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Building a strong brand is only half the battle. The next step is to monetize your brand effectively, and in today’s landscape there are more opportunities than ever. If you’re wondering how to get more from your brand, keep reading to learn as I discuss some strategies business owners can use to maximize their return on brand equity.
White Labeling & Branded Merchandise
More than just T-shirts, white labeling, also known as private labeling, is a powerful tool that can help you expand your brand’s reach into new product categories without investing in costly production infrastructure. It can also be a great cost-effective way for sales-minded entrepreneurs to get off the ground by offloading much of their operational needs to experienced manufacturers.
In a white labeling agreement, you partner with a manufacturer to create branded products for sale to your customers. These arrangements can avoid startup and tooling costs, licensing costs, and, due to economies of scale, lead to better margins on these products than the brand owner could achieve on their own.
These arrangements can also be particularly effective in helping business owners break into highly-regulated industries such as food & beverages, dietary supplements, cannabis, hemp, and more where high startup costs and steep compliance obligations would otherwise all but prevent expansion.
The key is choosing products and partners that align with your brand’s goals, existing identity, and target customers. While the possibilities are endless, some common examples might include a specialty coffee shop that subcontracts the manufacture of pastries in branded packaging, or a restaurant that sells branded apparel, opening up additional revenue and marketing streams.
Intellectual Property Licensing
Taking the white labeling concept to its natural conclusion, licensing your intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyrights, and patents can be an effective way to make money off of your brand.
One of the biggest benefits of intellectual property licensing is that it can offload the vast majority of the costs and hassles associated with running a business onto another company, allowing the rights holder to reap the rewards in the form of royalties from each sale of products incorporating their brand or technology.
In a typical deal, the brand owner licenses their brand to a business that can benefit from leveraging their existing brand or technology. The licensee then takes care of (almost) everything from manufacturing to marketing to sales and pays the brand owner a percentage of the sales or profits.
While this can seem too good to be true, there are numerous risks. Brand owners need to choose their partners carefully and regularly monitor the way their brand is being used. They can also find themselves in a precarious position. With the licensee responsible for an increasing share of the business, brand owners must find ways to ensure their brand or other intellectual property stays valuable to their partners for the long haul, lest they become victims of cost-cutting measures. Often this means continuing to build brand equity independently, even after the brand has been licensed.
Affiliate Marketing and Co-Branding
Affiliate Marketing and Co-Branding are all about partnering with likeminded businesses to add additional revenue streams and increase visibility.
In an affiliate marketing arrangement, brands with larger followings might agree to promote the products and services of other brands through unique affiliate links, entitling them to a share of all sales made through the link. To help maximize your chances of success it’s important to ensure that your audience is well developed and aligned with the products or services you will promote.
Co-branding is typically more reciprocal, with aligned brands collaborating to develop products or services that appeal to their mutual audiences. Done right, co-branding can raise awareness among both business’ customer base of the other business’ products and services. Again, it’s important to choose your partners carefully and carefully define the roles and responsibilities of each party in any co-branding arrangement.
Conclusion
By leveraging white labeling, intellectual property licensing, affiliate marketing, co-branding, and other strategies you can create multiple revenue streams while strengthening your brand’s presence. Shadow Mountain Business Law is here to help with strategies and agreements to promote, monetize, and protect your brand. Interested? Reach out on the contact page or via LinkedIn to schedule a consultation.
