A brand hierarchy reveals an explicit ordering of all brand names by displaying the number and nature of common and distinctive brand name elements across the firm’s products. By capturing the potential branding relationships among the different products sold by the firm, a brand hierarchy graphically portrays a firm’s branding strategy. One simple representation of possible brand elements and thus of potential levels of a brand hierarchy is (from top to bottom): corporate (Or company) brand, family brand, individual brand, and modifier.
In designing a brand hierarchy, marketers should define the number of different levels of brands (generally two or three) and the relative emphasis that brands at different levels will receive when combined to brand any one product. One common strategy to brand a new product is to create a sub-brand, combining an existing company or family brand with a new individual brand.
When marketers use multiple brand names, as with a sub-brand, the relative visibility of each brand element determines its prominence.