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Dec 4
It's All About Protecting the Brand
By Casey Knox
There is an anecdote that we at JLD like to tell about a specific project that we worked on a few years ago. We were working on an internal employee communication piece for a large, well-known US company (I wish I could tell you who, but I can't). Anyway, in one of our typical "brainstorming" sessions, we came up with a great name for the piece - a play on words, using the company's very recognizable tagline. We were a little concerned about using the tagline as inspiration, so we did have a back-up plan, but we were very enamored with our original idea, and that's what was presented to the client. They loved it! They were very excited to move forward, and we were happy they responded so positively to our idea.
Beware of the Legal Department
Unfortunately, our celebration was short-lived. Their legal department nixed our idea, and we had to move on to Plan B. The reasoning? Our play on the tagline was a dilution of the brand that this company had spent decades creating and protecting. Even though it was a document for the company's employees (it would never be used in external marketing), it was deemed an unacceptable "interpretation" of this company's brand.
We were disappointed, but not terribly surprised. After all, companies spend a tremendous amount of time and money to create and nurture a brand - it must be protected.
And, now... the Kardashians
Believe me when I tell you it brings me no joy to write about the (mis)adventures of the Kardashian clan - I am as tired of hearing about them as I'm sure you are.
But the Kardashians are in the news again for something other than their annoying personal dramas. It is being reported that they are threatening to take legal action against a woman selling a product she wants to market as KardashianLash - some kind of eyelash-enhancement product.
The woman claims she had good intentions - she wanted to use the profits from the sales of KardashianLash to send Honduran orphans to cosmetology school, and she didn't think the Kardashians would mind her using their name. But, apparently they do mind.
While I have never purchased a Kardashian-branded product (nor do I have any plans to), I have to give them credit... they have created a strong brand, they have trademarked their name, and they are very protective of what they have created.
The lesson here, of course, is to always protect your brand - no matter how big or small your company may be. It can take a lot of hard work and time to create a brand that is known and trusted... but with a lack of vigilance it can take a very short time to undo that hard work.
1
This is what the world has come to
2/12/2012 4:05:48 PM
~ Arnie
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