Category: Brands & branding

  • Red Bull Mobile Network Australia

    Red Bull has been busy extending their brand into the GSM mobile space globally. The next step on the path to world domination is Australia. Technically they are mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) just like Virgin Mobile, which means they sell access to an existing network with their own branding and price structure. Virgin Mobile…

  • Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property

    People get confused between copyright and trademarks. The area of law is called Intellectual Property (IP). Copyright protects the expression of an idea. This includes spoken, written and audio-visual expressions. Hence books, movies, documentaries, photos, recordings, paintings, articles, drawings, poems, songs and music are all covered by copyright (subject to the creators jurisdiction). Trademarks (and…

  • When the Team IS the Brand

    Red Bull bought the (USA) Major League Soccer‘s New York MetroStars and renamed them New York Red Bulls. Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion calls the renaming risky in When the Team is the Brand. I think it’s a gutsy move from a company revolutionizing the beverage business. Red Bull didn’t get where they are now…

  • Rebranding Mandrake Linux

    I’m not sure which is company is dumber, Mandrive Linux or King Features Syndicate. From wikipedia’s Mandrake Linux entry: In February 2004 MandrakeSoft lost a court case against Hearst Corporation, owners of King Features Syndicate. Hearst contends that MandrakeSoft is infringing upon King Features’ trademarked character Mandrake the Magician. The word Mandrake is not unique…

  • Pamela Anderson blog

    Pamela Anderson has a blog. You may need to join friendster.com to read it. It’s an interesting case study. It appears that she is actually authoring the entries – although I’d guess a PA is actually transcribing her posts, it makes more sense in time management terms. Friendstar benefits from having a high profile celebrity…