Column 12 · Brand and Market-Based Assets · Era 5, Assets and Accountability (2000s)
Brand Portfolio
Formulation, content · Major · Cluster IV, Customer and Brand Assets
Description
Morgan and Rego showed that brand portfolio characteristics, including the number of brands, segments served, competition among the firm's brands, and perceived quality, affect marketing effectiveness and financial performance.
Managerial Implications
The structure of a brand portfolio affects performance: more brands and more segments served can raise share but lower profit through cannibalization and complexity, while brand positioning overlap hurts. Review the portfolio as a whole. Each brand should have a distinct role and segment; brands that cannot justify their incremental contribution should be merged or retired. Portfolio discipline is usually more profitable than portfolio growth.