Choosing a Great Brand

A Strong Brand Has Three Legs

Brands that are memorable and enduring don’t just happen.  They take planning, thought, execution and maintenance.  Brands that speak to customers rest on three legs–Create. Build. Protect.  Each is separate, yet interrelated and equally important.  Ignore one, and you’re left with a two-legged stool, wobbly to say the least. [View More]

How to Choose a Good Trademark

In this Brandaide Conversation, trademark experts Bill Finkelstein & Cheryl Hodgson discuss on  what makes for a good trademark.  Before launching a new product or service, it’s important to choose a strong trademark. Most important, when choosing a mark, you want to select one that will be memorable and distinctive. [View More]

Why Pepsi & Apple Are Great Brand Names

In this Brandaide Conversation, our resident trademark registration experts Bill Finklestein & Cheryl Hodgson discuss why Pepsi and Apple such strong trademarks?  Look to Pepsi and Apple as examples to learn from when selecting your own strong trademarks.  [View More]

Building Your Brand

Create Your Brand Voice

Brand voice encompasses not only the words you choose, but their order, rhythm and pace. A tone of voice is not what you say, but how you say it.  Rather confusingly, when seen in the world of business and marketing, the phrase ‘tone of voice’ refers to written – rather than spoken – words. A company’s tone of voice will inform all of its written copy, including its website, social media messages, emails and packaging.  [View More]

Brand Strategy

The Brand Lens is a powerful strategic tool. Kevin Walker has made a career out of emphasizing the importance of branding, of developing an authentic brand promise and of always delivering on it. It’s not enough just to have a brand, you have to have a brand marketing strategy. [View More]

Learn about the secret APPLE brand sauce

The secret APPLE sauce is one that can guide new brands. Kyle Hermans & trademark attorney Cheryl Hodgson discuss the secret Apple sauce. [View More]

Building the Personal Brand

Jim Cramer and Perez Hilton are iconic personal brands to their respective audiences, brands launched on the Internet and leveraged into off-line profitable empires. Personal brands are no less valuable or profitable than pure product brands. [View More]

Can #Hashtags be Registered as Trademarks?

Trademark registration for a hashtag is possible if the hashtag is used to promoted goods and services, not just as a way to organize content. Learn the rules here. [read more]

Understanding International Trademark Registration

Is your client expanding outside the U.S.? Is an international trademark registration necessary? The process can be confusing. Here are the basics which can help clients understand how the process works. [read more]

Guide to Foreign Trademark Registration

International trademark registration has become vitally important for online brands. Brand owners selling in the global market are well-served to understand the basics of international trademark registration, lest their brand disappear. Two real client stories to guide you. [read more]

Protect Your Brand in Web 2.0

This World Trademark Review round table of experts shares how to protect your brand in Web 2.0. A must read for all business owners with a brand to protect. [read more]

Create a Social Media Policy

As the Trademark Roundtable continues, the experts share why brands need to create a social media policy, and share tips for best practices when doing so. [read more]

Creating a Consumer Experience

Many organizations have brand values, yet few manage to make them real for their own teams, in a way that enables the team to bring these values alive for customers in a memorable brand experience.  While most brand owners see training as the solution, all too often, training can actually become part of the problem. Here’s why. [View More]

Trademark Registration

Cheryl Hodgson interviews Gap’s Director of Innovation, Kyle Hermans Part I

Trademark Attorney Cheryl Hodgson begins an exploration of brand innovation with Gap Brands’ innovation genius Kyle Hermans. Kyle shares some of the stories from his travels around the globe on behalf of major brands. [View More]

Cheryl Hodgson Kyle Hermans Part II

Trademark Attorney Cheryl Hodgson continues to explore innovation with  Kyle Hermans. Kyle shares more stories from his travels around the globe on behalf of major brands. Survey Monkey is not the path to brand innovation.  [View More]

Intellectual Property and Brand Valuation

Valuation of a company by a professional is  common and necessary when it comes time to sell a business, buy out partner, or any other number of reasons. A valuation determines the value of a business based upon tangible assets such as cash, real estate and equipment.  It also includes intangible assets such as patents trademarks copyrights and trade secrets, often the most valuable assets of all.  Learn the basics. [read more]