What are the 3 types of brands?

Here’s a hypothesis: There are essentially nine different types of brands and you can jumpstart the development of your brand strategy by identifying the one that’s right for you.

I’ve developed this hypothesis after working on brands for over 25 years. I’ve come to realize that there is a finite number of brand types or ways that brands compete and are positioned, and after quite a bit of research and analysis, I’ve been able to identify nine. (I also got a lot of input from my community when I asked them for feedback earlier this year — thank you if you were one of the super smart people who helped me!)

These nine brand types differ from brand archetypes, which classify brands according to storytelling character types like the Hero, the Joker, and the Innocent. I have relied on brand archetypes in past brand strategy development work — and will continue to do so — but at times, I’ve found the typology too abstract for some of my clients to grasp or too oriented to communicating the brand vs. operationalizing it.

In my research, I also came across some helpful sources on other ways to classify brands, including this piece by Mark di Somma that lists 21 different types of brands based on the role they play (e.g., corporate vs. product brand, ingredient brand, and employer brand.)

But I want to focus on the different strategies or stances that brands take to shape their identity and positioning. I want to help you identify the general type of brand you want to build, so that you can more clearly and easily pinpoint the specific brand identity and positioning you aspire to.

I also want to reinforce the need for a single, focused, different brand idea. Too many people develop brand strategies, and therefore brands, that are generic, vague, or ambiguous. By selecting one type for your brand, you’re more likely to end up with a powerful brand strategy.

So here are the nine types, labeled by what characterizes or differentiates them the most:

Disruptive Brand — Challenges the current ways of doing things and introduces new concepts that substantively change the market
Conscious Brand — Is on a mission to make a positive social or environmental impact or enhance people’s quality of life
Service Brand — Consistently delivers high-quality customer care and service
Innovative Brand — Consistently introduces advanced and breakthrough products and technologies
Value Brand — Offers lower prices for basic quality
Performance Brand — Offers products that deliver superior performance and dependability
Luxury Brand — Offers higher quality at higher price
Style Brand — Is differentiated through the way its products or services look and feel, as much as or more than what they do
Experience Brand — Is differentiated through the experience it provides, as much as or more than the product or service

Please note these important points about the nine different types of brands and this approach to classifying brands:

Some characteristics are — or should be — embraced by all brands. All brands should offer good service, for example — but a brand that falls into the Service brand type makes it the top priority to consistently deliver high-quality customer care and service. Its strategies, operations, and ultimately customer value propositions are all centered around service first.
Although two or three brand types might seem relevant to your brand — and there’s certainly overlap between them — you should identify a primary one. Your primary brand type should be the one that aligns best with your overarching purpose, resonates most with your organization, and gives you the most impact with your customers.
Across the life of your brand, it might evolve from one type to another as customers, competitors, and culture changes. But if you’re just starting out, I recommend selecting the one that seems most evergreen or sustainable.
For many brands, there is a difference between how you’re currently perceived and how you want to be. It’s possible to change your brand type, but make sure your aspirations are realistic — e.g., a value brand is unlikely to become a luxury one or a style one.
Each brand type offers a wide range of options for establishing a unique brand identity and a precise brand positioning for your brand. Consider the differences in purpose, scope, target customer, and personality between three different performance brands: BMW, FedEX, and American Express.

The following chart provides more information about each of the nine brand types:

I hope this post has been helpful — and I’m eager to hear your feedback. Comments are open!

Ban These Five Words From Your Brand Strategy

Scale Up Your Brand Workbook

What Is Brand Essence — And Brand Essence Exercises

brand identity, brand strategy, brand positioning, brand essence, strategic brand platform, brand archetypes, brand types, brand classification

Before you can really talk about what makes a good brand, it’s important to understand what exactly a brand is. Entrepreneur.com defines branding as “the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products”. but we think of it more as the promise of a unique, lasting experience for your customers.

Many things can become brands, including products, services, organizations, individuals, groups, events, geographic places, private labels, media…the list goes on. But what type of brand is your business? Here are some of the most common types to get you started.

Product Brands

Product brands are those companies that are often defined by their first or most popular product.

Typically, product brands are associated with tangible products such as cars, household goods or lifestyle products. This can either be specific (individual product) or cover a range of products (product range).

Individual Product: like Coca-Cola or Pepsi.
Product Range: Most car brands represent a product range brand – think Ford (with several distinct models under that brand umbrella)
Ingredient Brand: Ingredient brands and branding are great for cross promotion. For example, Arm and Hammer baking soda in an individual product brand unto itself, but it gets additional promotion as a trusted ingredient in everything from deodorant to toothpaste to laundry detergent

Service Brands

A service brand is just that – a brand that is defined by the service that it provides. Some of the biggest brands to grow to prominence in the last few years are service brands – like Uber, Lyft, and AirBnb – with several others developing a hybrid service/product brand identity – like Dollar Shave Club, Quip, or Blue Apron. With service at the core of their identities, service brands need to develop and maintain a strong positive image and customer interactions.

Personal Brands

The rise of social media didn’t invent the personal brand, but it did make it a major part of the branding conversation. Celebrities are the most common examples of personal brands – people like Oprah, Martha Stewart, and Chrissy Teigan have nearly perfected the art – but charismatic founders and leaders of companies (for example Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Vera Wang) can become deeply connected to and associated with their brand even as the company expands and their involvement changes.

Event Brands

Event brands produce events which deliver a consistent branded experience to its attendees, in turn creating long term consumer loyalty. Sporting events like the Olympics or music festivals like Coachella focus on the consumer experience as a branded effort, as the brand is typically strongly connected with the experience the attendees gain from being at the event. This is a key reason why product or service brands will often sponsor events – they are trying to leverage the emotional connection associated with the event’s goodwill by being a part of that experience.

Geographical Brands

Countries, cities, streets, and buildings such as landmarks have distinct key qualities that can be seen as identifications of a brand, if utilized correctly. Also known as city or destination brands, these brands capitalize on the feelings that a city or region builds in order to associate itself with related ideas and concepts. The “I LOVE NY” or “Visit Denver “ trademarks and brands are great examples of this.

Other Types of Brands

Global Brands: Typically epitomized by household names such as Amazon, McDonalds, and Disney, these brands are widely marketed and recognized world-wide.
Luxury Brands: Through quality, association, and story-telling, prestige brands – like Louis Vuitton, TIffany, Balenciaga, and Cartier – deliver social status and endorsement.
Cult Brands: Fierce communities of customers help propel these brands forward. Some examples include Patagonia, Supreme, Apple, Trader Joe’s, White Claw, and CrossFit.

Many brands function across multiple brand descriptions, but as you’re working to develop your brand you may want to focus on one primary brand type and let any other associations develop organically. Think about your audience, your industry, and your specific USPs (unique selling propositions) and how you best want to express all of those elements under the umbrella of your brand. You may be tempted to target one brand type – who wouldn’t want to establish a cult brand from the offset? – but resist that temptation and try to establish a true and authentic feeling identity for your brand (and hopefully cult status will come later.

First published on 01/02/2019 – updated on 01/13/2021