What Is Brand Architecture?

Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organization. That is, the build up of different brands under a sole brand, in an organizational structure. It is the way the different brands within an organization are related to, and differentiated from one another. It is also how the sub-brands (brands under the sole brand) support each other, and reinforce the goals of the parent brand to whom they belong. In simpler terms, brand architecture is just how a bigger brand fathers other smaller brands that relate to it. For instance, how Procter and Gamble is the bigger brand, and how Pampers is under it. Now, these sub-brands have a relationship, which is to reinforce or emphasize on the goals of the master brand.

The brand architecture of an organization at any time, is to a large extent, a legacy of previous management decisions, as well as the competitions present in the industry.

Some Models

Now that we have an understanding of what brand architecture is, let us look at the different brand architecture models in our present day.

• Corporate or Umbrella Brands: In this model, it is the master brand that is known to the consumers and stakeholders(employees, shareholders, partners, etc.) These brands may also be used where product descriptions are needed, or in sub-brands. For example; Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

• Endorsed Brands:These brands have a parent brand (which may be a corporate brand, or umbrella brand,) that endorses a sub-brand. This endorsement adds credibility to the endorsed sub-brand in the eyes of consumers.

• Branded House: This is a model where a bigger brand has sub-brands that also carry the master brand. An example of this, is FedEx (bigger brand,) with FedEx Freight as a sub-brand. This model is normally used when companies intend to use the bigger brand’s brand equity to help the sub-brand.

Branded house brand architecture illustration: FedEx brand

• House of Brands: In this model, there is no, visible relationship between the bigger brand and the sub-brands. Procter and Gamble is a popular example, where Procter and Gamble is the master brand with hundreds of sub-brands like Oral-B and Pampers.

House of brands brand architecture illustration: Procter and Gamble brand

• Hybrid Brand Architecture: This brand architecture model is a combination of the house of brands and branded house models. The goal of this structure is for the sub-brands to have similarities with the master brand, whilst maintaining their different brand identities.

How To Build A Brand Architecture?

As an organization grows, the cost of marketing multiplies twice its initial cost. It is for this reason that the development of a brand architecture, is crucial to the growth of that organization.

There are things to put into consideration before deciding on which brand architecture to develop. Some of which are;

• The long term goals of the organization

• The probability of excelling with chosen model

• How chosen model will profit the organization

To develop a brand architecture, one must follow the steps below;

1) Research

This is where you make findings on who your consumers are (buyer persona,) what your consumers need, and how you can satisfy them. You are also to find out how they view your brand, their awareness of what you have to offer, and which of your services they are most interested in. This is so that you know what areas to improve on. You are to perform qualitative research, quantitative research, competitive research (to know how your competitors serve your target customers,) brand equity studies, and audits. It is also wise to make research within the brand, to know the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, and how sub-brands interact with each other.

2) Strategize

Now that you know and understand your consumers’ needs and the strengths of your organization, you are to decide what structure would benefit you the most. It is at this point that you decide how the brands and offerings should be presented, and how the organization’s resources are to be used.

3) Implementation

This is the part where you implement all you have found out, and of course, with the strategy you came up with. It is here also, that you assign responsibilities to sub-brands. For this to work out, all divisions have to be in agreement with whatever decisions you make. And this is why it is crucial that you make adequate research, and informed decisions before implementing. It is also important, so that the master brand and all its sub brands are in sync. In essence, you are to create, announce, and implement a blueprint for the organization. The blueprint is to state;

• The role of each subsidiary (sub-brand)

• The market of each sub brand

• The presentation of each brand

• The affiliation with the master brand

• An hierarchy for decision-making within the organization

How To Manage Brand Architecture?

It is one thing to plan and implement a brand architecture, and it is another, to manage that structure. Managing a brand architecture is a continuous process. However, we would look at some ways we can manage brand architecture. Let’s go in.

To manage a brand architecture, one must maintain some factors in the structure. Some of which are;

1) Rules

The rights and limits of each sub-brand must be clearly stated and communicated. This information is to be made known to each employee and third party involved with the brand.

2) Responsibilities

The responsibilities of each subsidiary should be clearly stated. This allows for efficiency, co-operation, and absence of effort duplication. It even makes production faster, if you ask me. Every part of the structure should be able to play their roles independently.

3) Assets

The brand’s assets should be used appropriately and carefully. This is because the assets are what keep the organization going. This involves brand equity, recognition, and loyalty. It is wise also, to centralize the brand assets, as this aids accessibility and transparency.

4) Customers

One thing common with brands, is the quest to satisfy customers, and gain their trust. This is why it is very important for brands to maintain good relationships with customers. Brands are to remain sensitive to customers’ opinion about their services. This is so that they can make improvements that appeal to them. The brand architecture of a brand should be flexible(that is, easily reassessed to meet customer satisfaction.) I mean, without the customer, is there really a brand?

The main reason for creating a brand architecture is to profit the brand, whilst serving satisfaction to the market. In essence, spiraling sales to great heights and putting smiles on faces of customers. Make sure you have that on your list of goals, as you begin planning and developing your brand architecture.

That will be all for now. Did you learn something? Be free to leave your comments, and share this article if you loved it!

Today, we are going to talk about this wonderful internet service that has gained popularity across the nation; MTN HyNet Flex. We would understand what this service is all about, how to subscribe, and change the passwords. Shall we begin?

What is MTN HyNet Flex?

MTN HyNet Flex is a high speed internet service that can be used for different businesses, ranging from low scale to medium or large scale businesses. It can also be used by households or just individuals. The reason it has an edge over normal USSD subscription plans, is it’s swift delivery of internet connection, and faster downloadable power. The plans however, are more expensive than the USSD subscription plans. Safe to say that it buys the smaller plans. The MTN HyNet has two major plans: LTE and WiMAX, which are further divided into the Unlimited and Standard Plans. Each plan has its own allotted speed and availability. The prices of each plan are as follows;

PLAN PRICE DURATION

12gb N4,000 30 days

25gb N8,000 30 days

45gb N11,000 30 days

100gb N18,000 30 days

160gb N25,000 30 days

280gb N36,000 60 days

360gb N45,000 90 days

800gb N90,000 180 days

1.5tb N150,000 365 days

Instead of using just a sim card, the HyNet Flex comes with a router that different devices can connect to. Another thing to know about HyNet Flex, is that it is location limited. That is, it works only in specific locations. However, efforts are being made to tackle this challenge, and very soon it will be effective in all locations.

Subscribing to MTN HyNet Flex Plans

In this section, I am going to list the procedures to follow, to subscribe to a HyNet Flex plan. Stick with me.

• Firstly, visit the MTN HyNet flex official page, www.mtnbusiness.com.ng/hynetflex

• Then, renew subscription, or subscribe to MTN HyNet flex by going through the MTN hynet flex plans

• Locate the plan you want, and click on the link to subscribe

Well, that is how you subscribe. But if you find it hard to subscribe, you can call the MTN customer service.

PS: To get the router, you should visit an MTN local center around you, and make inquiries.

How to Change MTN HyNet Flex passwords

There are two types of passwords on the HyNet Flex. They are, the admin password, and the Wi-Fi password (technically called WPA Key.) The admin password is used to gain access to the HyNet Flex settings pane, while the Wi-Fi password is used to connect devices to the router.

In this section, I am going to show you how you can change both passwords. Let us get into it!

Firstly, let us look at the admin password. The default admin password for every HyNet Flex router is “admin”. It is wise to change this password, as anyone who knows the default password may access your router without your permission. Even worse, such person could change your password!

Here’s how to change the password;

• Connect your device to the MTN HyNet Flex router

• Visit http://192.168.0.1 using your web browser

• Login with the default password (admin)

• Now, you are logged in, click on “modify login password”, and create a new password

Voila! You have changed the admin password. You can now control the access to your router.

Now, let us look at the Wi-Fi password. MTN HyNet Flex is a dual-band router; meaning that it can broadcast two bands (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz) at a time. The two bands can both possess different Wi-Fi passwords or WPA Keys, as it is technically known. So, it is good if you have your own passwords for these bands.

Here’s how to create the Wi-Fi password(s);

• Again, connect your device to the HyNet Flex router

• Visit http://192.168.0.1 using your browser

• Login with your admin login password. Remember that the default password is “admin”

• When you gain access to the dashboard, click the settings button under W-Fi

• You would be redirected to a new page. On that page, there are settings for the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands

• You can go on to set new passwords for each of them by modifying the passwords in the WLAN key field

• After you have changed the WLAN key, click on “apply”. Upon successful WLAN key change, your device would be disconnected

• Now, log in with your new password(s) and stay connected!

And that is how to change the Wi-Fi password. Did that help? If it did not, I recommend calling the MTN customer service.

Okay, friends. It is here we draw the curtains. I hope you found this article helpful? If you did, please be kind to share. If not, please leave a comment. For your questions, leave them in the comments section, and I will be there to reply.

Till we meet to read again.

Wondering why you no longer see GLO’s enticing NIN advert that featured the beautiful actress, Osas Ighodaro? Well, in this article, I’ll be answering you that question.

The GLO NIN Advert Video

Firstly, let’s go through the GLO NIN advert video, before diving into why APCON decided to flag the advert.

Why APCON Flagged GLO’s NIN Advert

According to reports, GLO’s NIN campaign which was aired on some TV stations and social media platforms was not submitted, and approved for broadcast, by the Advertising Standards Panels (ASP) in Nigeria. The statutory body is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that advertisements agree with the laws of the Federation, as well as the code of ethics of advertising in the nation.

In a letter addressed to Globacom Limited, and other media stations, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (APCON) ordered that the advert be brought down. This was to stop further broadcast of the commercial on all media platforms; both broadcast media, and social media.

A statement was made by the council and signed by its CEO, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, lamenting the lack of decency in the commercial, featuring the female model, Osas Ighodaro. This advert which was exposed by Globacom, brought concerns, as it was targeted at the Nigerian market. It elicited complaints about the exposure of the model’s cleavage. The advert also, was never submitted for approval.

In the statement, it was added that APCON is committed to ensuring that the advertising eco system is clear of unlawful vices, and will use every lawful means to punish the violators of the Advertising Laws of the Federation. A part of the statement says as quoted, “The advertisment was neither submitted nor approved for exposure by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), the statutory body charged with the responsibility of ensuring that advertisements conform with the prevailing laws of the federation as well as the code of ethics of Advertising in Nigeria…”

So, there it is, friends. That is why your favourite advert was flagged. Comments? Be free! Bye, for now.

I know you must have read in many different articles, what content creation is. You must have also come across learning how to begin your own content creation career. But I promise you, this will be quite interesting a read. Come along with me!

 

What Is Content?

Content, as you may or not know, is any form of information given to an, or any audience, be it in form of videos, written form, or audio. Content varies by the industries from which they were created, bringing about the different types of content we have today.

 

Types Of Content

People say that content are mostly only in written, audial, or visual(video) forms. While this is true to a very high extent, we should know also, that there are more types of content. We shall look at those, below:

1. Corporate content: these are information sent out by companies to audiences, in order to persuade, or update. They are:

• Advertisements, which could come in form of copies, or in visual forms.
• White papers
• Sponsored research
• Public relations content

 

2. Legal or governmental content: these by the name should imply contents we find, which are authored by legal bodies, such as the government, or other government authorized bodies. Some of these types of content are:

• Public history data
• Online public databases
• Exhibits
• National historical data
• Public records

 

3. User generated content: yes, users can create content, too. This came with the advent of Web-2, where users could also be involved in content creation. While these can be annoying, if they stand to trigger penalties on some sites, they can be useful to other users. Some of them are:

• Fan fiction
• Remixes of original content
• Social media posts, amongst a plenty others

 

4. Academic content: these are contents created by academic institutions, for either their students, aspiring students, or the general public. Some of which are:

• Books
• Journal articles
• Academic blogs
• Lecture videos

 

5. Cultural content: these contents are works of art, made in different art industries, for their respective audiences. Some of them are:

• Works of literature ; may be prose, poetry, or drama
• Movies
• Music
• Works of art, such as paintings, sculptures, mosaic, etc.
• Digital art, could be an NFT

These are a few types of content. Are there some others that you know? Feel free to drop them in the comment section!

 

What is Content Creation?

Here, we have come to heart of our discussion: content creation. Let us now define this term.

Content Creation is the offering of information through a medium to an audience, in a particular context. Simply put, it is giving what you know, or feel others should know; that is, expressing yourself to your audience, through a medium. Medium here, could be written, audial, or visual(pictorial, face to face, or video form.)

Now, a person new to this term may ask, how can I create content? Or, how can I get people to love what I create? Which brings us to the next subheading.

 

Creating Your Own Content

• You can create your own content, by first finding out how you want to express yourself. Do you want to write? Do you want to speak? Do you like standing behind the camera? Do you want to draw? Or paint? Or sing? What do you want to do, to express yourself?
• Now, you know what you want to do. What to do next? Ask yourself what you want to tell the people listening to you, now that you have found a medium with which you can express yourself.
• You know what you want to tell your audience. You have a medium with which you can share your information. But you cannot drop your opinion randomly, without plan. So you plan. Come up with a content creation calendar. This is so that you do not go out of line, and also so that you do not run out of ideas.
• You now have a plan, your information, and your medium. You want to create. You have an ideal audience persona, but not the audience itself. So you want to build your audience. How do you do this? I would say begin giving out your content, but if you give out content to people who have no interest in them, you will yield no positive results. So, you look for your audience; find their interests, where they mostly hang out(could be Twitter or Facebook). Then make them your audience; add them up if you must, follow for follow does not sound ideal, but it is not bad either.
• Now, you have your medium, your content, your plan, and your audience. What’s left to do, if not create? Yes, nothing. Create your content; write, make a video, sing, speak. Make edits where necessary. Make sure everything is accurate. And share.

That’s how content creation goes. Not satisfied? More research would help.

 

Who Is A Content Creator?

A content creator is simply a person who creates content. But to put it in a more comprehensive form, it is someone who expresses himself to his audience, in a particular niche.

A content creator could be a vlogger, a blogger, an artist, an artiste, a speaker, a copywriter.

When you log on your socials, there are lots of posts from people. Some people make consistent posts, relating to a particular context, while some just randomly drop pictures, with no intent of winning any attention. The former, is what we call content creators. They make consistent posts relating to a particular niche, to a particular audience, interested in that niche. Notice that they do not drop random opinions. This is because they are trying to maintain the reputation of the context they have dedicated their posts to, and do not want to lose their audience.

They sometimes stray from their contextual posts, but only seldomly, and it is maybe only to entertain their audience.

In essence, a content creator knows his niche; the niche that interests his audience, and does not stray to irrelevant topics.

I am sure now, that you have an idea of different types of content creators. But if not, for sake of emphasis, we shall look at some:

• Content Writers
• Vloggers
• Speakers( podcasts, motivations)
• Artists
• Artistes
• Actors
• Teachers (tutorial blogs and vlogs)
• Health care personnels (health care articles and vlogs), and a lot more.

We have covered what content creation is, who a content creator is, and what a piece of content is. Now, let us look at the reasons people create content.

 

Why Content Creation?

People create content for so many reasons. And those reasons, are we about to find out. Let’s get started.

• Mainly, it is because of the monetary advantage. In our article on vlogging, we were made to know what an average YouTuber makes monthly. About $2000 -$4000 monthly! That’s a lot, if you ask me.
• Before the monetary advantage, people created content, to attract attention. Yes, in order to attract attention from the audience they wanted, they create content that interests their potential audience. How does this happen? The already existing audience shares their content, and a potential consumer sees that content, and traces the author, and that author is followed!
• Some people create content just to entertain others. It may seem like too much work to do, just to entertain people, but that is how opportunities meet those content creators.
• Some create content as their occupation. Just because many people create content for the monetary advantage, does not mean it is their occupation. But for some people, creating content is their job; some vloggers, for example. And some content writers who write for companies.
• Some people also create content for their own sake. Some people create content just to express themselves. Some people that may do this are, artists, users such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram users.

These are some reasons to why people create content. Why do you create your content? Why do you want to create that content?

PS: Knowing why you are creating a piece of content can help you create quality content, so you should have a reason, or better still, a purpose in mind.

I hope that you know now, what content creation is, what creating a piece of content entails, what a piece of content is, who a content creator is, why you want to create content, and what you stand to gain from content creation.

I hope also, that you now know how to start a content creation career. If you don’t, I suggest you read the article again. And if after that, you still do not know how to, then you should make more research.

I hope finally, that you found this article helpful.

Firstly, I’ll like you to know, or if you know already, to be reminded, that vlogging is both an art, and a technology. Where does the art lie? In the ability to CREATE. And the technology lies in the capture of the movement, electronically. However, you do not have to know everything about videography, to begin a vlog. So, do not be scared when you hear ‘technology’.

With electronic media, such as cameras, or videotapes, it is possible to bring vlogging  to life.

In this article, we want to talk about how one can start a vlogging career. It’ll be an interesting read, stick with me.

Having defined vlogging in a rather fundamental way; saying it is an art of creating a video, and a technology of using electronic media, we now want to get to know the history of this art.

 

What Is A Vlog?

A vlog (shortened form of video blog) is a blog in the medium of a video, otherwise called a video log. It can either be a whole video, or made in parts.

 

History Of Vlogging

The advent of vlogging is said to be dated to the early 2000s, where the first vlogger in the name of Adam Kontras, sent a video and a blog to his family, upon his cross-country movement to Los Angeles. This was followed by another Adrian Miles, who posted a video of changing text, on a still image.

In 2002, Luuk Bouwman started a site as video diary for his post college travels. That his now defunct site, happens to be one of the first sites where the term, ‘vlog’ originated.

As at 2005, vlogging saw an increase in popularity, due to the emergence of YouTube.

With the presence of YouTube and other video blogging sites today, the relevance and popularity of vlogging remains almost unbeatable.

 

Some Vlog Post Ideas Today

As it is when an activity becomes a norm, many people have taken the vlog activity to a whole new level. It is even safe to say now, that some people live their lives for the internet. How do they do this? Yes, by vlogging. Here are some vlog ideas, if you’re looking to start a vlogging career:

• Cooking shows
• Educational tutorials
• Marketing and economic shows
• Vocational training shows
• Lifestyle reels
• Documentaries (can also be called vlogumentaries)
• Entertainment (music, movies, comedy)
• Physical fitness, and a lot more others.

 

How To Start A Vlog?

Nowadays, it’s almost as easy as a reflex, to start a vlog. However, there are some steps to take in order for a vlogging career to be a success. Eager to know, I see. Let us get to it:

• Firstly, like every other business anyone ventures into, one has to plan. What type of content do you intend to serve the public? Do you have a certain audience in mind, that you want to reach out to? If yes, how can they discover your vlog?
• Research. If you want to launch a vlogumentary, or maybe an informational or even a health talk show, you might want to make in-depth research, so that you do not share misleading information.
• Think. Ask yourself if you’re doing it right. The internet is full of very different people from yourself. What might interest you, might not interest others. Ask yourself if people like your vlog, and understand the information in the videos that you want to put out.
• Be creative. Nobody wants to watch a melancholic show, when it is not supposed to be a burial. Nobody wants comedy for a financial analysis tutorial. Make sure that you are creative, and your videos entice the right audience.
• Create. Now, it is time to take your planning, thinking, and creativity into action. Make alluring videos of whatever it is that you want to share with the world. How do you create? Easy! Brings us to our next step.
• With just a phone that has a good camera, one can begin his vlog. Some people who want to go the extra mile, get cameras, videotapes, and other electronic media, for creation of their videos.
• Now, you share your information in form of videos, with the world, by creating an account on any vlogging site you deem fit, and begin posting!
• Indulge. When you begin a vlog, it is possible that you may not have the much  engagements that you want, at first. However with time, people will begin to engage, and you would want to indulge them. Read their comments, and provide useful and helpful replies, where need be.

Easy peasy, right? You can do it.

 

Some Advantages Of Owning A Vlog

Now, you have started vlogging. It feels good, that you can share what you know, without having to write much. I know that feeling. Let us now look at some advantages of starting a vlog:

• You get to share it, exactly as you want to say it. Could be emotions, could be legit information.
• It is possible that your viewers may get to know you, through certain impressions they get from your vlogs. Those impressions gotten by your viewers, may also glue them to their screens
• You get to relate with a crowd that relates with what you’re giving to them in your videos.
• You get to educate people. When you have an informational vlog, you teach people, and most of the times, people learn things from vlogs!
• Your confidence increases! Let me tell you how: supposed you were too shy to stand in front of a camera, and one day you decided to start a vlog, wouldn’t you need some confidence to start? You would, definitely. And as time goes by, you become more confident than you were, in the beginning.
• Your vlog may be the reason someone smiles. Your comedy, can make someone laugh. Your educational tutorials can teach someone, and relieve the person the stress of a hectic research. Your emo-vlog can encourage someone!
• There is the monetary advantage that comes with vlogging. Apart from your love to share your activities with viewers, you may also be interested in monetizing your vlog.
• Did you know? An average YouTuber with at least 100,000 subscribers, makes up to $2,000 to $4,000 monthly? You should look that up, and begin considering getting your cameras ready!
• Vlogs are a great media for advertising one’s business. You know what a great copy can do? Yes, a vlog with expert advertisment, can do that too. Do not snooze, friend.

Why haven’t you started a vlog?

Few Vlogging Sites You Can Start Your Vlog Career On

Today, although YouTube is effortlessly the most used vlogging site, there are other sites where one can begin his vlog. Want to know? Let’s dive right in!

1. Firstly, for sake of hierarchy, we have to acknowledge YouTube. I believe you know that YouTube is a school on its own? Do yourself some good with that information.
2. Tik-tok. This platform has a tremendous variation of audiences, and therefore, accommodates so much vlog ideas.
3. Facebook. Yes, with Facebook, you can begin a vlog. With the presence of Reels on Facebook now, this has been made even easier, and more lucrative.
4. Instagram. Did you know that just like Facebook, you can also start a vlog on Instagram? I knew you knew. I mean, people live their lives for the gram, now. What is stopping you?
5. Likee. This platform is fast rising, and in no time, would be as large as Tik-tok.

Are there other vlog platforms, or sites that you know? I would be more than glad, if you knew more!

The Downsides Of Vlogging

 

We have spent so much time talking about the advantages of starting a vlog. While the advantages are really enticing, we should not forget that there are downsides to this, as there are to almost everything with an advantage. Let us now look into them:

• Starting a vlog might is expensive. One has to have high quality cameras, in order for their vlogs to come out crispy.
• Unlike blogs and articles, it is impossible to edit a video after it has been posted on a vlogging site. One either has to delete the video and begin from scratch again, or leave the video as it is. That’s a little inconvenient.
• Creating a vlog can be really time consuming. It is during the creation of the videos that one edits and tweaks whatever is needed to be changed. It would definitely take a lot of time.
• Another downside is that unlike blogs where search engines can index the written articles, vlogs cannot be indexed by search engines. But learning SEO for YouTube, can be of advantage.

These will be all for now. Are there any other disadvantages you have faced as a vlogger?, Or any other disadvantages you think might stand to impede starting your vlogging career?, You should check which outweighs the other; the advantages or disadvantages, and do the math by yourself.

We have come to the end of this article. I hope you learnt something, and I hope also that you are considering starting your own vlog, if you have the means.