Imagine turning $26 into $26 billion.
The iconic Nike swoosh logo was worth exactly $26 in 1971, when founder Phil Knight paid a designer to create it. Today the value of the brand is estimated at $26 billion.
This is just one of countless examples of how valuable a brand can be.
Most well-known brands build their identity around the name and logo they’ve created. The more success your business achieves, the more valuable your brand becomes.
Don’t overlook the part your brand plays in building a business. In many cases it’s a big part of a business’ profitability. In dynamic, fast moving industries, it can be the difference between success and failure.
It doesn’t hurt to plan for the future either. What may seem small and incidental today could be earning you serious money in the next few years.
If you’re questioning the value of brand, try this: look up the prices of different types of smartphones or TVs and compare how prices differ for essentially the same product. Does that price difference come down to the varying specs, or are you mostly paying for brand?
Taking the same steps to trademark and therefore protect your own brand, you can increase the value of your products too.
A good way to start the process is to ask yourself three questions:
If you’re unsure about how to approach the protection of your brand and intellectual property (IP), the first thing to consider is your market and intended market. Who are your competitors and what element of your business might they be most interested in?
For tech companies, your unique software might be most at risk. If you have a hospitality business, perhaps it’s your unique preparation process.
To help ward off potential copycats of your original ideas, consider creating non-disclosure agreements for your employees and perhaps even suppliers.
You can take this further by trademarking your brand as a form of insurance policy. While you may never need it, you’ll soon realise its value if you do.
Before you lock down your business identity, researching what brands currently exist will save you time and money.
A simple way to do this is to type your brand into the Australian Trade Mark Search to see if another business is using the same or similar branding in your market.
There are three reasons why this step is necessary:
Your brand can become your most valuable asset, so researching other brands in the market is worth your time.
If your plans stretches to overseas markets, here are a few things to remember:
Many businesses rely on staff, independent consultants or contractors to develop your ideas.
You might assume that anything they create while being paid is automatically belongs to the business they work for. But that’s not always the case.
Some ways to stay safe include:
By this stage, you may be ready to apply for a trade mark. This is where you’ll need to decide which application best suits you before you apply.
There are two options:
We are the Australian Government agency that administers intellectual property (IP) rights and legislation relating to patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder’s rights. Our vision is to have a world leading IP system that builds prosperity for Australia.
