Online Brand Protection: Don’t Get Crazy

Guest Post: By Enzo F. Cesario

Previously we discussed some of the issues surrounding the protection of your online brand. It is true that there are people out there who intend to misuse and abuse brand associations that others worked hard to create, and there are steps to take to limit them. After all, hard work should be protected, and there’s no reason to let someone trash your brand just because you didn’t consider every single eventuality.

However, there is such a thing as overzealousness. Planning ahead is good, but the Internet is a dynamic and fluid place that has its own rules. It is in many ways a living entity, growing and evolving as more input is provided and refined by the collective efforts of billions of minds working together, or even at cross-purposes. Attempting to outright control the Web is an exercise in folly, and we provide a clear example of when going too far can go wrong.

Living Language

Language is an odd thing. It requires a certain degree of agreed definition otherwise it’s worthless. So consider the interesting case of Adobe Systems and the trademark usage document they recently published on their site. In short, the document goes into the various approved ways to use the names of their products such as Reader, Acrobat, and Photoshop, as well as ways not to use them.

Adobe’s Photoshop and other Adobe products have been driving forces on the Web, leading toward greater standardization of document and file types. As the popularity of the format grew, the language surrounding them adapted.

Creating an image using Photoshop became ‘Photoshopping,’ and then just, ’shopping.’ These words entered into the popular use of language on the Internet fairly quickly, leading to Adobe’s decision to publish a trademark guideline document. Now, before going further, this is both an example of good and bad efforts to protect a brand.

The Good

The document does clearly state that these are guidelines for official promotional uses of the Adobe trademarks. This is their legal right – having trademarked the term, they can provide information on how they are to be appropriately used. Adobe is clearly making an effort to ensure their brand is presented in the spirit they intended.

The Bad

The document addresses some issues that seem somewhat nitpicky, and outside the realm of official trademark uses. The portion on ‘don’t abbreviate Photoshop to PS’ in particular doesn’t seem like something that would come up in official promotional material, and really comes across as a jab at popular forum culture.

As we’ve discussed before, people on the Internet are not robots, but people with a sense of individuality, their own rights, and quite frequently an ironic sense of humor. Again remember the infamous 4chan protests of Scientology. These were not a protest in the traditional sense – these users got together to do this as a lark. The average Internet user doesn’t respond well to patronizing commentary, and such efforts usually backfire.

Something Old, Something New

The phenomenon we are discussing is not unique to the Internet, either. Before the Internet was created, people were calling every tissue a Kleenex, despite this referring to only one brand out of many (Puffs, Scott, etc). Making a photocopy is still called Xeroxing in many circles, because Xerox made the first major breakthroughs in office photocopying. Both of these occurred before the Internet provided the tools to speed the process along, so consider how much harder it would be to arrest the process now.

Measured Steps

Again, the Adobe document provides both some good and some bad elements. Having information available is never a bad thing, especially where official trademarks are concerned. Letting people know how you want them to use your trademark on official documents is a good step. Instead of requiring time to be wasted contacting people and looking the information up, they can go to your resources page and find what they need without a hitch. You’ve made their lives easier and given your brand a positive image.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for letting pop culture have its way. People might call it Xeroxing, but if they’re buying Canon machines has anything really been lost? Make allowances for the whims of pop culture, and consider contacting your user base.

When you’re putting your trademark document together, run it by your audience for consideration. Put up a comment page and ask for feedback, jokes included. Then you may just find you have the most honest evaluation you could have ever asked for, free of charge.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MadViral online since 2005, MadViral Enterprises, LLC can help you market your business with Email Advertising, Professional Unique email design services

Online Brand Protection: Don’t Get Crazy

Online Brand Building – Do You Need a Social Media Newsroom?

Guest Post: By Enzo F. Cesario

Curriculum vitae, work experience, references, skills inventory, resume: all describe a source of information where people can condense the vital information about themselves into a single document for interested parties to examine. The idea is giving people an overview they can sort through in order to weigh your merits and strengths against their needs, as well as to get an idea of how you present yourself.

This concept has been adopted for the web in a number of ways, but none more unique than the social media newsroom. A combination bulletin board and press collection, the SMNR is a one-stop location for people to find out critical information about you. Whether you have a new book you’re promoting, a lecture tour you want to draw attention to, or a business plan you wish to propose, the SMNR is the place you gather all the information about your venture together into a clear, concise summary.

SMNR Basics

As implied in the name, a newsroom is a page where you compile relevant press (your own and others’) about the relevant topic. It lists the basic information, quotations, summaries and news stories in question, but then it also goes a step beyond the basics.

In previous articles we’ve discussed the advantages of integrating your audience into the brand, and taking advantage of the web’s powerful communication abilities to bring their influences into the picture. The SMNR doesn’t just present good press, it includes communication venues for people using Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Digg and more. It includes a comments section for added communication, and options for instant messaging or blog connectivity. In short it is more than just a static page, and is an active communications hub.

Do You Need One?

Any organization interested in creating and maintaining a vital web brand will find the SMNR an incredible, vital tool toward this purpose. If you have any good press, such as a positive review or mention from a SM group, consider putting up an SMNR page to centralize further promotion efforts.

The value of the SMNR lies in its convenience for your audience. As we have discussed, the web has allowed people to develop an incredibly short and discerning attention span. If you centralize your relevant information so that people can browse easily, they will be more likely to stay and peruse your content than if they had to hunt down the information themselves. Instead of looking for reviews of your company’s quality, they can find it all right at hand in your SMNR.

Which Social Media?

Given the sheer variety of social media networking sites, there is no one design of SMNR that will work in every situation. There are of course the broad guidelines already discussed, but these are not specific to any situation and for good reason. Applications such as Twitter or Digg are fairly universal, serving as conduits rather than direct sources of information. However services like Myspace and Facebook have differing user bases, and one may be more appropriate to your organization than the other. You must do the research to see what suits your business needs.

The most important piece of advice is to make your SMNR its own distinct element. We have discussed the importance of giving your online marketing efforts their own focus, rather than simply getting to them as you have time. The SMNR is no different. It will not replace the draw of a good blog or video series, just as an author’s webpage does not replace the act of actually reading his books.

Instead, find the social media networks that tie most organically into your usual web branding efforts, and build from there. If you’re focusing on a smaller audience, include instant messaging service so people can drop into the page chat room for quick input. If you’re going for a wider audience, Twitter is still an excellent way to quickly link your newest article or bit of press.

The Press Release

An integral part of any newsroom is the press release. This is not strictly speaking a traditional news story so much as it is a formalized announcement using the news style. As an illustration of the difference, a news story is when a journalism organization covers an event and relays the information. A press release is when the organization itself gives out information they feel is important, usually through a news channel. A good press release keeps to the basic facts, and is short and punchy.

The press release is therefore an outstanding tool for any SMNR. Brief and concise, it explains why your newest venture or change in policy deserves attention. It can be linked through your preferred social media tools and disseminated quickly, bringing people to your page for the full story. From there they can be directed to other materials, and you have your audience at hand.

Extra, Extra

Once again, the focus of the SMNR is as much about drawing in user commentary as it is about distributing information. Take the time to analyze the comments and usage figures from your newsroom against your chosen metrics. Listen to what people are saying, and engage them about these comments. Many good ideas have been lost simply for lack of communication, so take advantage of the fact that your audience is literally right there, in the newsroom with you, and ready to have a dialog.

---

Enzo F. Cesario is an online brand management specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat. We are social media consultants. Make your site more findable and your brand more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MadViral online since 2005, MadViral Enterprises, LLC can help you market your business with Email Advertising, Professional Unique email design services

Online Brand Building – Do You Need a Social Media Newsroom?