Building a brand can be a huge undertaking when developing a business. In fact, building out the brand might be one of the most important components developing a business, and the single-biggest factor determining success or failure.
Now, what if I suggested instead of building one brand, you build several of them? That may seem like an outlandish suggestion, because it may sound like a ton of work. And you’d be right: building a multi-brand structure has its challenges.
But according to Ryan Dean Hoggan, it can also have some big payoffs. We called up Hoggan, to talk about the benefits of building a multi-brand strategy, and his experiences in the space.
Ryan, how did you get to where you are today?
I’ve spent the past 20 years entrenched in the world of entrepreneurship and business. Specifically, I’ve been involved in the Venture Capital scene, e-commerce, marketing, and startups. I’ve also built brands and sold businesses, which I’m very passionate about.
Why are you passionate about building brands in particular?
I love taking an idea from just a seed, and really watching it grow. It’s wild the transformation you can witness, when a business gets to the point where it’s sold.
To me, that’s one of my ultimate visions of success, and I find it very fun and exciting to pursue that. As a business executive, I have a lot of experience in business structures, and the process of building out a brand and watching it grow is very enjoyable for me.
Why would someone want to build a multi-brand strategy?
Some major companies you probably know use a multi-brand strategy, and that’s one of the main reasons why they do it. Having a multi-brand strategy helps create massive brand awareness, and help you target different markets. That’s one of the biggest benefits of a multi-brand strategy.
What are some of the challenges to a multi-brand strategy?
It definitely has the potential to use resources in a much more aggressive way, which is why you typically see a multi-brand strategy with huge companies. They have the resources for it.
For smaller companies, the concern is spreading your brand and resources too thin, which can actually have more adverse effects. But having a multi-brand strategy doesn’t have to be a total drain on resources for the littler guys.
There are definitely ways to approach it successfully, and I think that involves a lot of back-end planning.
How do you structure your multi-brand strategies?
In the past, when I’m developing a brand or business, I keep in mind that my ultimate goal is to serve a wide audience, within my niche or product. So, having a multi-brand strategy actually allows me to reach different consumers, and hit the widest pool of potential customers possible.
But I also make sure to structure my strategies with the resources at hand. it can be easy to get carried away with big ideas that are outside the available resources, so I try to make sure I’m working with what’s available to me.
