E-mail a gift card

The single-letter branding and trademark truncation trend continues.

Can you name the retailer selling online gift cards sent by e-mail, using no other identification besides the li’l "a" shown here?

Does this li’l "a" logo with a radish inside help?

How about these, do they help? Valentine's Day Winter Hat

Well, just so you know, it’s not this retailer: Continue Reading Alpha Watch: Li’l “a” Goes to the “e” Market

Hotel chains appear determined to own single-letter trademarks anymore. Yes, the lodging industry appears headed toward serving up a regular bowl of alphabet soup you might say. Do you recognize any of these single letter hotel marks?

Mark Image  Mark Image 

Mark ImageU Hotels & Resorts - Luxury Hotels in ThailandFree Clipart Picture of a Yellow Question Mark with a Black OutlineContinue Reading W H O, R U? Exposing Single-Letter Trademark Envy in Hotel Branding

The makers of Gatorade® apparently like to engage consumers by asking questions. They used to ask, “Is it in You?” The “it” being Gatorade®, of course. Most recently, Gatorade® has embarked on a massive teaser ad campaign — apparently to re-brand Gatorade® — asking, “What is G?” — a question that begs answering in the mysterious ads.

You might be interested to know that trial attorneys are taught not to ask questions — at trial — if they don’t know the answer. A related and good rule of thumb for marketers might be: Don’t ask a question, if you don’t know and — perhaps more importantly — if you can’t own the answer.

This may be especially good advice when competitors and other sellers of related products are able to truthfully answer the question posed in their favor, and “steal your thunder,” or perhaps “lightning,” as the case may be. For example, just picture the makers of these beverage products collectively raising their glasses in answer to Gatorade’s bold question “What is G”?

G by G PURE ENERGY already is a federally registered trademark for an energy drink.

G already is a federally registered trademark for bottled water too.

G is a trademark approved for publication by the U.S. Trademark Office for soft drinks.

G3 is a federally registered trademark for fruit juice, not to be confused with Gatorade’s G2.

G5 is a federally registered trademark for soft drinks, again, not to be confused with G2.

G JUICE already is a federally registered trademark for sports drinks and other beverages.

G is a proposed trademark allowed by the U.S. Trademark Office for fruit drinks.

G ENERGY MADE FOR WOMEN is a federally registered trademark for fruit drinks.

ELIXIR G is a federally registered trademark for non-alcoholic cocktail mixes.

“EROTIC G-SPOT DRINK” is a federally registered trademark for sports and isotonic drinks.

ENERGIZING GIMME A G has been approved for publication as a trademark for energy drinks.

G GLEUKOS is a federally registered trademark for sports drinks.

Gee Whiz . . . and there are more Gs where these came from, but I think you get the point.

For more of a marketing critique of Gatorade’s alpha-truncation-re-brand, continue after the jump.Continue Reading Branding Letter “G” — Will Lightning Strike or Will Thunder Be Stolen?