposed to support the corporate strategy, a deep understanding of where the company is today and where it should be going in the near future is a prerequisite for a successful brand portfolio audit. Seen from the position of the producer, brand architecture is the organizing structure of the brand portfolio. In brand architecture, superordinate and subordinate brands are added to the main brand, each contributing with their specific meaning to the perception of consumers. Before considering the many factors that play a part in deciding on one or the other of the possibilities, let us take a look first at a striking brand architecture case in Western Europe.
