Brand proliferation

A brand is a name and symbol and with this symbol, ideas associated with a product:
Mercedes-Benz --> expensive German cars.
Heinz --> ketchup

Brand proliferation is when a company puts on the market a product and variants of a product under different names.

Heinz would produce the standard ketchup, the 57 brand and then a cheaper ketchup called "the Red one" and an other one called the "H ketchup", very expensive with a special bottle and so on.
Advantages: to compete with low price ketchups or very expensive ketchup while keeping your main brand intact.

Disadvantages:
the overlap of brands on market segments, positioning, price, and distribution space. You may not increase you revenues, because you are selling the other brand names but you selling less your main brand name.