How to Come Up with a Strong Trademark and Avoid Marketing Mistakes

What is a trademark and why do you need it?

It would not be an exaggeration to say that most people almost every day meet trademarks - designations that we see on a variety of objects.

However, if such a misconception is not particularly important for the average person, then in the commercial environment this issue is fundamentally important, since it is trademarks that are the tool that is necessary for the promotion of goods (works, services) and the development of a business.

The rules for regulating relations related to trademarks are enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It also provides a legal definition, according to which a trademark is a designation that serves to individualize goods, and a service mark is a designation that individualizes the work performed or services provided (Article 1477 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

According to Article 1484 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the right to use a trademark for the individualization of goods (works, services) belongs to the right holder of the trademark - the person in whose name the mark is registered. There are different ways of individualization, but the most common of them are the placement of trademarks on the products themselves, including on their labels and packaging, as well as in sales offers, on signs and in advertising. The purpose of such individualization is to draw the attention of consumers to the goods (works, services) of a certain manufacturer, distinguishing them from similar ones, as well as to form a stable connection between the goods that are marked with the corresponding sign and its manufacturer.

Thus, it is trademarks that help consumers navigate among a huge number of goods, giving preference to those that are marked with well-known designations. These designations help consumers to recognize the product and associate it with a particular manufacturer, create confidence that the product, marked in a certain way, has certain qualities and characteristics.

In this context, the main question for business is how to develop a trademark that will not only successfully pass registration, but also allow its right holder to achieve his direct commercial goal. You can read about the legal aspects of choosing a trademark in the article Trademark Development, and in this article we will analyze the features of marketing strategies for choosing a designation, including showing typical naming mistakes and telling you how to avoid them.

Types of trademarks and what to consider when choosing a type

According to Article 1482 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, verbal, figurative, three-dimensional and other designations or their combinations can be registered as trademarks. Others, in particular, include such rare types of trademarks as color, sound, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, light, multimedia, positional and holographic trademarks. You can read about rare types of trademarks and the features of their registration in the corresponding article by our experts, and here we will focus on the marketing pros and cons of the most common types of trademarks - verbal and figurative designations, as well as their combinations.

Verbal trademarks include words and phrases that can be both real and fantasy. From the point of view of marketing, the advantage of verbal trademarks is the universality of their promotion methods, since, unlike figurative designations, verbal trademarks can be perceived not only visually, but also by hearing. For example, the use of verbal designations is actively used to advertise goods (works, services) in radio programs, podcasts and other similar formats of information transmission.

The advantage of figurative designations is that they "without unnecessary words" attract attention to the product well, because they are primarily used by placing them directly on the product (its packaging, etc.). It is clear that it is possible to mark a product with a verbal designation, but the point is that, according to statistics, pictorial markings (graphics, composition, color) are remembered better than verbal ones, and also quickly form an associative connection with the product among consumers.

Another advantage of figurative designations is that, unlike verbal ones, they do not require adaptation for foreign markets, since they do not depend on the language, and therefore do not need translation. From this point of view, figurative signs are universal for perception by all consumers.

But there are also disadvantages: as noted above, figurative designations cannot be promoted in auditory forms of information transmission. In addition, the registration of only a figurative designation actually deprives the right holder of the exclusive opportunity to promote his trademark by using it in the domain name and other methods of addressing on the Internet, which, among other things, forms the basis for abuse by domain trolls.

It should be noted separately that according to paragraph 2 of Article 1482 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a trademark can be registered in any color or color combination. When choosing color solutions for a figurative trademark, you also need to take into account the emotional impact and associations that most people have with certain colors. For example, it is known that bright yellow and orange colors usually evoke associations with activity and energy, respectively, they are more suitable for labeling goods related to sports than with relaxation, etc. 

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the connection between the intended territory of product promotion and the cultural differences of consumers in the perception of the same color. For example, in some cultures, the red color is associated with danger or even aggression, but in others, in particular, in China, it is associated with good luck, joy and prosperity, so it is actively used in festive paraphernalia. Or, for example, white, which in Western cultures is used in wedding events, associated with purity and innocence, and in some East Asian countries, the same white is used in funeral rituals, being a symbol of mourning.

Given that both verbal and figurative signs have both pros and cons, many companies prefer to register combined trademarks - designations that include both verbal and figurative elements. This gives them the opportunity to bypass the disadvantages and take advantage of both types of trademarks. In addition, combined symbols are suitable for cases where individual elements of the symbol are weak, for example, they contain unprotected words. In this case, with the correct integration of unprotected elements into the overall design, it is possible to obtain a unique designation that will successfully pass registration.

Typical naming mistakes and how to avoid them

In the field of trademarks, naming is the process of creating a unique and memorable name - the verbal element of the trademark. Experts note that a well-chosen name helps entrepreneurs stand out from competitors, evokes positive associations and remains in the memory of the target audience of consumers of goods (works, services) for a long time.

The opposite is also true – unsuccessful naming can not only slow down the promotion of the product on the market, but also lead to conflicts and, accordingly, losses for the trademark owner. To avoid marketing failures and negative financial consequences, it is necessary to study in advance, i.e. before filing an application for trademark registration, and exclude factors that can lead to the failure of a marketing strategy.

In particular, typical naming errors include:

• Names with difficult pronunciation, incl. literalism (long abbreviations). Such designations are not only difficult to pronounce, but also difficult to remember, which obviously affects promotion. An example of unsuccessful naming is the designation Thwrl is the name of a startup that developed a social application. One of the reasons for the failure of this project is called unsuccessful naming, due to which the startup faced difficulties in disseminating information about the application, incl. through word of mouth. To avoid such mistakes, choose names with positive phonetics, i.e. those that are easy to pronounce and sound pleasant (rhythmic, melodic, without excessive combinations of consonants, etc.);
• Names that evoke negative associations in other cultures (foreign languages). Perhaps one of the most famous cases of failed marketing due to unsuccessful naming is the story of the Japanese company Mitsubishi, associated with the introduction of an SUV under the Pajero trademark to the markets of Latin America and Spain. It turned out that many Spaniards refused to buy a car because of the name, considering it indecent, since in Spanish slang the word pajero has a vulgar meaning. The company had to urgently rename the model to Montero, but even this did not save the situation completely: in some regions of Spain, the word montero was associated with hunters, which also caused negativity among part of the population. As a result, Mitsubishi had to spend millions on rebranding. To avoid such mistakes, familiarize yourself with the cultural characteristics of the intended sales region in advance and check the designation for possible linguistic connotations;
• Names consisting of "incongruous" neologisms, i.e. a combination of words that violate the usual linguistic norms or logical connections between concepts, for example, "Khlebobank".

However, it should be noted that the language game with neologisms can also have the opposite positive effect, if the non-standard combination of words is sufficiently expressive, ironic, etc. In this case, the company "Crush" used the neologism "krashnyy", which is phonetically consonant with the adjective "red" (the color of the fruit) and resembles a child's lisping pronunciation, which takes into account the interest of the target audience of the product - children.

Also, to develop a strong trademark, experts recommend not only checking the name for naming traps, but also taking into account the psychology of the potential target audience - its interests and values. For this purpose, it is recommended to conduct appropriate surveys and test the designation on relevant focus groups.

In conclusion, we note that the above marketing tactics are only part of the strategy for developing a trademark (service mark). The main general rule is that a trademark must be unique, i.e. it must not be identical or confusingly similar to the existing trademarks of other persons in relation to similar goods or to designations applied for registration and having an earlier priority (Clause 6 of Article 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Violation of this rule, as well as other requirements specified in Article 1483 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, is the basis for refusal of state registration of a trademark.

Thus, in order to develop a trademark that will successfully pass state registration, we recommend contacting professionals who will not only check the application for compliance with all legal requirements, but also help develop a strong trademark.