We are happy to answer marketing questions of all types here on Branding Strategy Insider. Today, Sajid, a Marketer in Islamabad, Pakistan asks…

"Hi Brad and Derrick, I own a fashion house in Pakistan where we are currently offering, bridal and formal wear for the eastern market and by the grace of God it is going great. I am a frequent reader of Branding Strategy Insider and would like to have your guidance on the subject below:

We want to introduce another line of garments for a low price range buyer. Should we make a line extention of our parent brand for such product or should we continue to have the same line under our main brand. I have a fear that if we continue to have the same brand for this new product it might kill the image of our existing brand and people will not prefer to buy our high end product."

Thank you for your question, Sajid. You are right to be concerned about a less expensive line of products potentially changing the perceptions of a brand that sells higher end products. If you want your brand to remain a premium brand (assuming it is perceived to be that way today), it would be better to create some perceptual distance between it and the new line of less expensive garments. There are several ways to do this:

• Create a new brand for the the less expensive garments and sell them in a separate store (assuming that your current store and product brands are the same and that they are associated with higher end formal wear and that you want the brand to continue to retain the association with formal wear)
• Create a new brand for the less expensive garments and sell them in a different location in your store (assuming that your current store and product brands are the same and that it is acceptable to you to have the brand become more associated with the store itself and a broader mix of garments)
• Create a separate store brand and separate brands for your formal wear garments and for your other lower priced garments and decide what you want each brand to stand for. Obviously, the store brand's perceptions will be driven by the type of merchandise sold in the store, including which brand or brands you decide to sell in the store.

If you make the new line of less expensive garments a sub-brand or line extension of your current brand, it will create a new perception of that brand, one that is less associated with formal wear and high end products and more associated with a broader mix of clothing. However, if you do this, you will have to determine what the brand now stands for and what makes it different from other clothing brands. I would not recommend this approach given your concerns. 

One final comment on your situation. It is not clear to me if your formal wear brand of products is the same as the store's brand. If it is, it will be difficult to sell different brands in the store without changing the perception of your brand. If you do this, you will need to be very careful about what other brands you sell in your store.

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Today, another question from the BSI Emailbag. Cathy, a marketing executive from Auckland, New Zealand writes:

"I read your definition of Brand Architecture in response to Anton with interest, but I find it to contradict what you were saying only yesterday, about positioning a product that will take sales off an existing brand (your example Budweiser and Budweiser Light).  Perhaps if you could use the example of Budweiser and how to apply the rules of engagement to the brand it may clarify this for Anton and us all.  Perhaps if you could give us examples on each of the points and how if you were brand manager for Budweiser you would do it differently."

Cathy, thanks for your note. To clarify, you reference an earlier post by my BSI co-author Al Ries. To your question – line extensions can increase sales for a brand by making its products appealing to additional customer segments. The trick is for the line extension to make the brand relevant to new markets while not repositioning the core brand in a negative light and while not resulting in too many traded sales with the core brand. Poorly conceived line extensions can increase sales initially but then ultimately spread sales out over more sku's decreasing the brand's cost efficiency.