In many contexts of our life experience, "fine" sadly seems to have drifted toward embodying mediocrity. Consider this all too common dialogue: "How are you?" "Oh, I’m fine." Or, perhaps, "Just fine." Translation: "O.K.," "average," "acceptable," "passable," "satisfactory," "I can’t complain," "I’ve been better," or maybe "could be much better" . . . . After all, how interested or… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Randall Hull
Why Marketing Should Use Du Pont and Sleekcraft Factors
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Trademarks—Randall Hull, The Br@nd Ranch® The intent of trademark law is fairly simple – avoid confusing consumers with brands, names, trademarks, packaging, and even domain names, which are so similar, consumers cannot determine the origin of the goods or services. In short, make sure what you are planning to use is not confusingly similar to… Continue Reading
The B-Word Again, A Commercial Sighting
Posted in Branding, Marketing, TrademarksAs you may recall, back in October, Randall Hull of The Br@nd Ranch® wrote about the Brinks Home Security re-brand to Broadview Security, in his post Will Any Old B-Word Do? This was Randall’s assessment: Personally, when I think Brink’s I see a big Rottweiler eyeing you warily. With Broadview I imagine a yappy Chihuahua chasing its tail. It is… Continue Reading
Bland new brand or brand new bland? Is this Seattle’s Best?
Posted in Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks—Randall Hull, The Br@nd Ranch® Mid-May the fine folks at Starbucks headquarters in The Emerald City – no, not the one Dorothy visited, the one that gave us grunge and baristas – set the caffeine scene atwitter with the "new" Seattle’s Best Coffee logo. To herald the launch, a mock commando operation was staged and… Continue Reading
Sharing Accolades
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, TrademarksWe are humbled to share some more exciting news with you. Invesp’s list of the Top 100 Branding Blogs includes DuetsBlog, here. Thank you very much! OnlineDegree Blog has named the 50 Best Blogs for Creative Thinking, and ranked DuetsBlog as #10 on the list. Many thanks for the kind words and the strong vote of confidence!… Continue Reading
Total Recall
Posted in Guest Bloggersby Randall Hull of The Br@nd Ranch® AKA: "Oh What a feeling". Unless you have been on a trek to one of the poles or living in a cabin deep in the woods somewhere, you have likely heard about the huge problem facing Toyota Motor Corporation and its U.S. organization Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc…. Continue Reading
What a Croc!
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Sight, TrademarksIt’s not every day you get a chance to use that phrase in a headline. But, what may become known as the "The Cayman Kerfuffle", presents the perfect opportunity. Would a reasonable person find these confusingly similar? $51,000 Blue Cayman $30 Blue Cayman Let’s see, one is a sleek, pricey, well-engineered, high performance… Continue Reading
Goodwill Hunting?
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksSimilar to the Hostess Brands, Inc. predicament, recently posted by Dan Kelly, Goodwill Industries International, Inc. (www.goodwill.org), the well-known and respected non-profit, didn’t own the one domain you would expect — Goodwill.com. The domain went up for auction this past December after the original owner, a Japanese staffing company named Goodwill Group, Inc., changed its… Continue Reading
Will Any Old B-Word Do?
Posted in Guest BloggersThis may have gone largely unnoticed but it did catch my attention. Brink’s Home Security recently changed their brand name to Broadview Security and is spending $120 million to tell us about it, as discussed here, here, and here. Broadview? Really? Is that the best the branding team at Landor Associates could come up with? Pardon my terminal preposition…. Continue Reading
A Shack by Any Other Name…
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks, TruncationRadioShack recently introduced a new name, rebranding its stores "The Shack", which now adorns their retail environment and marketing efforts. The change was prompted by a desire to update the 88-year-old brand as they transition to mobile phone and wireless products without losing brand equity and mind-share, according to RadioShack. As Dan Neil of the Los… Continue Reading
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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...
Dan Kelly
You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation. More...
Sharon Armstrong
Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. 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...
Susan Perera
Born into the world with an aptitude for science and an affinity for art I found my career path quickly chosen for me. More...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. More...
Laura Gutierrez
An attorney I am not. Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). More...