What are the two basic types of brand ownership?

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Brand can be classified in different types on different basis such as on the basis of ownership, on the basis of market area and on the basis of number of product.

1. Types of brand on the basis of ownership

On the basis of ownership, brand can be divided in two as follows:

If the manufacturing firm itself gives brand name to its products, it is called manufacturer's brand. Ownership of such brand lies with manufacturer.

b. Middleman's brand

Some producers sell their products to middlemen, wholesalers and retailers without branding. Wholesalers or retailers sell such products giving seal of own brand name. This is called middleman's brand.

2. Types of brand on the basis of market area

On the basis of market area, brand can be divided as follows:

a. Local brand

If supply of product is limited to local level, and the brand is only in local area, such brand is called local brand. This type of brand is used for the products sold or supplied to limited area. Such type of brand is also called regional brand.

b. National brand

The products which are sold or supplied to all over the nation with only one named seal, this is called national brand.

3. Types of brand on the basis of number of products

On the basis of number of products, brand can be divided as:

a. Family brand

If a producer/manufacturing company gives same brand name to its different products, this is called family brands. If a company produces different products of different nature, types and classes, it gives same brand name to the products of same class.

Features Of Good Brand Name

b. Individual brand

The brand name used for only one product is called individual brand. Even if the products are of same class, but different brand names are used for different products, such brands are called individual brand.

You need a strong, distinctive brand to keep your business thriving. Your brand shows:

who you are
what you stand for
how you're different from your competitors.

This resource provides practical guidelines to establish a new brand or improve an existing brand.

asking your existing and potential customers through market research
reviewing data trends from primary sources (e.g. your sales figures, or social media and website data)
looking at direct and indirect competitors to see if their brand has changed
doing an internal survey to find out how much your employees understand and support your brand
using our template to review your marketing collateral.

Based on your audit goals and outputs, the next steps are to:

rate how well your actual brand matches up to your intended brand
highlight and prioritise areas for improvement
generate ideas based on customer insights
add initiatives into your marketing action plan.

Also, remember that the key findings from your brand audit will most likely influence your business plan and marketing strategy.

Share the results of the brand audit with your employees.

Print out all the marketing collateral you've used over the past year (e.g. from your website to business cards) and display it on a wall. Ask yourself:

does everything look like it's from the same brand?
does it look unique and different from your competitors' material?

To make this easier, you can use our template for reviewing marketing collateral.

To become distinctive, your business brand must be:

salient—your brand must be front of mind when customers are ready to act
different—your brand must continue to stand out from your competitors
meaningful—your brand must be understood by everyone involved.

To be as effective as possible, work on all 3 these factors. For example, if you make potential customers aware of your brand, also make sure they understand what you do or how you can help.

You want to find and show your brand truth. This is the position you want to hold in the minds of your target customers.

You can use this 3-step brand development process as a guide.

This step is an internal and external review of your current business status to help identify future opportunities.

For this stage, explore the 3 Cs of your brand, namely your:

company
customers
competitors.

You can base this on internal and external sources, including:

your latest business plan and available research reports
online research into the key trends and considerations in your industry
meetings with employees, partners and external agencies
market research with existing and potential customers.
summarising the research findings from your marketing research together with your brand audit.

You can now use this analysis to shape your ideal brand positioning.

The goal of this step is to develop a practical and useful plan—like a blueprint—that clearly summarises your business brand and shows the way forward.

It's worthwhile discussing your brand blueprint with your staff, or even running a workshop to get feedback and ideas. Look at different brand examples and then consider these things for your business:

vision—the long-term ambition you have for your business
purpose—the 'why' of your business, the main reason (not financial) your business exists
values—the behaviour that your business supports and encourages
promise—your commitment to everyone involved with your business
personality—your voice, the tone, manner and style that represents your business
proof—the emotional and practical benefits your business delivers.

This is a long-term brand blueprint that acts as your behind-the-scenes toolkit. It's a way to evaluate your actions and prompt new initiatives. It's how people choose brands—not by what they do, but why they exist.

Based on your brand strategy, you need to establish your brand identity, including your name and logo. Whether this is an existing or new brand, the information below can help you bring your brand to life.

This step is about developing powerful, professional and consistent branding that appeals to your target customers.

Brand consistency

What your brand 'says' and 'does' should be the same. Customers are put off when a brand over-promises and under-delivers.

You need to consider how your brand is reflected in every aspect of your business. Incorporate these 3 streams of ongoing work into your action plan:

communication—how your brand is presented across all channels
culture—your internal business values and employee behaviours
experience—every face-to-face, telephone and online interaction.

Take a long-term approach to building your business brand.

Brand identity

Your brand identity is the external presentation of your brand. This identity appeals to the senses. It's what your customers see, hear, touch and even smell. It's mostly physical. It consists of elements such as your:

business name
logo
tagline
colours
fonts
graphics
images.

By adding strong brand 'codes' (like your business name, look, jingle or even a character) to these elements of your brand identity, you can increase the likelihood that customers will:

recall who you are
feel more confident about your brand
make a decision
pay a premium
become loyal to your brand.

If you're setting up a new business (or if you need to rebrand), you'll need to develop your brand identity. Start by creating or updating your name and logo. Make them:

simple
memorable
ownable (clearly yours and only yours)
enduring
versatile.

It may be tempting to try to create a brand identity yourself to save money. However, unless you have the expertise, you'll most likely benefit from working with external partners. A brand consultant or graphic designer could help turn your vision into reality. Always seek legal advice about intellectual property, including patents and trademarks.

Find out how to register a new business name.

Brand guidelines

Once you've developed your brand identity, you document the rules around how to use your brand assets in a style guide. This helps to ensure your brand assets are presented in a consistent and cohesive way across all your internal and external touchpoints.

To make this easier, keep a checklist of your different channels, for example, your:

premises
websites
social media
brochures
company vehicles
workwear or uniforms.

A quick internet search will provide plenty of examples of brand guidelines. If you're working with a brand consultant or graphic designer, include these guidelines in your brief.

When you implement your marketing programs, ensure that your brand guidelines are followed in your advertising, direct marketing and online marketing.

Your brand strategy may remain in place for many years, but your brand delivery will require ongoing effort, initiatives and tracking. Ask these questions about what you are delivering:

Is it true to the company (e.g. your company culture)?
Is it compelling to customers (e.g. does it address their needs)?
Is it different to competitors (e.g. is your identity unique)?

If you have more than one brand

It may be worth engaging a specialist provider if your business has more than one brand.

If your business incorporates more than one brand, you need to be clear about the:

role of each brand
relationships between the brands.

The way your brands relate to each other, is commonly referred to as your brand architecture. It's like an organisational structure, but for brands instead of employees.

In the long term, a strong brand architecture will help your business to:

grow
manage brand risk better
be more cost effective
build brand equity (the extra value your brand adds to your products or services).

To help you decide what brand architecture will work best for your business and your customers, you can follow these steps:

Write down how your brands currently work together
Evaluate how well this model works
Decide on, and document, the brand changes you need to make.

Brand architecture types range from 'branded house' to 'house of brands'. Between these extremes, there are combinations that could include sub-brands and endorsed brands (brands using the brand equity of the parent brand).

Type	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages	Examples
Branded house	A cohesive and powerful master brand supporting a range of products and services	Very cost efficient Easy to manage Focused and united	Lack of distinction between products Relatively inflexible Bad news affects all
House of brands	A collection of standalone brands under a parent brand, which is often in the background	Can target niche markets Independent and diverse Protects parent brand name	Expensive to operate Complex to manage Potential for confusion

For most businesses, the business name is the brand name. That's why the branded house is the most used model. When marketing on a small budget, it's best to have one brand, one strategy and one budget.