Trademark Filings & Brand Launches
At CI Sense, we often stress how trademark filings can give you insight into your competitor’s future plans and strategies. There is so much to be gleamed from what your competitor is filing.
For instance, here is an example of a timeline which shows how three trademark filings for a company predated any web mention or official launch.
In this case we also had the luxury of knowing ahead of time about a new slogan and Domain name (microsite) which made it clear what the company was going to push in their next marketing effort.
Had this been your competitor, having this information would have been far, far more beneficial than merely finding out about the new product launch. (Which would have meant, sadly: Game Over.)
Armed with the information above, you would be advised that something big was in the works, you’d have an idea of what that was and you’d be able to plan ahead, react, take action – and compete.
3 Ways to Smell Your Competition a Mile Away
How do you know that your competition is planning to launch a new product?
Always be on the lookout for the Big Three: Trademark, Domain Name & Slogan. The first indication would, of course, be that they have filed a new trademark. But if you find not only a new trademark, but also a new domain name (for instance, the mark itself) registered as well, there is a good chance something new (e.g. a new direction) is in the works often in the form of a microsite. And if you find another trademark – but this one is in the form of a slogan, it’s quite obvious a new marketing push is underway.
For instance, last June Procter & Gamble, among other marks, filed:
- “Clinical Strength”
- “Because You’re Hot”
- “Secret, Because You’re Hot”
On the same day, the domain name becauseyourehot.com was also registered. All three were for “Goods” described as “Antiperspirants, body sprays etc…” That domain is now the website for Secret’s new “teen focussed” deodorant, Sparkle Body Spray, “an extension of the Secret Sparkle line of teen deodorant”.
It’s amazing what you can sniff out when you follow the scent.
