We now know through SamMobile that Samsung has quietly snapped up a pair of trademarks with the Ativ badge that would let its branding venture beyond the Galaxy.
Likewise, Alec Baldwin's perpetual threat to run for mayor of New York or Betty White's reinvention as a gay icon demonstrates that political branding can give actors an appeal beyond TV and movies.
Going all the way back to ancient Sumeria, branding is how merchant houses distinguished their wares and allowed them to start trading goods beyond the local marketplace.