Andy Warhol was a master of brand extension. Learn about three small business tactics that can help you extend your brand like the pop art master!

2. Branding Tips from Andy Warhol
In 2006, the International Herald Tribune published
an article that examines 20 years of the Andy Warhol
brand. The author of the article commented:
“To judge by all the merchandise, Warhol is being
positioned as the next Hello Kitty.”
Today, seven years later, the comment still rings
true.
•Warhol would have loved the Internet Era, a time when everyone
really can have their “fifteen minutes of fame.”
•As a master of branding and commercialization, Warhol was of
the persuasion that “Being good in business is the most
fascinating kind of art.”
Let’s take a look at 3 ways you can practice this fascinating
Warholian art of boosting your company’s brand.

3. Small Business Tactic #1:
Be the Bellwether
Bellwether, or one who takes the lead or
initiative, is the perfect word to describe
Andy Warhol in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.
The Economist describes the Warhol
market as:
“the bellwether of post-war
and contemporary art.”
This article refers to a Warhol painting
(“Eight Elvises”) that sold for an
astonishing $100m+ in 2008.
In 2009, another one of his works, “200
One Dollar Bills,” was auctioned off for
$43.8m. Warhol was the ‘bellwether’,
indeed!

4. Small Business Tactic #1:
Be the Bellwether
The best part is, consumers don’t have to have
Christie’s or Sotheby’s kind of money to own a
little piece of Warhol’s brand.
Walk into Target and pick up a mug or t-shirt.
Visit just about any online poster website, and
you’re sure to snag a bargain reprint right off
the home page.
More than two decades after his
death, Andy Warhol is still a master
of brand extension, which is
exactly why he’s the bellwether of
the contemporary art market, a
market that’s overly self-aware of
its own commercialization.

5. Small Business Tactic #1:
Be the Bellwether
The lesson:
•Good brands sell stories, an ethos –
not products.
•Though Warhol had the occasional
work of art sell for millions of dollars,
the majority of his (post-death)
revenues don’t come from the
auctioning of originals.
•The revenues come from licensing and
small consumer goods that carry that
inimitable “Warhol Ethos.”
•Build your brand’s ethos; be the
bellwether.

6. Small Business Tactic #2:
Market with Transparency
“I’ll endorse with my name any of the following: clothing, AC-DC, cigarettes, small tapes, sound
equipment, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RECORDS, anything, film and film equipment, Food, Helium, Whips,
MONEY!! love and kisses ANDY WARHOL. EL 5-9941.” -The Village Voice, 1968
Now, we can’t all get away with that kind of marketing! But chances are
we could all benefit from pulling back the curtains just a little bit.
•Whether you believe him or not,
Warhol marketed himself as highly
transparent.
•He famously said, “If you want to
know all about Andy Warhol, just
look at the surface of my paintings
and films and me, and there I am.
There’s nothing behind it.”

7. Small Business Tactic #2:
Market with Transparency
The lesson: Explore ways that your brand can let people in
on what it is you do, how you do it, why you do it, etc. This
is a fundamental part of content marketing.
You can start implementing
this small business tactic now!
These are great outlets for
branding to get started:
• A Company Blog
• A Social Media Brand Page
• A YouTube Video

8. Small Business Tactic #3:
Generate Ideas & Find Help in Execution
•Andy Warhol is inarguably the
catalyst that popularized screen-
printing. But more important than his
“rediscovery” of screen-printing is
his decision to utilize it for brand
extension.
•Instead of laboring over the tools
and machines for 14 hours a day,
Andy Warhol came up with the ideas,
executed them a few times himself,
and then had other people do the
intensive labor for him. As a result,
he was able to perfect the art of
brand extension.

9. Small Business Tactic #3:
Generate Ideas & Find Help in Execution
The Lesson:
•As the business owner, you are the idea
generator.
•Trust in your employees to take your
ideas and run with them.
•Don’t believe the lie that having other
people do the “heavy lifting” for you will
cost your brand it’s reputation.
•Being the idea generator and
implementing marketing automation
tactics are just two of many ways you can
“mass produce” whiles still maintaining a
brand experience.

10. About
Content Equals Money
Content Equals Money is a content writing service that
serves a wide variety of clients with top-shelf, sharable
content. Our goal is to work with small companies in order
to help them reap the same results from content
marketing as the Fortune 500 companies. Content
marketing is truly scalable and can work for all businesses
and business sizes!