`brando:BrandedCategory`

Product or service category overlaid with brand-specific language, constraints, and hierarchy.

rdfs:comment
Product or service category overlaid with brand-specific language, constraints, and hierarchy. May be aligned to GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC) and other standards such as UNSPSC and Google Product Taxonomy.

Term definition

IRI: brando:BrandedCategory
Type: owl:Class
Superclass: schema:Intangible
Alignments:
- rdfs:seeAlso → gs1:Product
- rdfs:seeAlso → gs1:AdditionalProductClassificationDetails
Defined in: brando: (Brando Schema Vocabulary v1.3)

brando:BrandedCategory represents a brand-level product or service category that:

uses the brand’s own category language,
can carry category-specific vocabulary and rules, and
can be aligned to external classification schemes (GS1 GPC, UNSPSC, Google Product Taxonomy).

It is the main way Brando connects a Brand Knowledge Graph to commerce, ads, and marketplace taxonomies while preserving brand semantics.

Relationships

Inbound: linked from `brando:Brand`

Branded categories are attached to brands via:

brando:hasProductCategory
- Type: owl:ObjectProperty
- Domain: brando:Brand
- Range: brando:BrandedCategory
- Comment: Links a brand to its branded product or service category taxonomy nodes.

Example (brand → category link):

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar",
  "@type": "brando:Brand",
  "schema:name": "Northstar Bank",
  "brando:hasProductCategory": {
    "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts"
  }
}

You will typically define multiple brando:BrandedCategory nodes for a brand, then use brando:hasProductCategory to connect them.

Key properties (domain = `brando:BrandedCategory`)

The following properties have brando:BrandedCategory in their rdfs:domain.

1. Category naming and internal structure

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment
`brando:productCategoryName`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Name of a product or service category with associated brand tokens and rules.
`brando:categoryDepartment`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Department-level categorisation within a product category.
`brando:categoryClass`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Class-level categorisation within a department.
`brando:categoryItemType`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Specific item type within a category class.

Usage notes (non-normative):

productCategoryName is the brand-facing label for the category (what people call it internally/externally).
categoryDepartment, categoryClass, and categoryItemType let you model hierarchy within your brand:
e.g. "Banking" (department) → "Deposit accounts" (class) → "Savings accounts" (item type).
These fields are purely brand-side – you still use the alignment properties (below) for GS1/UNSPSC/Google.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:categoryDepartment": "Banking",
  "brando:categoryClass": "Deposit accounts",
  "brando:categoryItemType": "Savings accounts"
}

2. Category-level vocabulary

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment
`brando:categoryApprovedTerms`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Terms encouraged for this category, layered on top of brand-level approved terms.
`brando:categoryProhibitedTerms`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Terms prohibited for this category, layered on top of brand-level prohibited terms.

Usage notes (non-normative):

These properties let you refine vocabulary per category on top of:
- global brando:approvedTerms / brando:prohibitedTerms on Brando:VerbalIdentity or brando:Brand.
- Good for:
- regulated categories,
- sensitive product lines,
- categories with specialised language.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:categoryApprovedTerms": [
    "savings goals",
    "interest rate",
    "deposit"
  ],
  "brando:categoryProhibitedTerms": [
    "no-risk investment",
    "get rich quick"
  ]
}

At runtime, your Brand OS can merge:

brand-level verbal rules and
categoryApprovedTerms / categoryProhibitedTerms

to produce effective constraints for content related to that category.

3. GS1 GPC alignment

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment
`brando:gpcCategoryCode`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC) brick code associated with this branded category.
`brando:gpcCategoryDescription`	`rdf:langString`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Human-readable description of the GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC) brick associated with this branded category.

Usage notes (non-normative):

Use these properties to link your brand taxonomy to GS1 GPC:
- gpcCategoryCode → numeric/alpha GPC brick code,
- gpcCategoryDescription → label/description from GS1.
- These are particularly useful when:
- you participate in GS1-driven data sharing,
- or want AI/search to honour GS1 semantics.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:gpcCategoryCode": "43191500",
  "brando:gpcCategoryDescription": "Savings and investment accounts (example only)"
}

(The code above is illustrative, not a canonical GS1 value.)

4. UNSPSC alignment

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment (truncated in vocab, summarised)
`brando:unspscCode`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code) associated with this category to align brand-defined categories with procurement and B2B classification schemes.

Use brando:unspscCode when you need to align your branded categories with UNSPSC for:

procurement systems,
B2B marketplaces,
analytics that rely on UNSPSC segments/families/classes.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:unspscCode": "84131500"
}

5. Google Product Taxonomy alignment

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment (truncated in vocab, summarised)
`brando:googleProductCategoryId`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	Google Product Taxonomy category identifier associated with this category to align brand-level categories and Google Merchant Center classification.

Use brando:googleProductCategoryId to connect your BrandedCategory to Google Product Taxonomy, especially when:

feeding Google Merchant Center,
configuring Shopping campaigns,
aligning with other Google surfaces.

The value can be:

an ID ("188"),
or a full category path string, depending on your internal convention.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:googleProductCategoryId": "Finance > Banking Services"
}

6. GTIN and product-level scoping

brando:BrandedCategory shares some scope properties with brando:Policy:

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment
`brando:appliesToGTIN`	`xsd:string`	`owl:DatatypeProperty`	GTIN(s) for which this branded category or policy is applicable.
`brando:appliesToProduct`	`gs1:Product`	`owl:ObjectProperty`	Links a branded category or policy to one or more GS1 Product nodes.

Usage notes (non-normative):

Use appliesToGTIN when you know specific GTINs that belong to this BrandedCategory.
Use appliesToProduct when you maintain explicit gs1:Product nodes in your graph and want to link them.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:appliesToGTIN": [
    "12345678901234",
    "12345678905678"
  ],
  "brando:appliesToProduct": {
    "@id": "https://example.com/gs1/product/12345678901234",
    "@type": "gs1:Product"
  }
}

7. Files and supporting material

These properties are shared across several Brando types, including brando:BrandedCategory:

Property IRI	Range	Type	rdfs:comment (truncated in vocab, summarised)
`brando:downloadableFile`	`schema:MediaObject`	`owl:ObjectProperty`	Links a brand, token, context, campaign, or policy node to one or more media objects representing the most up-to-date creative files exposed by the Brand OS or DAM.
`brando:supportingFile`	`schema:MediaObject`	`owl:ObjectProperty`	Links a brand, token, context, campaign, or policy node to non-canonical files that are helpful for production but are not the primary source-of-truth asset.

For brando:BrandedCategory, you can use these to point at:

category-specific guidelines,
product photography packs,
merchandising guides.

Example:

{
  "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
  "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
  "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
  "brando:downloadableFile": {
    "@id": "https://assets.example.com/northstar/categories/savings-accounts-guidelines.pdf",
    "@type": "schema:MediaObject",
    "schema:name": "Savings Accounts Brand Guidelines (PDF)",
    "schema:contentUrl": "https://assets.example.com/northstar/categories/savings-accounts-guidelines.pdf"
  },
  "brando:supportingFile": {
    "@id": "https://assets.example.com/northstar/categories/savings-accounts-examples.zip",
    "@type": "schema:MediaObject",
    "schema:name": "Savings Accounts Example Assets (ZIP)"
  }
}

Combined example: Brand + BrandedCategory + external classifications

{
  "@context": {
    "schema": "https://schema.org/",
    "brando": "https://brandoschema.com/",
    "gs1": "https://ref.gs1.org/voc/"
  },
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar",
      "@type": "brando:Brand",
      "schema:name": "Northstar Bank",
      "brando:hasProductCategory": {
        "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts"
      }
    },

    {
      "@id": "https://example.com/brand/northstar/categories/savings-accounts",
      "@type": "brando:BrandedCategory",
      "brando:productCategoryName": "Savings accounts",
      "brando:categoryDepartment": "Banking",
      "brando:categoryClass": "Deposit accounts",
      "brando:categoryItemType": "Savings accounts",
      "brando:categoryApprovedTerms": [
        "savings goals",
        "interest rate",
        "deposit"
      ],
      "brando:categoryProhibitedTerms": [
        "guaranteed returns",
        "get rich quick"
      ],
      "brando:gpcCategoryCode": "43191500",
      "brando:gpcCategoryDescription": "Savings and investment accounts (example only)",
      "brando:unspscCode": "84131500",
      "brando:googleProductCategoryId": "Finance > Banking Services",
      "brando:appliesToGTIN": [
        "12345678901234",
        "12345678905678"
      ],
      "brando:appliesToProduct": {
        "@id": "https://example.com/gs1/product/12345678901234",
        "@type": "gs1:Product"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Runtime pattern (non-normative):

Resolve brando:Brand for the request.
Determine relevant brando:BrandedCategory:
- based on product/GTIN,
- or via your own mapping logic.
Use the BrandedCategory to:
- align with GS1 GPC, UNSPSC, Google Product Taxonomy,
- add category-specific vocabulary (categoryApprovedTerms, categoryProhibitedTerms),
- feed downstream systems (ads, marketplaces, analytics) with aligned classification metadata.

Concepts / overview
- Brando types overview
- Getting started
Related types
- brando:Brand
- brando:Policy
Classification & architecture
- Brand portfolios & architecture

brando:BrandedCategory

Term definition

Relationships

Inbound: linked from brando:Brand

Key properties (domain = brando:BrandedCategory)

1. Category naming and internal structure

2. Category-level vocabulary

3. GS1 GPC alignment

4. UNSPSC alignment

5. Google Product Taxonomy alignment

6. GTIN and product-level scoping

7. Files and supporting material

Combined example: Brand + BrandedCategory + external classifications

Related documentation

`brando:BrandedCategory`

Inbound: linked from `brando:Brand`

Key properties (domain = `brando:BrandedCategory`)