It’s not all about your flagship product you know!

In business, we often pour all our marketing energy into the product that defines our brand, the flagship product. We shout about it, feature it in every ad, and build our entire identity around it.

But here’s a reality check: Your flagship product isn’t always your biggest moneymaker. It might not be your real cash cow. In fact, some of the world’s most recognisable companies rely on hidden or surprising revenue streams to power their businesses, even as they market something else entirely.

The surprising truths behind iconic brands

These examples prove that the product that defines your public image is often different from the product that drives your profit:

• Apple: The Service Giant. While the MacBook and iPhone dominate every launch event, Apple’s services business (which includes the App Store, Apple Music, etc.) now makes significantly more money than the Mac. For context, in 2023 services brought in $78 billion compared to $40 billion from the Mac. Yet Apple still markets itself primarily on its iconic hardware.
• Volkswagen: The Sausage Maker. You know Volkswagen for its reliable cars. But surprisingly, the company produces more sausages than cars. They produce about 6.5 million sausages per year compared to around 6 million vehicles.
• LEGO: The Tyre Manufacturer LEGO sells creativity (and pain when you stand on it!). However, the company manufactures more tyres than any other tyre company in the world. They produce an astounding 318 million tyres annually.

Why this matters for your marketing strategy

These examples offer a crucial marketing lesson: Your flagship product builds your brand, but hidden revenue streams can drive your business.

The Mac defines Apple’s commitment to premium design; the car defines Volkswagen’s reputation for German engineering; the brick defines LEGO’s legacy of play. This flagship product is the emotional and intellectual anchor of the brand, making it the right thing to shout about, even if it’s not the biggest cash cow.

Your main product is the story, the connection, and the reason people remember you. It’s the door that lets people into your brand ecosystem. Once they’re inside, they discover and utilise the services or secondary products that become your reliable revenue generators.

Unlocking your hidden cash cow

The key takeaway is to conduct an honest audit of your business model and your marketing message.

Do you have a product, service, or a ‘side hustle’ that no one knows about, the one that quietly generates significant, stable revenue? Are you undermining that reliable income stream by overemphasising the flashy, yet less profitable, ‘flagship’?

Understanding this duality is vital. You must continue to lead your marketing with the product that embodies your brand’s promise, but you need a strategy to ensure your hidden cash cow gets the attention (and profit) it deserves.

Don’t let your most lucrative offering remain your best-kept secret.