Anyone starting a business today should be well aware of the importance of branding. While building a brand has always been something that every business has tried to do, it has taken on a whole new level of importance with the increase in e-commerce.

We are a world full of people with short attention spans, which means that branding is essential if you are to catch the attention of the consumer and hold onto it for an extended period of time. One way to ensure that you do that, and catch as many people as possible in the process, is with the use of sub-branding.

While that term may seem new to you, we can pretty much guarantee that you will be familiar with it once we take a moment to explain what it is. Let’s look at Apple as the perfect example of a company that uses sub-branding to great effect. We are all pretty much well aware of the Apple brand, but we are probably more familiar with their sub-brands than the company as a whole. We are pf course talking about the likes of iPad, iTunes, and iPod, all of which would be considered a member of the Apple sub-brand family.

If you are thinking about sub-branding for your business, there are a number of things that you need to consider before taking that leap. The most obvious question that you need to ask yourself is if the products that you are sub-branding will be in conflict with one another. Imagine if Apple were to release an iPad and another type of tablet that was a little bit different. They still might get the same number of total sales, but the effect on both of the sub-brands would not be that great, as they would essentially be going head to head.

It is also a good idea to make sure that your sub-brands are all part of the same product category. It would be rather odd for Apple to suddenly start a line of clothing that they would try and then sell under the brand in a different sub-category. Branding goes much better if the consumer can identify your name with a specific type of product. Another example would be car companies, as they will create sub-brands for each of their vehicles whilst still falling under the same brand category.

Finally, you need to look long and hard at your time and budget before thinking of sub-branding. If it has taken you a substantial amount of time and money to build your brand, you need to think seriously about the effort it will take to start building new brands under your main name. While sub-branding can pay off in the long haul, it can also chew up resources that you can scarce afford in the running of your business. In short, only do it if you look closely at the pros and cons and it all still makes sense for your business.

To create a powerful branding & sub-branding for your business call 01904 430 666 or get in touch with us via the contact form below.