Facebook raised a ruckus last year when it applied to trademark “face”–yet there were hundreds of  “face” trademarks granted before Facebook [...]]]> Owning your brand name is critical for your business, but what many people don’t realize is that owning a trademark on your brand name is not the same as owning a unique name.

Facebook raised a ruckus last year when it applied to trademark “face”–yet there were hundreds of  “face” trademarks granted before Facebook made their application. There are almost a thousand trademarks on the name “Delta” for everything from airlines to faucets to power tools.  That is because trademarks are granted by classification of goods and services as defined by various international agreements. You cannot own a word exclusively and universally; only for the actual products and services you offer.

You’d be surprised at how many well-known brands share names:

Domino: Sugar and pizza

Burlington: Discount retailer and holding company

 Dove: Soap and chocolate

Finlandia: Cheese and vodka

Apple: Records and computers

Eos: Cameras, cars and software

Pink: Victoria’s Secret and Thomas Pink

Then there are the sound alikes: Thompson and Thomson, Sonoco and Sunoco, Sysco and Cisco, Coke and Koch…

Other quick tips:

1) Be clear. If it makes people stop and wonder, it’s a mistake.

2) [...]]]> Mashable has an interesting take on the do’s and don’ts of creative job titles quoting Merriam Associates. Your job title is part of your personal brand so make sure it says the right things about you. Here’s the advice on Mashable.

Other quick tips:

1) Be clear. If it makes people stop and wonder, it’s a mistake.

2) Job titles are not the place to convey personality. More often than not, that corporate personality does not fit the person carrying the business card.  It’s disconcerting to get a business card that calls someone a “rock star” when they are over weight, middle aged and quite shy.

3) Don’t over-promise or promise something you really don’t want. You can’t have a “guru” answer “I don’t know; I’ll get back to you.” As a client, do you want a “ninja” pressuring you to buy?

Here are the top five reasons why the rebranding was doomed to fail:

Good luck with that.

Mayor Bloomberg [...]]]> New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for a rebranding of “Ground Zero.” At a speech on September 6^th near the Ground Zero site, he said “The time has come to call those 16 acres what they are: The World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.”

Good luck with that.

Mayor Bloomberg makes the same mistake many companies do: Thinking they command the brand. Companies who think they own their brands are only half right. Brands live in the hearts and minds of consumers, not locked up in some corporate vault. Companies can dictate certain aspects of brand, but consumers are free to ignore those commands—even when it comes to something so basic and central as brand names.

It is consumers who ultimately choose brand names. That is how Federal Express became Fed Ex, Coca-Cola became Coke, and Budweiser became Bud. The brand nicknames created by consumers who loved the products “stuck,” to the point where companies recognized, trademarked and used the nicknames. Trying to get people to stop using brand nicknames is impossible. When GM tried to get its employees to stop saying “Chevy,” the move was met will well-deserved derision. Mayor Bloomberg will be similarly unsuccessful trying to rebrand Ground Zero.

No one is going to replace two words with twelve. Will tourists to come up to New Yorkers on the subway and ask, “Where is The World Trade Center and The National September 11 Memorial and Museum?”

The Ground Zero name sums up the feelings that most New Yorkers and Americans share over the attack. Ground Zero is defined as “the point of the most severe damage or destruction.” It speaks to the drama of the event and marks the time and place that everything changed for those of us who live here (and for many Americans and people around the world). For anyone who watched those towers fall, who choked on their dust, and who smelled the burning concrete and decay for months, Ground Zero will always be Ground Zero.

Your own personal identity is more than your name and your face. Your identity includes personal data like your birthday, place of residence, where you work, and your phone [...]]]> The most basic brand elements are a name and a logo. But these alone are not enough to communicate a rich brand identity.

Your own personal identity is more than your name and your face. Your identity includes personal data like your birthday, place of residence, where you work, and your phone number. It also includes the sound of your laugh, the way you walk, and the taste of your most famous recipe. As your own personal identity is multidimensional, so should be the identity of your brand.

Think beyond name and logo to how you can appeal to the five senses. Can your logo move and animate? What colors, shapes, symbols, textures, sounds, vocabulary, smells, flavors, and styles can be associated with your brand? As more customers experience your brand in an interactive environment, adding more dimensionality to your brand will help
you stand out and engage.

Creating a rich brand identity more effectively communicates what makes your brand so special, compelling and worth remembering.

For more on brand basics–here’s a classic old post:  What is a Brand?
Also worth a revisit:  Kinds of Logos

Though the food at Tavern on the Green was at best mediocre, the high menu prices, unique location and building, and [...]]]> Reuters reported yesterday that investors have offered Tavern on the Green bankruptcy trustees $1.3 million to buy the shuttered restaurant’s name. The investors want to market food items such as salad dressing under the brand.

Though the food at Tavern on the Green was at best mediocre, the high menu prices, unique location and building, and romantic lore imbue the name with real value. During a dispute between the restaurant’s owners and the City of New York in 2009, the Tavern on the Green trademark was appraised at $19 million.  Should the investors’ $1.3 million offer be accepted, will they be getting a bargain?

Tavern on the Green closed three years ago, the building has been renovated, its famous Crystal Room demolished, and its contents auctioned off. Last year, the structure reopened as a visitor’s center. Tavern on the Green’s fame as a restaurant and the value of its name will dim with the years. The $19 million value of the Tavern on the Green name will shrink to zero if nothing is done.

Investing in building the brand around grocery items will not only keep the brand alive, it may make it more valuable. Lawry’s licensed condiments are a bigger money maker than the steak restaurant that spawned them. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s frozen pizzas make more money than his restaurant Spago. Should the investors be successful, their $1.3 million bargain will exponentially surpass the 2009 $19 million appraisal of the name’s brand value.

What’s left of Motorola can begin to create a stronger, focused brand..but that is a big if.

What if Google has acquired rights to the Motorola brand? What if they [...]]]> Last year when Motorola split into two companies, both called Motorola, they created brand confusion. Now Google is acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for its wireless patents.

What’s left of Motorola can begin to create a stronger, focused brand..but that is a big if.

What if Google has acquired rights to the Motorola brand? What if they use it? Motorola Solutions, the remaining part of the original Motorola, faces continuing brand chaos if Google uses the Motorola brand, too and if Google takes it in another direction.

Companies can split and its parts can be sold, but the same cannot be said for brands.

UPDATE: Google says it does plan to use the Motorola brand as will the company called Motorola Solutions. The problem remains of the market asking asking “which Motorola?” when talking about the brand. Of greater risk is that both Motorolas will be at the mercy of the other. The actions of one company will impact the actions of the other. If one Motorola stumbles, it brings the other one down. Google would be wise to build its brand equity in a name that totally owns and controls rather than cede so much to Motorola Solutions (and vice versa).

Past post on the Motorola brand problem: Breaking the Motorola Brand

I’ve had many clients struggle trying [...]]]> Your brand name is a good start in creating the verbal expression of your brand. To convey a richer story, you need more than that. Call it a tagline, strapline, or slogan, a short, catchy phrase may help take many brands to the next level.

I’ve had many clients struggle trying to create the ideal tagline. Some struggle to define products that are hard to describe. Others struggle with an extremely diverse array of products. Still others are saddled with boring and hard to remember slogans.

Here are several approaches that can help you break through the frustration to create a tagline that truly works. Taglines can take a number of forms, depending on your communication goals:

Descriptive: If you have an uncommon or confusing product or if you have chosen an unusual brand name, your tagline can add clarity. A downside of descriptive taglines is that they tend to be boring. Yet a number of companies have managed to avoid that pitfall. BMW wins with “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”  Rice Krispies goes a step further to describe the experience of the product with “Snap, Krackle, Pop.”

Benefit Based: You can help customers visualize the value of your brand by focusing attention on its key benefit. Disney promised to be “The Happiest Place on Earth,” and FedEx delivers “The World On Time.”

Point of Difference: In a highly competitive market place, moving beyond the benefit to what makes your brand better can help you stand out. John Deere claims “Nothing Runs Like a Deere,” 7Up is famously “The Uncola.” Pork is positioned as “The Other White Meat.” Bounty paper towels are “The Quicker Picker Upper.”

Witty Catchphrase: Some brands have achieved places in pop culture with catchphrases that have caught fire. Budweiser had “Wassup.” The California Milk Processor Board created “Got Milk?” Verizon eternally asks “Can you hear me now?”

Personality: Your tagline can establish the personality of your brand. “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” contrasts with Hooter’s “Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.”

Visionary: Companies with lots of products sold in many countries often struggle with a tagline that embraces their far flung businesses. In these cases, a tagline that evokes the mission or vision of the company can be very effective. GE is “Imagination at work,” whether talking about train locomotives or microwave ovens. Dupont is about “The Miracles of Science.”

Provocative or Motivating: Telling your customers what to do or why your brand is important is another way to approach finding an effective tagline. AFLAC tells people to “Ask about it at work.” Michelin reminds us “Because so much is riding on your tires.”

When you are developing tagline options, we recommend creating several ideas that fall in each of the above categories. Thinking in new ways can help you get past creative roadblocks. You just might find that one winning phrase!