Comment

Comment by Sid Shah on April 12, 2012 at 11:46am

Two examples, of another company that does it great, and two that are messed up:

1) Great - BMW  -- you clearly know with the BMW that there is a 3, 5, 7 series and where you fit into that hierarchy.  You get a 3 series because you want something cool and sport, and a 7 series as ultimate, sophisticated luxury.  It is real clear the differences of each and where you fit into the hierarchy, they also use this numeric system that clearly distinguishes between each so there is no confusion.

2) Messed up - HP and Sony.  I am not even sure where to begin with these two companies.  But with all of their offerings across a variety of categories from home entertainment, computers, music listening devices, digital camera, printers, etc...it is never clear what is the best purchases (based on needs) for a consumer and where they fit into their product hierarchy.  You are also not sure how these different offerings communicate and work with one another.  I am consistently confused as to what is new, what is best for me, and what may or may not be around in 2 years.  Additionally, the naming or verbal expressions they use to communicate their sub-brands are never clear with the different naming conventions.  I can go on and on about this, but you get the idea.

Comment by Alok 'Rodinhood' Kejriwal on April 11, 2012 at 6:26pm

AWESOME STUFF. It would have been also nice if you gave a direct example of how MESSED up some brand architecture is of a know brand?

maybe as a comment?