First, the curiosity, when you see a gaggle of characters and then notice they all have “tip purses” in some form with their respective costumes, beware. In a visit with a media company in Times Square (Viacom specifically) we had to pass a few of these characters who were looking to have their photo taken… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Guest Bloggers
Subscribe to Guest Bloggers RSS FeedAre TV & Digital Mutually Exclusive? Not at All: Why Multi-Channel Marketing Makes Sense
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Social Media, Social Networking, Technology, Television- David Mitchel, Director of Marketing – Distribion, Inc. AdAge posted an article today featuring CBS CEO Les Moonves commenting why his network is a better fit for media buyers than digital media. One quote attributed to Moonves was: “If you need to reach a mass audience, you’re not going to get that online….We figured… Continue Reading
It’s Raining Fluid Trademarks
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksSo-called “fluid” trademarks are gaining a recent downpour of attention – on Monday INTA wrote about them in the Daily News distributed in Dallas at INTA’s 135th Annual Meeting, it also held a panel discussion on the topic the same date (we’ll have more about that next week), and just yesterday guest-blogger Jason Voiovich provided an insightful marketer’s… Continue Reading
Oh Ketchup…I’m Just Not That Into You: Understanding the Value of Fluid Trademarks
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Trademarks- Jason Voiovich, Director of Corporate Marketing, Logic PD Don’t get me wrong. My two children elevate their weekly Heinz intake regimen to near Olympian discipline. But me? I enjoy a good dollop with pound of fries at the Lion’s Tap, but I haven’t given America’s second-favorite red condiment a second thought since John Kerry… Continue Reading
Protecting Non-Functional Product Design Features Through The Entire Life Cycle: From Conception to Grave
Posted in Branding, Contracts, Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Patents, USPTO- Jeffrey Stone, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. IP protection for product designs is typically found in a combination of one or more of the following protective mechanisms: 1. Contracts which are typically used with employees and 3rd parties to prevent loss of novelty as well as provide notice of ownership. Contractual protections such… Continue Reading
Evaluating Equations for Measuring Social Media ROI
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Social Media, Social Networking- David Mitchel, Director of Marketing – Distribion, Inc. At the end of my last guest post on this site, I promised that my next post would evaluate some mathematical equations for measuring social media ROI. Special thanks to Angie Schottmuller of Search Engine Watch for writing a detailed article entitled “Social Media ROI: 14… Continue Reading
Twitter Can Be a Brand Marketer’s Best Friend
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Search Engines, Social Media, Social Networking, Technology- Debbie Laskey, MBA If you’re a marketer, you probably spend a great deal of your day checking Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, and LinkedIn. Depending on your industry, you may also spend time on YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, and any number of other peripheral sites. But did you know that Twitter can be your best friend… Continue Reading
The “Funnest” Brands In America
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts- Mark Prus, Principal, NameFlash As a professional name developer, I regularly work on exciting projects such as, “I need to develop a name for a new lice medicine.” I try to have fun with every project I do, but that one was tough! Someday I’d like to work in the “Funnest” brand name category… Continue Reading
Caribou Coffee’s Announcement and Handling of Closing Stores
Posted in Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers- Susan Hopp and Karl Schweikart, 45 Degrees/Minneapolis With all the brouhaha in the news lately, let’s just touch the tip of the iceberg with a few observations about branding. First of all, let me remind you that branding is all about managing customers’ expectations, building brand awareness and enhancing relationships to increase loyalty with… Continue Reading
When Will We Run Out of Words to Trademark?
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks-John Reinan, Senior Director, Media Relations, Fast Horse I’ve been thinking about trademark bullying, and I was all set to write a surprising piece standing up for the bullies. You know, the big companies that spend giant piles of money developing products and services, and then hiring marketing geniuses like me to name them, and… Continue Reading
Body Shaping Manufacturers Butting Heads Over Cami Designs
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents- Jeffrey Stone, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. Two previously unrelated topics, Spanx and the Real Housewives television shows, are now connected by a legal dispute that is shaping up to be a real battle of the bulge (or muffin top) with neither party seemingly interested in smoothing things over. Thanks to recent, and ongoing, design patent… Continue Reading
The Most Incredible Naming Advice You’ll Read All Year
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Mixed Bag of Nuts- Nancy Friedman, Wordworking A lot of people will tell you that creating a name for a company or product is hard work. I have a name for those people: suckers! Actually, all you need are a dozen rules, a couple of corollaries, and a sixth-grade reading ability. The Rules 1. Jump right in! Research is for… Continue Reading
The Names of MIT Media Lab: How to Describe an Innovation
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Technology- Anthony Shore, Operative Words There is nothing else quite like MIT Media Lab. Their mission to “invent a better future” has given us a better present. It’s Media Lab’s research and development that led to the Kindle and Nook, Rock Band and One Laptop Per Child. While their innovative projects receive and deserve recognition,… Continue Reading
The Most Important Shot in Trademark History
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Sight, Trademarks- Draeke Weseman, Weseman Law Office, PLLC Pantone 278: Carolina Blue What I do remember about that evening is that stores for dozens of miles around must have sold out of light blue paint, because nearly everyone had a stash, which was dumped indiscriminately over friends and strangers in a precursor to the Gatorade… Continue Reading
Changing Your Brand Name: A Game of Whack-a-Mole and You’re the Mole
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts- Dave Taylor, Owner, Taylor Brand Group One of the big decisions prospective parents face is the all-important choice of a first name for their child. It’s the name almost everyone will use to address the child throughout his or her life. The choice will reflect heavily on the parents based on how appropriate, respectful,… Continue Reading
I SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE: WILL LEADERS AND COMPANIES EVER LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES?
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of Nuts- James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA Tuesday, February 26, 2013 was a bright, cold, sunny day as I prepared to depart State College, Pennsylvania, the home of Penn State football, after participating the evening before in a really interesting and wide-ranging panel discussion; an exploration of the problems this University is facing, and… Continue Reading
A Difference That Makes No Difference
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts- Laurel Sutton, Principal at Catchword Brand Name Development Besides the big story of American Airlines taking over US Airways, recent news of acquisitions includes the buyout of OfficeMax Inc by its larger rival Office Depot. The Depot insists that the deal was a merger of equals – despite the fact that its shareholders get… Continue Reading
Is Strange A Good Naming Strategy?
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Squirrelly Thoughts- Mark Prus, Principal, NameFlash In 1967 The Doors wrote a song called “People Are Strange.” In the chorus, the lyrics include the phrase, “No one remembers your name when you’re strange.” It seems like some current fashion labels think that advice no longer applies. “If you are building a brand from scratch, you’re going… Continue Reading
7G Wireless: The Next Big Thing?
Posted in Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Patents, Product Configurations, Taste, Technology, Trademarks- Brent Carlson-Lee In the past six months, I have applied for a design patent and two trademarks – all food related. When I mention this, a common response is: “I wish I were creative or knowledgeable enough to come up with an idea worthy of patenting or trademarking.” My answer is invariably: “You are!”… Continue Reading
Why One Brand Sponsors the Super Bowl
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Television- Debbie Laskey, MBA There has already been too much written, rewritten, and discussed about the funny vs. annoying vs. heartwarming ads, the surprising power outage and why it happened, and the close score of Sunday’s Super Bowl, so don’t worry. I’m not going to focus this post on any of that. Instead, I have… Continue Reading
Trademark Licensee’s Rights Remain Unsettled When Licensor Files Bankruptcy
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, Trademarks- Chris Camardello, Bankruptcy Attorney Those who license the right to use another’s brand need to pay more attention to the resulting risks when the brand owner files bankruptcy, given the uncertainty resulting from some recent legal developments. And those interested in purchasing brands in bankruptcy should sit up straight and pay special attention too…. Continue Reading
Simply “Re-Mixing” JCPenney Won’t Suffice
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts- Jesse de Agustin Back in 2011 I wrote a blog post titled “Dangers of Retail Ambiguity”. I argued that PacSun risks diminishing their own brand through adding a multitude of brands to their portfolio that do not cohesively fit in with the PacSun story. JCPenney is faced with a similar dilemma. The brand has… Continue Reading
The Super Bowl XLVII Ads, Our Takes
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, TrademarksSo, another Super Bowl is now in the books, and another collection of Super Bowl ads has aired. Next time there is a 35-minute delay resulting from a power outage, my vote is to watch more ads instead of watch and listen to sportscasters filling space with lame jokes about cell phone chargers causing the… Continue Reading
The hope for Zipcar: Be less like Avis, more like Redbox
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Technology- Jason Voiovich, Director of Corporate Marketing, Logic PD I don’t like renting cars. I’m not sure I know many people who do. As a frequent business traveler, I’ve gotten better at running the gauntlet of terminal shuttles, slow lines, confusing kiosks, 5-point font paperwork, scratch and dent searches, smelly cars, and last-minute gas stations…. Continue Reading
Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Catlan McCurdy
Having long been told by my parents that I could do or be anything I wanted, I chose at the age of 10 to become an attorney, as it was the career that would most likely lead me to my goal of becoming the first woman POTUS.More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. More...
Martha Engel
Although my interest in gadgetry and my aptitude for math eventually led me to become an engineer, my ad executive father and artistically gifted mother fostered an appreciation for the creative from a young age. More...
Anjali Shankar
When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved writing short stories. Creativity and imagination seem to come naturally to people when they are young. More...
Timothy Sitzmann
I have always considered myself to be a creative person. Full disclosure: I'm not claiming that I've created anything good, merely that I have created things that exist.More...