Exploring Mixed Branding: Impact, Strategy & Examples

Nowadays, new and established businesses use various marketing techniques to develop their distinct identities. While methods such as co-branding and eco-friendly approaches are common knowledge, mixed branding has yet to be fully explored.

Despite its limited recognition, this strategy has yielded impressive outcomes for many business owners. Rather than starting a new company from scratch to attract a more extensive customer base, these companies have successfully expanded their consumer pool by employing mixed branding methods.

Sometimes, a business's existing brand only resonates with the particular audience it wants to reach. In such cases, they might create or partner with another brand to market their products more effectively to that specific audience.

This strategy can effectively diversify a company's customer base and expand into new markets.

Most of the time, customers don’t realize that both products come from the same parent company. However, the second brand is tailored to suit the preferences of a specific audience, making the products more attractive to them.

Using multiple brand names strategically is a core aspect of mixed branding. This technique helps companies expand their customer base and enter new markets, ensuring their products reach a wider audience.

Mixed branding emphasizes the importance of tailored approaches to engaging with target audiences. By understanding consumers' unique preferences, companies can customize their products or services to meet the demands of different customer segments.

Maintaining brand integrity is also crucial in mixed branding. This means seamlessly integrating the parent company’s values, mission, and goals into each brand to establish trust and create a cohesive brand narrative across all products.

At the same time, individual brands retain distinctive features and benefits that cater to specific consumer needs while being intricately connected to the overall vision of the parent organization.

The balance between unity and differentiation enables companies to navigate diverse consumer preferences and market demands effectively.

Companies frequently employ a range of branding strategies to expand their reach and bolster their brand identity.

Mixed branding is a prevalent approach, where businesses use different branding techniques to promote their offerings successfully.

Let's explore the various ways mixed branding can be implemented and examine their importance in the competitive business world.

1. Sub-Branding

Sub-branding is another popular branding technique based on developing separate and distinct sub-brands within a parent company. The core objective of this approach lies in reaching diverse customer bases and effectively catering to audiences with different needs.

Through sub-branding, businesses can assign distinctive names to products or services intended for specific markets while maintaining their overall reputation.

This approach allows companies to focus on particular customer segments and meet their unique needs.

For example, Procter & Gamble employs sub-branding by creating Crest for oral care and Tide for laundry, which caters to different customer needs with a tailored approach.

2. Co-Branding

Co-branding is when multiple companies join forces to promote a product or service. They do this to make the product or service even better by using the unique abilities of each company. It's like combining different skills to create something they couldn't achieve individually.

By enhancing the product's perceived value, businesses can also reach a wider audience by tapping into each other's customer base.

3. Private Label Branding

Private label branding involves selling merchandise under the retailer's banner instead of the manufacturer's. This methodology empowers businesses to present economic alternatives to recognized brands, thus satisfying budget-conscious consumers.

Private-label products have proven to be as efficacious as their branded equivalents, enabling retailers to foster patron loyalty and elevate their profit margins.

One example of this approach is Amazon Basics, an Amazon private label brand that caters to an extensive array of products, encompassing electronic items and household essentials, providing high-quality goods at competitive prices.

4. Store Branding

Good branding makes customers like the store more and wants to return. This is achieved by making the store look nice, having friendly members of staff, interactive displays, personalized shopping recommendations, and loyalty programs.
Apple Stores are a great example of this approach, as they offer premium products and a captivating in-store experience that keeps customers coming back.

5. Location Branding

Location branding increases brand awareness and appeal by associating the brand with specific geographic locations. This strategy is effective for businesses that establish a local or regional identity.

Successful examples include Starbucks, which customizes its stores to reflect the local culture and art, creating a warm, community-oriented environment.

A mixed branding strategy can be a game-changer for companies looking to broaden their reach and get a competitive edge in the market. This technique combines various branding approaches to create a cohesive and appealing brand image. Let’s navigate through the critical steps of a successful mixed branding strategy:

1. Define the Target Audience

It is essential to comprehensively understand your customers, including their distinct preferences and purchasing habits. You can create tailor-made brands that cater to specific needs by identifying separate market segments.

For example, if you are a food manufacturer, you can develop a sub-brand offering sustainable packaging and organic products for eco-conscious customers.

This targeted strategy ensures that each brand effectively connects with its intended audience, fostering strong relationships and customer loyalty.

2. Create a Brand Identity

Even if your leading brand and sub-brand have similar products and target audiences, you must create a distinctive persona for each brand. This involves the creation of unique logos, color schemes, and typography that align with the brand's fundamental essence.

For instance, a brand aimed at fast-food lovers could choose lively colors and bold fonts, whereas a brand catering to people who prefer organic products may choose more sophisticated fonts and subtle hues.

These distinct visual cues help consumers easily recognize and relate to each brand.

3. Distribute of Resources

To maximize the impact of your brands in the market, it is essential to strategically allocate resources, such as budget, staff, and marketing efforts.

Consider the distinct requirements of each brand and customize the distribution of resources accordingly.

While one brand may require a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, including social media ads and a dedicated YouTube channel, another may flourish with a simple website and a blog.

4. Creating Brand Guidelines

Setting clear guidelines is vital to maintain a consistent image for your brands. This involves defining elements such as logos, colors, fonts, and communication style. Additionally, you should provide

1. Guidelines for images
2. Specifying the appropriate icons
3. Design features
4. Types of photos to use.

These rules are crucial as they establish a unified brand identity. People can easily identify your brand when everything looks and feels the same. This consistency is essential in helping consumers associate specific visuals and messages directly with your brands.

5. Monitor Each Brand

Regularly monitor each brand's key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine the effectiveness of your strategies and adjust them based on this data.

Key KPIs include metrics such as net promoter score, which gauges customer loyalty by measuring the likelihood of customers recommending your brand; customer satisfaction, which assesses contentment levels; and brand awareness, which determines your brand's recognition in the market.

Social media engagement KPIs include the number of visits to your webpage, session duration, average time spent on a page, bounce rate, ad click-through rate, and brand mentions.

Here are some examples of companies employing mixed branding strategies to reach diverse audiences:

1. Sears

Sears, a major retailer in the US, employed a clever mixed branding strategy. They created distinct brands for appliances, tools, and car products, like Kenmore for home appliances, Craftsman for tools, and DieHard for car items.

This approach helped Sears cater to diverse customers. Moms liked Kenmore, DIY enthusiasts, pros preferred Craftsman and car owners trusted DieHard. By tailoring these brands, Sears reached a broader audience.

This tactic also kept Sears relevant despite changing customer needs.

2. Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is another well-known company that uses a mixed branding strategy to sell products to different target audiences. P&G owns many well-known consumer brands, each catering to specific needs and demographics.

For example, Tide and Pampers are household names that offer laundry and baby care products, respectively, while Gillette focuses on grooming products for men. By tailoring each brand to different consumer groups, P&G has diversified its customer base and maintained a strong presence in multiple market segments.

3. Microsoft & Xbox

Through its successful extension into the gaming industry with Xbox, Microsoft, a prominent technology giant, has been able to cater to the specific interests of gamers and enthusiasts.

With a clear and distinctive brand identity for Xbox, Microsoft has captured the gaming market by providing gaming consoles, games, and associated services.

By establishing a unique brand identity for Xbox, Microsoft could effectively dominate the gaming market and leverage its reputation, simultaneously appealing to a broader and specific audience.

As previously stated, mixed branding is a versatile strategy that provides numerous advantages that empower companies to adapt to changing consumer preferences.

Let’s look at the benefits of mixed branding that make it a successful branding strategy.

Risk Management

Implementing mixed branding can reduce the dangers of market saturation and customer defection for businesses. By tailoring brand identities to cater to specific customer segments, companies can avoid overexposing a single market and prevent losing current customers due to unsuitable offerings.

This versatility ensures a more seamless journey towards growth, especially in light of evolving consumer preferences, alleviating potential challenges associated with rigid, generic branding strategies.

Building Brand or Product Awareness

By establishing multiple brands, companies can expand their market presence, increasing consumer brand and product awareness.

Consider Unilever, a successful consumer goods company. Through mixed branding, Unilever has effectively introduced various sub-brands tailored to specific consumer needs.

For example, they have developed brands like Dove for skincare, Axe for men's grooming, and Ben & Jerry's for ice cream.

Each sub-brand addresses unique preferences, expanding Unilever's customer base while consolidating its position in the market.

Building Customer Loyalty

Creating distinct brand identities for specific market segments through mixed branding can effectively engage consumers and strengthen customer relationships.

By addressing diverse consumer needs, companies can ensure that their marketing efforts resonate with the intended audience, ultimately fostering brand loyalty and bolstering their reputation.

Brand Variety

To remain competitive, businesses must constantly innovate in response to evolving consumer preferences. One way to achieve this is by incorporating mixed branding into their strategy.

This approach allows businesses to adapt to changing consumer demands and offer tailored products to different market segments. Not only does this enhance a company's market position, but it also solidifies its reputation as a dynamic industry leader.

Mixed branding isn't just a marketing technique. It's a dynamic force propelling businesses towards unparalleled success. This strategy allows companies to cast a wide net, reaching out to different customer groups with tailor-made brand identities.

By striking the perfect balance between unity and diversity, businesses can attract new customers and keep existing ones loyal.

Embracing mixed branding is not just about achieving short-term gains but a strategic investment in long-term growth, making it an excellent way for businesses to prosper in changing consumer preferences.