Knowing and developing a brand’s architecture is vital when strategizing brand growth. We have to know where the brand started, where it is currently, and the elements that need to be considered as we plan its future. Brand architecture helps marketers figure out which products should be introduced and which brand elements to apply to not only new products but also existing ones. A brand that has developed its architecture successfully is MARS. Many of us know about them as MARS Petcare, but they have a hierarchy that also includes MARS Snacking and MARS Food and Nutrition. Their architecture has many sub-brands under their larger brand, MARS, and looks like this.
MARS Petcare
Let’s look deeper at the Petcare side of the architecture, which makes up 59% of their business. Through the sub-brands included in MARS Petcare, they have opened their opportunities in many pet industry markets, from veterinary and diagnostics to pet nutrition and therapeutic health services. They have stayed in line with industry trends by developing sub-brands that now offer pet technology. The company creates many cause marketing campaigns through this side of its architecture and shares its brand message of creating “A Better World For Pets.”
MARS Snacking
This part of the architecture makes up 38% of MARS and shares a brand message to “Inspire Moments of Everyday Happiness.” In this category, they have many brands covering many different markets, including chocolate, gum, mints, snack bars, candy, and more. You may even recognize some of these sub-brands, like Dove, Juicy Fruit, ALTOIDS, KIND, and Starburst.
MARS Food & Nutrition
The MARS Food & Nutrition part of the architecture only makes up 3% of their market strategies. The brand message for this segment is “Better Food Today. A Better World Tomorrow.” At this point, I am sure sustainability of our planet globally is a huge part of the overall MARS brand identity. They focus on causes that can benefit from their brand equity in every segment. In this one, specifically, they strive to support our farmers, protect our planet, bring people together, provide nutritious meals to those in need, make healthy eating convenient and delicious, and more. This segment includes brands that allows them to have a footprint in the market for many different cultures. Here are some of the sub-brands included in this category.
As we can see, MARS has created a very successful brand architecture that allows the brand to cover a variety of markets and industries that span the globe. Their objective is to help make the planet a better place for humans and animals, and this is made clear by the dedication they have put forward to create brands and sub-brands that have an impact on sustainability and innovation! They have successfully identified needs in the market and tapped into them in ways that stay true to their brand while allowing them to not only increase their revenue but give back to communities and causes as well.
Did you enjoy this post? Read about the importance of a thorough brand audit in my last post!”
