BRAND MANAGEMENT

BRAND EXTENSION

INTRODUCTION

Brand extension refers to the corporate activity whereby companies introduce new products, new product variants or product improvements by leveraging the brand equity of the existing parent brand. Brand extension is a type of short cut that companies resort to, to minimize risk and maximize their investment in the brand. Brand extension is a part of brand management to diversify and leverage the existing brand by entering into new product category by new product development. Positive images and strengths of existing brand / parent brand are leveraged to bring another success story for new product.

Brand extension is increasingly used by companies as a part of strategy for product developments. It is viewed as one of means to attain integrated brand architecture. The use of same brand on existing product (parent brand) for a new product in different category (extension brand) increases rate of new acceptance and purchase intention to consumer. The strategy maintains efficiencies on advertising and promotion expenditures yet still can create new market segment. Company is not in position to allocate marketing expenses at the same level as spent by the parent brand, yet may gain similar level of success. A strong reputation of parent brand can minimize risk of new product launch by taking advantages on consumers͛ knowledge and experiences of the established brand.

y In 1990s, 81% of new products used brand extension to introduce new brands and to create sales.

y Launching a new product, is not only time consuming but also needs a big budget to create awareness and to promote a product's benefits.

y Brand extension is one of the new product development strategies which can reduce financial risk by using the parent brand name to enhance consumers' perception due to the core brand equity

y Poor choices for brand extension may dilute and deteriorate the core brand and damage the brand equity. Eg: Xerox

y In practical cases, the failures of brand extension are at higher rate than the successes.

y The failures of extension make consumers create a negative or new association related to parent brand, brand family or to disturb and confuse the original brand identity and meaning.

NEED FOR BRAND EXTENSION

y Increasing competition between less & larger players with global aspirations and ability to communicate globally.

y Markets towards saturation.

y Decreasing brand loyalty.

y Helps the new brand to acquire instant brand recognition

y Saves cost

y Helps leverage the strengths of the existing brand

y It also helps build the brand into a ͚Super brand͛

y Leveraging brand equity/value by introduction of logical & complementary new product categories.

y Product Innovation to surpass consumer expectations

y It increases awareness of the brand name

y Increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category. (Widening the net to catch new consumers.)

y It͛s a great way to reinforce a brand, reach out to new customers, create a BUZZ

TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSIONS

1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product.

This is where a company changes the form of the product from the original parent product. An example is (frozen) Snickers Ice Cream Bars. The original Snickers bar is a shelf stable candy. The brand extension is a similar product, but in a different form. Jell-O Portable Pudding and Pudding Cups is Jell-O pudding in a different form and section of the store.

2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item.

When a brand ͞owns͟ a flavor, ingredient or component, there may be other categories where consumers want that property. Peanut butter is a characteristic ingredient in Reese͛s Peanut Butter Cups candy. Chocolate is a characteristic ingredient of Hershey. Brand Extension Research identified Reese͛s Peanut

Butter as a logical extension that capitalizes on this association. Research also suggested Hershey chocolate milk.

3. Benefit/Attribute/Feature owned.

Many brands ͞own͟ a benefit, attribute or feature that can be extended. Brand Extension Research showed ArmorAll that brand was defined by automotive surface protection ʹ which can go beyond vinyl dressing. Paint needs protecting also. Arm & Hammer ͞owns͟ a benefit of deodorizing. Their baking soda product has claimed that it removes odors from refrigerators, etc. As a result, they extended the brand into other products such as Arm & Hammer underarm deodorant and cat litter deodorizer. 4. Expertise

Over time, certain brands may gain a reputation for having an expertise in a given area. Leverage can be achieved when extending into areas where this special expertise is deemed important. Honda͛s expertise in reliable engines led to lawn mowers, gas powered generators and a variety of other gasoline engine powered devices. What brand comes to mind when we

think of baby products? ʹ Gerber. As a result of this acceptance of their expertise, they successfully launched Gerber Baby Powder, Gerber Baby Bottles, etc.

5. Companion Products

Some brand extensions are a ͞natural͟ companion to the products the company already makes. Contadina was a tomato paste and sauce brand. In brand extension research, consumers thought Contadina pasta was a logical companion product that would have the leverage of the Italian heritage of the parent. Aunt Jemima

(the pancake mix brand) launched pancake syrup, as a companion to compete with Log Cabin syrup.

6. Vertical Extensions

Some brand extensions are vertical extensions of what they currently offer. A brand can use their ͞ingredient/component͟ heritage to launch products in a more (or sometimes less) finished form. Nestlé͛s Toll House chocolate refrigerated cookies is an example. Most Toll House chocolate chips are used in cookies, so why not make a brand of Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Fields Cookies were ready-to-eat. They offered frozen cookie dough, moving backwards as a vertical extension. Rice Krispies has always been used in kids' treats. Kellogg offered Rice Krispies Treats ready-to-eat. 7. Same customer base

Many brand extensions represent a marketer͛s effort to sell something else to its customer base. This works particularly well when that customer base is large and to some extent captive. VISA launched travelers checks directed to its credit card customers.

8. Designer image/status

Certain brands convey status and hence create an image for the user. Designer clothing labels have been extended to furniture, jewelry, perfume, cosmetics and a host of other items. Some brands promote a lifestyle and can extend to items that people ͞wear,͟ as a badge of identifying themselves with that lifestyle. Tommy Bahama extended their brand from clothing into furniture. A notable success is Harley Davidson. Their extensive collection of licensed lifestyle items goes way beyond any expertise inherent in the brand.

Advantages of Brand Extension

y Characteristics of the parent brand (brand strength, uniqueness of knowledge structure, history of previous brand extension)

y Experience with Parent Brand

y Characteristic of Extension Product

y Characteristics of the firm

y Relationship between parent brand and extension

y Improve brand image

y Reduce risk perceived by Customers

y Permit consume variety-seeking

y Clarify brand meaning

y Increase the probability of gaining distribution and trial

y Increase efficiency of promotional expenditures

y Reduce costs of introductory & follow-up marketing programs (save 40- 80%)

y E.g. Apple iPods

y Avoid costs of developing a new brand

y Allow for packaging & labeling efficiencies

y Bring new customers into brand franchise and increase market coverage

y Revitalize the brand

y Permit subsequent extensions

Disadvantages of Brand Extension

y Creates confusion regarding core values of brand.

y Can fail & hurt parent brand image

y Can succeed but cannibalize sales of parent brand

y Can succeed but diminish identification with any one category

y Can succeed but hurt the image of parent brand

y Can confuse or frustrate consumers

y Can encounter retailer resistance

y Can dilute brand meaning

y Can cause the company to forgo the chance to develop a new brand

Brand Extensions are appropriate in the following cases:

y When Prior Brand equity exists

y Consumer must see some ͞connection͟ between the proposed extension and the parent brand.

y The proposed extension contributes to and reinforces the overall brand equity of the parent brand.

Conditions for Evaluating Consumerǯs Brand Extension

y Consumers have some awareness & positive associations about the parent brand

y At least some of these positive associations will be evoked by the brand extension

y Negative association are not transferred from the parent brand

y Negative associations are not created by the brand extension

Evaluating Brand Extension Opportunities

HYPOTHESIS

Brand extension of has led to its rapid growth and also increased its revenue.

VIRGIN GROUP

Virgin Group Ltd is a British branded organization founded by business tycoon , sometimes perceived as a conglomerate. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a ; however Virgin's business and trading activities date to the 1970s.

Virgin Group flies high with brand extension. By simply attaching name of ͞Virgin͟ in every product they market, Virgin rolls out so diverse categories. Virgin decisions to take this approach are tightly tied to the founder and CEO of the group, Richard Branson. With one single brand (Virgin), Branson and team have introduced and promoted so diverse product categories, from drink to wedding service and further to budget . A few were not running as planned, yet not so few can contribute cash inflows to the company. Recipe spread by Branson on taking his company grown so rapidly is by a simple answer: brand extension. It is the strategy to bring new products and services in market faster than ever.

VIRGIN GROUP

VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN VIRGIN RAIL TRAVEL CINEMAS MEDIA MOBILE MUSIC TRADING

VIRGIN BRAND EXTENSIONS

Virgin Group has gone on to grow very successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony to transportation, travel, financial services, media, music and fitness. Virgin stands for · Value for money, · Quality, · Innovation, · Fun and · Sense of competitive challenge.

The Virgin Group͛s rationale is to diversify into as many markets feasible, and extend the Virgin brand name further at a low cost; where stature could be relied upon to reduce barriers to entry into static markets. The key emphasis is on innovation and differentiation. The Virgin Group sought a challenge in ever venture. They would aim to provide better quality products than any competitor in a complacent market. The key point is that the market to be entered must be still in its growing phase.

All the business in the Virgin Group is strategically targeted towards a ͞five pillar͟ empire system that Sir Richard Branson is eager to create. At ͞the heart of Virgin͛s core strategy to develop the five pillars of the business empire: travel, leisure, mobile phones, entertainment retailing and personal finance͟.

The power of the Virgin brand name can be concluded from the various joint ventures that have been formed. For example Virgin͛s pledge in the Virgin Direct affair, was a mere £15m for the initial investment. But AMP Limited the leading international financial services initial investment was an extensive £450m; and yet it is a 50-50 joint venture!

All business within the Virgin Empire as mentioned in the Corporate Rationale section sacrificed short-term profits to gain long term growth and used an autonomous business level decision making method. Managers are free to make decisions independently for growth and feel the same degree of ownership and values that any other manager in the Virgin group would feel.

Branson started the Virgin record label in 1973. In 1984 he moved into the airline business, founding Airways, which was followed by , which operates flights to Europe. The Virgin Music Group was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. Virgin FM, the UK's second independent national radio station, opened in 1993, but was sold to Capital Radio in 1997. In 1995 Virgin bought the MGM UK chain of 116 cinemas. Ltd was formed in 1996, and operates the west coast rail franchise and cross-country services radiating from Birmingham. The company diversified into financial services in 1995, with the launch of Virgin Direct. In 1997 Virgin One bank accounts were set up in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Virgin Vie stores began selling cosmetics and toiletries in 1997, and the Virgin Clothing Company was launched in 1998. mobile telephone service was launched in 1999.

VIRGIN GROUP OPERATING GLOBALLY

y Ͷ a health club chain in , , , Portugal, and the UK y Ͷ a United States budget airline based at San Francisco International Airport (25% owned by Virgin Group) y Virgin Atlantic Airways Ͷ an international carrier based at Heathrow Airport y Ͷ a hot air balloon operator y Virgin Blue Holdings Limited o Virgin Blue Ͷ an Australian-based airline operating in the South Pacific o Blue Holidays Ͷ The holiday program of Virgin Blue, now a joint venture between Virgin Blue and Zuji o Pacific Blue Ͷ a Virgin Blue subsidiary based in New Zealand o Polynesian Blue Ͷ a Virgin Blue subsidiary based in Samoa o Ͷ a Virgin Blue international subsidiary offering flights between Australia and the USA, Thailand and South Africa (March 2010) y Ͷ publisher, retailer and distributor of books (10% owned by Virgin Group) y Virgin Brides Ͷ bridal wear shop in Manchester, UK y Ͷ internet automobile retailer y Virgin Charter Ͷ a private jet online marketplace y Virgin Comics Ͷ comic book producer y Ͷ drink manufacturer o Ͷ carbonated cola o Virgin Ͷ alcoholic beverage o v-Mix - spirit mixers y Virgin Energy Ͷ a former UK energy supplier y Ͷ corporate and consumer experience events y Virgin Flowers Ͷ Internet florist y Ͷ a venture to market and operate commercial space flights, using spacecraft designed by Scaled Composites y Ͷ online games and gambling y (originally known as Virgin Fuels) Ͷ venture capital firm for investing in petroleum alternatives y Virgin Health Bank[4] Ͷ a business enabling parents to store their baby's stem cells y Virgin Healthcare provides a selection of healthcare services tailored to local demand [5] y Virgin HealthMiles y Ͷ UK travel agency and tour operator for worldwide destinations served by Virgin Atlantic and its partner companies o Ͷ UK cruise holiday agent o - UK Online Travel Agent for holidays to florida. Acquired from the now defunct XL Leisure Group after it went into administration.  Travel City Direct Cruises - UK cruise holiday operator for holidays to Florida and the Caribbean y Ͷ exclusive operator o Kasbah Tamadot Ͷ exclusive Moroccan holiday destination o Lady B Ͷ luxurious Catamaran available for Caribbean charters o The Lodge Ͷ ski lodge o Natirar Ͷ private spa located in Somerset County, New Jersey o Necker Island Ͷ exclusive island in for private hire o The Roof Gardens and Babylon Ͷ 1.5 acres (6,100 m2) open air gardens, venue, nightclub and restaurant in Kensington, London o Ulusaba Ͷ exclusive game reserve in South Africa y Virgin Limobike Ͷ passenger bike service in London y Virgin Limousines Ͷ chauffeured limousine service in San Francisco and Northern y Ͷ provider of home telephone, cable television, broadband and mobile services to the y Virgin Media Television Ͷ a British television network, made up of Virgin 1, Trouble, Bravo, Living TV & 50% stake in UKTV o Virgin 1 Ͷ a general entertainment channel on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky Digital y Ͷ CD, DVD and games retailer chain with highͶstreet and online stores o Virgin XS Ͷ Factory OutletͶorientated format of Virgin Megastores y Virgin Mobile Ͷ brand used by several companies providing mobile phone service around the world o Virgin Mobile UK Ͷ provides mobile phone service in the United Kingdom, now part of Virgin Media o Virgin Mobile Australia Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in Australia o Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in Canada o Virgin Mobile South Africa Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in South Africa o Virgin Mobile USA Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in the United States o Virgin Mobile Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in France o Virgin Mobile India Ͷ provider of mobile phone service in India y Ͷ providers of financial services o Virgin Money US - provider of financial services in the United States o Virgin Credit Card y Virgin Money Giving - Online fundraising website y Ͷ a Spanish publisher of video games, once part of the now defunct . y - a Formula One team new for 2010, formerly called Manor. y Virgin Radio Ͷ Virgin branded radio stations around the world. o Virgin Radio Asia Ͷ collection of station operating in India and Thailand including Virgin Soft, Hitz, Easy FM and Oui o Virgin 99.9FM - a Canadian radio station, broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format at 99.9 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by . Formerly branded as 99.9 Mix FM, it adopted its current brand on 2008-08-25, pursuant to a licence from the Virgin Group. o Virgin 95.9FM - a Canadian radio station, broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format at 95.9 on the FM dial in Montreal, Quebec. This 41,200 watts station is owned by Astral Media. Station serves Montreal and adjacent eastern Ontario and Northern New York and Vermont. o Virgin Radio (France) Ͷ -(Lagardère Active) a rebranding of the "Europe 2" radio station o Virgin Radio Italia Ͷ (Gruppo Finelco) An Italian radio station y Ͷ record label now owned by EMI y Virgin Spa Ͷ shop chain retailing Virgin Cosmetics product y Ͷ a railway operator in the United Kingdom y Ͷ charitable foundation y Ͷ U.S. travel agency y Virgin Vie At Home Ͷ retailer of body care, cosmetics, homeware and jewellery products through the Internet, direct selling and Virgin Vie stores (Sent into Administration in 2009, having been rebranded 9 months earlier as Effective Cosmetics (However still selling Virgin Vie branded products) y Ͷ A Californian-based Internet wine retailer, created in 2005 and producer of Red and White wines y Virgin Voucher Ͷ gift voucher scheme, also functions as a staff reward scheme y Virgin Ware Ͷ clothes brand and retailer

VIRGIN AIRLINE

VIRGIN TRAIN

VIRGIN CINEMAS

Virgin Cinemas was founded in 1995 when Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group acquired MGM Cinemas, the largest movie theatre operator in the United Kingdom. Virgin Group bought the cinemas for £195m, and subsequently sold 90 of the chain's smallest cinemas to Cinven and ABC for £70m to concentrate on multiplexes.

Virgin sold the chain for £215m, making them a profit of £90m, and all the cinemas were to be rebranded to UGC. The company did strike a long term deal, however, for UGC to continue to sell Virgin Cola.

The group continued to operate a Virgin Cinemas Japan unit, and announced, also in late 1999, that it would spend up to US$200 million to develop 20 multiplexes in Japan by the early 21st century; a number of Virgin multiplexes in the United States were also under consideration

VIRGIN MEDIA

VIRGIN MOBILE

Factors considered at virgin before going for brand extension

y Hard research and analysis.

y Review the industry and put oneself in the customer's shoes to see what could make it better.

y Ask fundamental questions: is this an opportunity for restructuring a market and creating competitive advantage? What are the competitors doing? Is the customer confused or badly served? Is this an opportunity for building the Virgin brand? Can we add value? Will it interact with our other businesses? Is there an appropriate trade-off between risk and reward?

y Draw on talented people from throughout the Group. New ventures are often steered by people seconded from other parts of Virgin, who bring with them the trademark management style, skills and experience. They frequently create partnerships with others to combine industry specific skills, knowledge, and operational expertise.

y Contrary to what some people may think, their constantly expanding and eclectic empire is neither random nor reckless. Each successive venture demonstrates their devotion to picking the right market and the right opportunity.

y Once a Virgin company is up and running, several factors contribute to making it a success. o The power of the Virgin name; o Richard Branson's personal reputation; o Unrivalled network of , contacts and partners; o The Virgin management style; o The way talent is empowered to flourish within the group.

y To some traditionalists, these may not seem hard headed enough. To them, the fact that Virgin has minimal management layers, no bureaucracy, a tiny board and no massive global HQ is an anathema.

y Their companies are part of a family rather than a hierarchy. They are empowered to run their own affairs, yet the companies help one another, and solutions to problems often come from within the Group somewhere. In a sense they are a commonwealth, with shared ideas, values, interests and goals.

Features

y Not money oriented ʹ but ran behind innovation and challenges- and that was one of the reasons that they ventured out in every new field even though it was unrelated and then even moved out of it rapidly when they did not found it interesting.

y It͛s all about power to people. It͛s like every employee has the opportunity to get his idea implemented.

y Change the way business was done- that was one of the Core Value of virgin. Virgin never stuck to the traditional way of doing business. It did not mind going out of the track to get a purpose solved. It basically went on by experimenting.

y It did not go for any heavy global brand building campaign. All the necessary publicity was done over by Richards strange activities. Every new venture came in with any strange activity done over by Richard like during the launch of virgin bride; he came in wearing wedding dress.

y The antics of Sir Richard have been a huge help in getting PR for the brand's extensions. Branson more popular than brand itself. He very well maintained relations with other and even retailers and whole sellers which proved to be a great help in an indirect manner.

y Worked through brand association. Virgin already established brand like virgin Atlantic and virgin music added up a lot in the new brands upbringing.

Benefits

y Less need to create awareness ʹ virgin Atlantic and virgin music were already very famous so when virgin came out with virgins other business ventures it had to create less awareness as virgin as a brand already has it name in the market and people started associating their existing product with the new ones.

y Trusted by consumers- brand associations brought in trust also as its earlier venture were delivering good services and product so that trust was extended to the new ones also.

y Lower cost- less ads and PR needed- people are already aware of the brand name and the services or goods provided by it. So less awareness needed, so less cost involved.

y Brand association ʹ Brand and Branson. A survey conducted by a research company showed that 93% of the people who took the survey were aware of virgin as a brand while 97% of the people were aware of Branson and not virgin. This proved the fact that virgin was less famous than Branson. This was one of the weak point of the company as it was questioned like what after Branson is no more as the brand was totally dependent on him.

Success factors

y Kept it private ownership- this is what virgin did in the initial stages. Latter on it ventured out by getting into partnership with other companies already in that field.

y Set up their own outlets to handle the business- this was done to avoid any kind of dilution in brand image so it preferred to have its own outlets.

y High quality services at competitive prices- Virgin Atlantic- it decided on its prices taking into consideration the target customers and also the quality of service or product that it was offering.

y PR skills of Branson- well that was the factor that worked very well saving cost on the company͛s front. It was because of the strong contacts that he had, it was comparatively easy for the company to venture out even in unrelated businesses.

y JV with leading companies- latter on it even ventured out with leading companies so as to go in for unrelated and risk free diversification.

Failed Sectors

y Virgin records- not getting proper returns

y Railway- inefficiencies in the system, unionized staff problem, increased customer complaints.

y Virgin cola and vodka- could not sustain the high competition.

y Virgin financial services- lack of enough funds

y Generic reasons- Unable to predict a proper financial standing on a whole

y Drop out of their core and successful business for saving the loss making business

Achievements of Virgin Group

y Understanding of Institutionalized Markets

Virgin͛s management team has done well in identifying complacency in the market. It is this expertise/experience coupled with the strategy to offer more for less that has help the Group plough through complacent business industries.

y Virgin brand name to overcome barriers to entry

The Virgin brand name is a consumer͛s champion and as mentioned previously is a much respected brand with the British public.

y Limiting Risk in joint Ventures

Any company, or organization in a joint venture with the Virgin Group has the benefit of limiting its risk in the market place.

y Management are not restricted

A flat management structure helps encourage innovation; provides flexibility and promotes the values of shared ownership and responsibility.

y Innovation

Virgin͛s senior staff consists of individuals with successful careers. The Group acquires like-minded partners in ventures who match their ability to innovate and differentiate.

These collective innovative thoughts and ideas are applied directly into business. For example Virgin Mobile formulated partnerships with existing telecommunications operators to in mobile services. The Virgin management team successfully identified that the complacency was in the handling of network management. Their innovation led them to promote unique services that shock-up the market. These included ͞no line rentals͟, ͞no monthly fees͟ and ͞cheaper prepaid͟ offers. Irrespective of the fact that Virgin Mobile did not actually operate it own network it had won the best wireless in the UK.

The Main Issues Faced by the Virgin Group

Virgin Atlantic

The airline industry like many industries is cyclic. This proved to be dangerous by 2001, as Virgin seemed to rely entirely on the profits of Virgin Atlantic. Deregulation increased the competition in the market place.

Virgin Rail

The biggest problem faced by the Virgin Group was the Strategic Rail Authority͛s Review in 2000 because it was the most public. Virgin Rail was voted the most ͞unpopular͟ rail operator; and if that wasn͛t enough the statistics: Virgin ranked 23 rd and 24th out of 25 operators, was ample reason for Sir Richard Branson to feel a stake go through his reputation.

Slowly but surely Virgin͛s prized brand name was being slowly chipped away by the press. The Virgin Group being such a large empire of 200 businesses was wonderful publicity when things were going right but all it took is for a hand full of businesses in the empire to either experience unavoidable consequences, which is the case of Virgin Atlantic and bad service and publicity as was the case with Virgin Rail for it to have quite disastrous effects on other areas of the group.

Recommendations

y Become Less Diverse

Virgin should become less diverse. Its name has become diluted and its brand a purely endorsement brand. Lessons for the analysis of the environment must be learned. For example brand name alone isn͛t enough. The pubic are sensitive and are attuned corporate strategies given time. Virgin as a corporate parent can add workable value to its businesses by investing and developing real expertise. Trying to limit risk is a knife that is sharp on both sides. On the one side it inevitably ͞limits risk͟. On the other hand it sends out a contradictory signal to consumers. How can Virgin be ͞daring͟ when Sir Richard Branson͛s value adding process is to limit risk? That is a question it should work towards eradicating.

y Change in Strategy

The Virgin Group should change its policy to accommodate both independent and joint ventures to rely upon short-term profits on a few of its businesses for the sake of raising capital and release the ͚ring-fenced͛ policy so that important revenue making Virgin Atlantic can be bailed out during the low times. The idea is to not restrict oneself to a policy of philosophy. Philosophies and policies should be such that can strategically change with time and environment.

y Accounting Year End

Every effort should be made to bring in line the accounting year end date for all businesses in the Virgin Group to be on the same date. This shall aid towards providing a better picture of the health and wealth of the empire.

y To realign brands by cutting out the confusing sub-brands, names, graphic styles, or even individual business lines to present a more uniform look.

Conclusion:

Virgin is, however, a bold experiment. For all the brand͛s weaknesses, it is one of the few brands that can, through a series of licensing deals, realize its brand equity into real dollars and cents. It is one of the few cases of a single name being applied across a seemingly disparate collection of businesses in a variety of markets. Virgin has created more than 200 branded companies worldwide, employing approximately 50,000 people, in 29 countries. Global branded revenues in 2008 exceeded £11 billion (approx. US$17 billion).The Virgin Group as a corporate parent has added value to its business. The brand is the single most asset for them. The ultimate objective Virgin is to establish it as a major globe name. Thus Brand extension of Virgin Group has led to its rapid growth and also increased its revenue.