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Tag Archives: Brand Names

lower case branding & visual identity

By on Posted in Branding

Just so you know, it about pushed me over the edge to have a blog post title with no capitalization. Not even one letter. In other words, all minuscules, no majuscules. It doesn’t seem right – to me anyway, as a trademark type. Just like the first letter in the first word of a sentence must be a… Continue Reading

In the Brand Name Game, Honda Gets it Done the Hard Way

By on Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks

—Dave Taylor, Taylor Brand Group In this age of fiercely defended intellectual property, it’s tough developing even a single new product name.  Registered trademarks guard their brand territory in every industry and fence out their competitors. Launching a new product name can take months or years of name generating, testing, and legal process. Done well,… Continue Reading

And, Here’s . . . Jimmy’s Johnnys

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Television, Trademarks, TTAB

One good thing leads to another, or perhaps, vice versa (then again, maybe not):      Odds are, you probably are familiar with the logo on the left, but maybe not the history behind the brand and company it represents. Apparently, a guy named Jimmy John Liataud founded Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches in Charleston, Illinois, in 1983, and since then, has grown… Continue Reading

Tripartite Branding Trouble: The Name is Suk?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Goodwill, Marketing, Trademarks

"The name is Bond, James Bond," said Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig, among others, countless times in film, as part of the famous 007 series. An ideal name for a secret agent. A name and line not easily forgotten, as brands and taglines should be. And then, there are some names you’d like to forget, but can’t, especially if… Continue Reading

Can You Rollerblade On K2 Brand In-Line Skates?

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

These kinds of signs — that appear to single out Rollerblade brand in-line skate loyalists – are all over the place. This one happens to be in the parking garage I use in downtown Minneapolis. To understand why the Rollerblade brand may find itself in this perilous position, read on, here. For some additional reading on the related question of verbing brands, take a… Continue Reading

Managing The Legal Risk of “Verbing Up” Brands and Trademarks

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Domain Names, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

Trademark lawyers need to face the facts. Despite decades of ardent counseling to the contrary, business executives and marketers are not only testing the waters with the treatment of their most valuable brands as verbs, in some cases, they are diving in head first, committing substantial resources and effort toward the clearly stated goal of "verbing up" and having their brands used as verbs by… Continue Reading

Another Marketing Pitfall: How to Crush a Smashing Brand Name & Trademark

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

Last week we blogged about the dreaded D-Word and how some marketers unwittingly undermine trademark rights in a brand name by explaining that the name "describes" or is "descriptive" of the goods or services sold under the brand. We also have blogged about the danger of "taking a suggestive name, mark, or tag-line, and using it descriptively in… Continue Reading

You Heard it Here First: Nashville is Brand Central Station!

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks

For the record, I love music, lots of different artists and musical styles: Bob Dylan to Aerosmith, Otis Redding to Elvis, Montgomery Gentry to Santana, Climax Blues Band to Bill Withers, Jack Johnson to Jamey Johnson, Michael Jackson to Alan Jackson, James Taylor to Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd to Wallflowers, Pat Benatar to Pat Green, Glen Campbell to Stevie Wonder, Beatles to Terri Clark, Cat Stevens… Continue Reading

Naming the Store Brand

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

          Every Sunday I go through the circulars in the paper looking for new products. I usually spend a lot of time with the ads from the national drug store chains (Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid). Recently, I observed that each chain seems to have a radically different philosophy on store brand naming. And while this observation isn’t… Continue Reading

Lion’s Tap Reaches “Mutually Beneficial” Settlement with McDonalds

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks

A couple of hours ago Kare 11 News in Minneapolis reported "Lions Tap wins settlement with McDonalds." Absolutely no details about the settlement were provided, so it’s hard to understand how Kare 11 is able to pronounce this as a "win" for Lion’s Tap over McDonalds, although it certainly plays into the seductive David and Goliath theme of… Continue Reading

Kleenex® Not Wanting to Blow It: Some Steps to Avoid Trademark Genericide

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

This sponsored banner ad is currently appearing in AdAge’s Daily News on-line newsletter: How many boxes of tissue do you suppose this ad is responsible for selling? If the answer is none, that is probably fine with Kimberly-Clark since the return on investment for this ad is measured quite differently, I’m sure, given how the frequently misused Kleenex®… Continue Reading

Is Twitter¬Æ “Following” Kool-Aid¬Æ, Mickey Mouse¬Æ, and Spam¬Æ?

By on Posted in Branding, Social Networking

What does Twitter have in common with Kool-Aid, Mickey Mouse, and Spam? Maybe nothing, at least yet, but I predict that it will soon, unless Twitter retains some talented PR help in a hurry. Why? The Kool-Aid, Mickey Mouse, and Spam brands all have spawned secondary or alternate and negative non-trademark meanings that have become part of the English… Continue Reading

Just Verb It? Part III: Testing the “Slippery Slope” of Using Brands as Verbs

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

Although intellectual property lawyers of the Dr. No variety may not like to admit it – I submit that, not all slippery slopes are created equal. While some slippery slope cautions might prevent a few bumps and bruises in traveling along a particular path (e.g., the one on the left below), I suspect far fewer slippery slope… Continue Reading