Last updated on September 22nd, 2017 at 11:00 pm

With the latest movie from Judd Apatow, Pineapple Express, coming out today, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at how Mr. Apatow went from being a TV director to being a brand name.  It really is a perfect example about intelligent brand promotion and expansion.

Apatow’s first major break was as a TV writer and producer, with two short lived series, Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks.  Among the cast of Freaks and Geeks were Seth Rogen and James Franco, who are the stars of Pineapple Express.   He then hit it big, producing the Will Ferrell hit, Anchorman.  He also established a pattern not only of using an troop of talented actors, who were also his friends, but of building stars out of his supporting players.

For example, among the co-stars of Anchorman was Steve Carrell.   After showcasing Carell in Anchorman, Apatow built his next vehicle, 40 Year Old Virgin around Carrell.   The film was a huge hit and Apatow was made in Hollywood.   But he was also thinking ahead as he cast Rogen in 40 Year Old Virgin in a showy supporting role. prepping him for an unlikely success in the Apatow’s  Knocked Up as a romantic lead.   He then repeated the formula again, playing it forward with Knocked Up co-star Jason Segal in a lead role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

What can we learn from all this?  The value of cultivating resources from within.   Apatow used the resources he had while operating his business ( making movies) to develop new products (i.e… stars) for future business.  By doing this, he was able to expand his brand without straying from his established product and without investing additional resources in the new products.  He essentially promoted from within, moving actors from supporting players to stars in their own vehicles.  Small businesses can do the same thing, using their existing resources to launch new products and services, allowing the company to expand at a natural pace and without sacrificing quality or risking failure.

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