I have a Basic MSI Install with Install Shield 2013 and we have about 20 different affiliate releases. Really the only difference between these releases is the Program Name
The Shortcut tables doesn't allow for formatted shortcut names. I know how to implement variation points three ways:
1) Build Time 2) Install Time 3) Runtime
You're question indicates you want to go from build time to install time. It's possible to do this using custom actions that manipulate the Shortcut table using temporary rows.
The way I'd do it is have a custom table with schema Affiliate Code [PK] Branding
The custom action would get the prompted or passed value and find the row in the table for branding data. Then emit the data into the shortcut table and let MSI handle the rest.