Brand value - Making $5M a year for doing nothing

Richard Branson is great at building his Virgin brand. Because of this he can now make at least $5million a year by effectively doing nothing. He has just licensed his brand to a major mobile phone company in Australia (and sold his share in it, for a $20m loss). In other words, the phone company will pay Branson for the rights to use the Virgin brand - a 15 year deal - and he has no business risk.

This demonstrates the value of a brand. Branson has spent millions over many years building it up. Now he has a global brand. But brands can work on a local level too. If you have a smaller business you can establish a value for your brand within your own local market.