John Drake

How Brands Can Trademark A Color

Up to 90 percent of a consumer's initial judgment of a product is based on color*. Considering this, and how color increases brand recognition by 80 percent, it's worth it for companies to greatly consider their colors. At the agency we consider color as one of the components of distinctiveness that we know is our job to bring to brands.

Some brands go quite far quite far legally with their colors.

I get asked, 'how far'?

There are a handful of companies who have successfully owned a color:

To successfully secure such a trademark, a company must prove that a single color:

• Achieves “secondary meaning” (distinguishes a product from competitors and identifies the company as the definitive source of the product)
• Doesn’t put competitors at a disadvantage by affecting cost or quality
• Doesn’t serve a functional purpose

This last piece means that “a color really has to be quite arbitrary” to be trademarked: It can’t be essential to the production of the product or serve any utilitarian purpose.

Sometimes, proving all of his can be extremely challenging.

General Mills, for instance, has twice failed to secure a trademark on yellow for its Cheerios box, on the grounds that the color isn’t synonymous with the brand since too many other cereal companies use it in their branding. 

Pepto-Bismol’s attempts to trademark pink were thwarted when a court deemed that the “therapeutic” effect the color had on customers was “functional.”

Many companies trademark colors in conjunction with logos, of course. Of those, blue and red are the two most popular at 18 percent each, followed by yellow (according to the US Trademark Office).

Want to know more... start with The Hustle, who's nice rundown is the majority of this post.

 

Sources

*The Psychology of Color Influences, 2017

Music Industry Revenues

Found this chart by Ben Evans. Quite interesting and wanted to be able to go back to it easily. The revenue breakdown in 2017 also shows how music has integrated into life much more so than it had in 1999.

Fuel and Country

Saw a BMW with three stripes on the grill the other day. Wondered what it was. Turns out the first red stripe on the right is for Texaco, the American oil brand, who, I guess, partnered with BMW during the early days of M racing. The light blue stripe on the left is for BMW and the Bavarian region. The purple in the middle represents the partnership of those two things and allows for a nice transition between the two colors. Always cool when nice looking design has meaning.

Leave The Screen, Rise To Total Challenge

Much of my following of Standing Rock was through the updates and prompting of wolf & wilhelmine founder Heidi Hackemer. Which, of course, required all digital. Me, the follower, that is--digital, as stuff arrived in my feeds and channels. She, the doer, was there in the physical. Making change in non-violent ways with lots of other people.

And there it is: doing, versus following. Physical versus digital.

Of course things can be done from the screen. Of course they can. But can it replace what can happen with physical interaction when it really matters? In 2016 it feels like everyone thought it could. Years of Twitter and Alerts, finding Medium, living on screens no matter where we are.

But as we swing into 2017 I think we're all, in the back of our minds, questioning whether it can.

Set Rules For Yourself

Kendrick Lamar has an inspiration board made up of five rules.

A great list. And a reminder that, perhaps, we all should have one, if we want to push, guide and hold ourselves to high-levels of achievement.

Finding The Capo d'astro bar

This was referenced during a speech at MarketMix by Patrick Byers. The capo d'astro bar is a great advertising story that was written in the 80s. Searching for the story took a few attempts, so I thought I'd re-post it here.

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By Bud Robbins

Back in the sixties, I was hired by an ad agency to write copy on the Aeolian Piano Company account. My first assignment was for an ad to be placed in The New York Times for one of their grand pianos. The only background information I received was some previous ads and a few faded close-up shots…and of course, the due date.

The Account Executive was slightly put out by my request for additional information and his response to my suggestion that I sit down with the client was, ‘Don’t tell me you’re one of those? Can’t you just create something? We’re up against a closing date!’

I acknowledged his perception that I was one of those, which got us an immediate audience with the head of our agency.

I volunteered I couldn't even play a piano let alone write about why anyone would spend $5,000 for this piano when they could purchase a Baldwin or Steinway for the same amount.

Both allowed the fact they would gladly resign the Aeolian business for either of the others; however, while waiting for the call, suppose we make our deadline. I persisted and reluctantly, a tour of the Aeolian factory in Upstate New York was arranged. I was assured that ‘we don’t do this with all our clients’ and my knowledge as to the value of company time was greatly reinforced.

The tour lasted two days and although the care and construction appeared meticulous, $5,000 still seemed to be a lot of money.

Just before leaving, I was escorted into the showroom by the National Sales Manager. In an elegant setting sat their piano alongside the comparably priced Steinway and Baldwin.

‘They sure look alike,’ I commented.

‘They sure do. About the only real difference is the shipping weight—our is heavier.’

‘Heavier?’ I asked. ‘What makes ours heavier?’

‘The Capo d’astro bar.’

‘What’s a Capo d’astro bar?’

‘Here, I’ll show you. Get down on your knees.’

Once under the piano, he pointed to a metallic bar fixed across the harp and bearing down on the highest octaves. ‘It takes 50 years before the harp in the piano warps. That’s when the Cap d’astro bar goes to work. It prevents warping.’

I left the National Sales Manager under his piano and dove under the Baldwin to find a Tinkertoy Capo d’astro bar at best. Same with the Steinway.

‘You mean the Capo d’astro bar really doesn’t go to work for 50 years?’ I asked. ‘Well, there’s got to be some reason why the Met uses it,’ he casually added.

I froze. ‘Are you telling me that the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City uses this piano?’

‘Sure. And their Capo d’astro bar should be working by now.’

Upstate New York looks nothing like the front of the Metropolitan Opera House where I met the legendary Carmen, Rise Stevens. She was now in charge of moving the Metropolitan Opera House to the Lincoln Center.

Ms. Stevens told me, ‘About the only thing the Met is taking with them is their piano.’

That quote was the headline of our first ad.

The result created a six-year wait between order and delivery.

My point is this. No matter what the account, I promise you, the Capo d’astro bar is there.”

On How Information Can Be Beautiful

Have fun clicking around the winners of Kantar's Information is Beautiful Awards. HT to ODF.

Some wonderful Dataviz...

Infographics that could hang on a wall...

And things that animate, like this one.

On A Wondrous Mind

It's really hard to think of anyone today who is as creative, and as successful, and as iconic as Karl Lagerfeld.

He lives only in the present, never attends marketing meetings, and believes that if things are kept too peaceful with your competitors that it's dangerous because 'you fall asleep'. 

Whenever a piece on him serves up, I never miss the chance to read it. And this latest NY Times Style article is as entertaining as it is insightful.

On The Positive Vision of A.I.

Elon Musk and Y Combinator president, Sam Altman shared the stage for Vanity Fair. There's a great bit at 37:25 about A.I.

Sam talks about how humans and A.I. are already co-evolving but not many of us have really paid attention. And what it's doing is empowering individuals, not enabling one source or one person to power. 

Good Business Is Fascinating Art

Andy Warhol once wrote, 'being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.' There are all sorts of good bits like that here.