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.
