When was the last time you said: “I’m going to go use a search engine to look up information on tonight’s event.” The answer to that is either never, or sometime circa the early 2000’s, but since then it’s more than likely that most Americans say “I’m going to go Google more information on tonight’s […]
Continue ReadingMade in Detroit
March 22, 2011
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. An article in Thursday’s (3/17, 2011) Wall Street Journal by Jeff Bennett, said Chrysler Group filed suit Tuesday to keep a local group from using “Imported from Detroit” on clothing. They want to stop Moda Group LLC from selling T-shirts and other clothing “branded with the words: Imported From Detroit” in their Pure Detroit […]
Continue ReadingBrand Equity to the Highest Bidder
November 30, 2010
These days, everything old seems new again: Disney has resurrected Tron from 1982, and Hello Kitty is just hitting her stride at 35 years old. It may seem like a great time to dig up and polish off a few forgotten brands. On December 8, Brands USA Holdings will auction approximately 150 “priceless” and forgotten […]
Continue ReadingTrader Joe, meet Trader John
March 06, 2009
I worked in New York’s Union Square for 5 years. If I needed a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, I had 6 grocery stores to choose from: D’agostino, Gristedes, Whole Foods, Food Emporium, Garden of Eden, and Trader Joes. So what could possibly be newsworthy about another grocery store opening on West […]
Continue ReadingMaking a Mark with Brand Punctuation
February 04, 2009
Brand namers are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to utilize the 26 letters of the English alphabet. Perhaps the answer is beyond those letters. A punctuation mark in your brand name not only helps it stand out from the crowd, but, if it is truly distinctive, can even be registered and protected as […]
Continue ReadingMad Addiction
November 07, 2008
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. The hit A&E Series Mad Men won accolades this year for TVs Most Outstanding Drama Series. Its base premise is about a fictional 1960s New York City advertising agency Sterling Cooper and its executives. Even being a fictional show mostly centered on the personal lives of the characters, we still get a glimpse into […]
Continue ReadingWord Stretch #2: Freedom
October 22, 2008
FREEDOM: The quality of state of being free: independence / Exemption or release / Ease, facility / Frankness / Unrestricted use / A political right At first glance the word freedom may not appear very ‘stretchable,’ but a quick trademark search reveals 94 registered or pending marks. Certainly a word that can apply to everything […]
Continue ReadingWee Wars
September 10, 2008
The Wiimote is a popular nickname for the remote control used in the goliath gaming system, Nintendo Wii. The Weemote is a remote control for kids, trademarked by Fobis Technologies in 2000. How can these two products coexist in such a similar field? Time magazine recently published an interesting article about the situation. The catch […]
Continue Reading