Newsletter for AMP-RI Spring 2012 www.amp-ri.com Why Join AMP-RI? I’m Glad You Asked! THIS ISSUE Protect the Crown Jewels! —Page 3— Links Worth the Click —Page 5— For Some, English is a Second Language —Page 5— Can Blogs Help Business? —Page 5— Louise R. Cote Co-President, AMP-RI My interest in the group now known as Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations of Rhode Island (AMP-RI) is a long story. Suffice it to say that I was a member of the Women’s Advertising Club of Rhode Island (WACRI), and missed the group of women – and men – with whom I could commiserate, network, and share ideas. AMP-RI started when a group of former WACRI members said to each other, “Gee, wasn’t that a great group?” and, “We need to find another group like that!” Instead of searching around, they took the bull by the horns and, in 2009, invented it! Our first president, Joyce Pucino, was the driving force behind our foundation. With advisors Scotti DiDonato, Eileen Fitzgerald, and Ruth Winograd – all long-time WACRI members – Joyce steered us into existence. So what’s the big deal? Even though the economy is on the rise (or so “they” say!) we’re all trying to make it today. I’ve learned that it’s easier to get through the tough times surrounded by friends. That’s one benefit of being a member of AMP-RI. Here are a few more. When you join AMP-RI, you automatically get a listing on our Member Page at amp-ri.com. You can post a picture; a short bio; your email and web site links; and links to your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages. See mine at http://amp-ri.com/ member_ampri_louise-cote.html (continued on next page) AMP-RI is a professional advertising, marketing and public relations organization that can help connect you with resources in your field, sharpen your career skills and allow you to share your creative talents. Everyone involved is a volunteer who takes time out of their busy schedule to help create invitations, choose program venues, assist with registration and publicity, and more. We need YOU. Volunteer with us today! Margaret Batting speaks at the Dress for Success event at 1149 in Seekonk. AMPCircuit, Newsletter for AMP-RI • Spring 2012 Networking opportunities will soon fill your email box. We have monthly networking meetings with a Spotlight Presentation, featuring an AMP-RI member or someone within our industry with a message we may need to hear. Past presentations have included Tom Monahan on Getting Attention in the New Media Blizzard; film director Michael Corrente on Beyond the Creative Splice; and Rhode Island Monthly publisher John Palumbo on why Magazines are Not Synonymous with Paper. We also offer our members networking and presentation opportunities in conjunction with other organizations. The Creative Communications Club of Providence (CCCP) shares news about their events with us, and vice-versa, and we share an Annual Holiday Party in December. We send our notices to over 200 “movers and shakers” in the creative community, not to mention how many members forward them to their contact lists, and so on, and so on. • www.amp-ri.com Page 2 Haven’t made a meeting lately? Here’s what you’ve missed: AMP-RI members braved >> a late-winter storm to hear about StyleWeek Providence and enjoyed the presentation by Colleen Wamback at NYLO. We share our notices with Uncle Jay’s Network, to be included in his weekly mailings. That’s a lot of people getting our message, which increases the number of contacts you can make. Having a problem in the office? Trying to think of the right word for that headline? Need to know the newest color trend? You’ll meet fellow creatives off whom you can bounce ideas. Looking for a job? Need more freelance work? Send us your resume and we’ll forward it to our email network. Come to a meeting and you may meet others who can connect you with someone looking for help. Before and after each presentation there is plenty of time to network, renew old friendships and contacts, and develop new ones. We encourage you to bring business cards and mingle while enjoying tasty food offerings (we often tell the chefs “make it nice” – and they always do!). Many of our venues are restaurants or have restaurants, so think about staying for dinner. Finally, joining AMP-RI gets you the member rate on all presentation events and networking meetings. DO consider joining AMP-RI, and if you’re a current member, renew your membership. There are many benefits, and I hope to see you at our next event! On March 28 at CAV, Christine Foisy >> presented on the House of Hope boutique and the organization’s mission to provide skills and business training to women in transition. How you present >> yourself is still important in today’s workplace, as we heard from Margaret Batting, President of Eleve Image Consulting and a Board Member of Dress for Success, RI. Managing Your Reputation in a Crisis >> was the topic as Dave Layman presented at 1149 in East Greenwich on May 23. AMPCircuit, Newsletter for AMP-RI • Spring 2012 • www.amp-ri.com Page 3 C Protect the Crown Jewels! By Tyler T. Ray R A trademark is often the single most By Tyler T. Ray, Esq. Duffy & Sweeney, LTD. important asset in a company but one that is often TM overlooked. Let’s look at some high-profile brands such as Coca-Cola®, McDonald’s®, Samuel Adams®, or Nike®, for example. What do you see here? I see sugar water, burgers, beer, and shoes. That’s right, generic products that are widely available from thousands of competing merchants. How did these companies become so successful? These marketing machines have achieved substantial commercial success not just through traditional advertising, marketing, or public relations channels, but also through careful creation, protection, and enforcement of their crown jewels – trademarks. In my practice, I have found that even among talented advertising or marketing specialists, CEOs or entrepreneurs, fundamental misconceptions about trademarks exist when developing ad campaigns. It is my hope that we can clear up some common misunderstandings so that the “crown jewels” of your company or client continue to drive sales! “The mark is available – we searched the USPTO online database!” Not so fast. Although the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) online database is a wonderful tool for clearance searches, it is by no means comprehensive, nor should it be relied upon to protect against infringement analysis. The USPTO only supports federal registrations or applications. As you may recall, trademark rights stem from use, not just from registration. Thus, the USPTO database should be a starting point. A clearance search should also review state trademark registries, industry publications, the Internet (Google, Bing), domain names, and other sources. In other words, a true availability search is likely far broader and more extensive than anything a company or advertising agency can do in-house. “We’ve registered the domain name, so we own the trademark.” Wrong! The mantra “no trade, no trademark” aptly applies here. The trademark has to be in use in order for your client or company to have acquired or own any rights to the trademark. This means that every .com, .us, or .net registration is not worth the paper it is written on without any use. Even still, in use domain names may not function as a trademark if the mark does not identify the intended goods or services. Remember, a trademark is a source identifier. (continued on next page) AMPCircuit, Newsletter for AMP-RI • Spring 2012 • www.amp-ri.com Page 4 “The best mark is descriptive – it conveys the nature of the product or service!” TM The battle between trademark lawyer and marketing teams usually begins here. Marketing folks are often inclined to descriptively name products to easily capture consumer intent and convert that into point-of-sale purchases. Be wary of this trap, because not all marks are created equal! There are four categories to determine whether, and the extent to which, a mark will be entitled to protection against competitors: (1) fanciful, coined, or arbitrary; (2) suggestive; (3) descriptive; and (4) generic (and unprotectable). Fanciful marks are the strongest marks, usually a mark devised by the owner purely to identify and distinguish a product or service, like Xerox® for copiers, or arbitrary and completely random, like Apple® for computers. Suggestive marks are when marketers attempt to provide a link to the product through the name, such as Coppertone® for suntan lotion or Whirlpool® for washing machines. Descriptive marks are very low on protection. By definition, if it immediately, without conjecture, describes a function or feature, like Raisin Bran® cereal or Bed Bath & Beyond®, it is descriptive. This law is logical, as marks that are merely descriptive are needed by competitors in the marketplace to describe their products or services, and the law frowns on taking terms out of commerce that competitors need to compete effectively. To summarize, the strongest trademarks, i.e. the marks afforded the most protection under the law, are fanciful, coined or arbitrary, so remember that the next time you battle with your trademark lawyer! “D-I-Y trademark disasters!” I’ve seen it. The trademark federal application process is full of traps that can lead to disastrous results for a company seeking to save a few bucks. Commonly, trademark owners who file their own applications select the wrong classes of goods or services or describe their goods and services in ways that, while appearing reasonable to the layperson, in fact provide inadequate or inappropriate protection. Seek or recommend professional assistance! “I can’t use the ™ symbol until my mark is registered!” Contrary to popular opinion, your business can use the ™ symbol whenever it wishes to claim a trademark. You do not need to file any paperwork or receive permission to use the ™ symbol (but make sure you have performed a clearance search!). Use of the ™ symbol can put the world at-large on notice that the business considers a mark its trademark. This is part of your obligation to enforce your mark. However, the ® symbol may ONLY be used AFTER the USPTO grants a federal registration certificate. Of course, not all of our clients or companies are behemoths like Coca-Cola or Nike. Most of us operate on a smaller scale and in segmented sectors of industry. The goal, regardless of size, is just the same: protect the crown jewels – trademarks. In a world in which consumers are increasingly in control of media and branding, this is just as important for advertising, marketing, and public relations professionals as creating the right ad campaign. Tyler T. Ray is an associate at the law firm of Duffy & Sweeney, LTD in Providence, RI. He may be reached at tray@duffysweeney.com or 401-455-0700. AMPCircuit, Newsletter for AMP-RI • Spring 2012 • www.amp-ri.com Page 5 Institute of Official Cheer. You can spend many lunch hours on this one, so pace yourself. The Bleat (Lilek’s blog) has been going since the mid90s. www.lileks.com Need a good laugh – (don’t choke on your Lean Cuisine!) http://thisadvertisinglife.tumblr.com/ Links Worth the Click By Anne Berg Information overload is upon us; hundreds of links, articles, must-reads sent to our in-boxes and posted on our Facebook pages. We have to pick and choose what we can read in the time (and brain cells) available daily. The following is a list of sites and blogs that are definitely worth a few minutes – at lunch time, during a sanity break, or when you’re checking around to see what’s new out there. Some are eye-opening, inspiring, informative…and others will give you a good laugh. Newsworthy: Fast Company magazine is the single most inspiring business publication out there, and hasn’t lost its edge since launching nearly 20 years ago. More reader-friendly than WIRED, and the e-newsletters are worth signing up for – especially the designfocused newsletter (www.fastcodesign.com). www.fastcompany.com Seth Godin is a modern era sage – insightful, knowledgeable. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ A compendium of what’s making news, what’s useful, what you may need to know in marketing, media, and elsewhere – this must be how the term mash-up came to be: www.mashable.com If your business involves mobile, here’s the link to click: www.mobilemarketer.com Want a quick hit of what’s happening? You can tailor it to your interests. www.linkedin.com/today For the Creative Community: Informative and fun…connect with the larger creative community. www.designtaxi.com This one will inspire: www.thisiscolossal.com/ Best lunch hour reading: Explore the far corners of this site – especially the I’m sure you all have your favorites – please send them to me and we’ll include in a future article. anne@artforcommerce.com For Some, English is a Second Language By Louise Cote For some wild reason, people in different areas of the world decided to create their own language, their own alphabet, and their own syntax. Fast forward to the third millennium – we’re still looking for ways to talk to each other in ways everyone understands. Converting one language to another needs to be done by people – not machines – who are fluent in both the original language and the intended language. Many people use the terms “translate” and “interpret” interchangeably, but there is a difference. Translating is what is done with the printed word, like a brochure or a web site. Interpreting is done with the spoken word, such as at the United Nations or in a court proceeding; dictionary.com gives the antonym explain. Transliterate is what is done to written languages that do not share an alphabet. English and French share the alphabet, but both need to be transliterated to Greek or Japanese; dictionary.com gives the related word transcribe. Can Blogs Help Business? By Nora Hall My vote would be, “Yes, blogs do help business.” Seven months ago only my family and very closest friends knew I was writing a book titled Survive Your Husband’s Retirement. The book looks at changes in a relationship—and the errant behavior that comes along with it—when a husband retires. But, so what if no one knows about it. As the wife of a retired husband I know this is an (continued on next page) AMPCircuit, Newsletter for AMP-RI • Spring 2012 important topic for wives who are working through the retirement adjustment period. However, it seemed to be one of those taboo topics that no one would talk about. Funny how it’s OK for celebrities to reveal the intricacies of their current sex lives, but not for normal wives to discuss dismay over their husband’s retirement. Those who did so felt like a traitor to their long time partner—or were embarrassed that they couldn’t manage this new life stage. Some dread the threat of their husband’s retirement, but most happily married couples look forward to enjoying one another’s company as they explore new areas, events, and activities. Still, when that time together is strictly 24/7, the relationship can become suffocating. It’s human nature to feel better when we know we’re not alone in a situation, so I began blogging to help wives find comfort in their situation. Witnessing the growth of conversation around what one friend referred to as a “sticky” life stage has been fun, enlightening, and also helpful for my business goals. In addition to opening the conversation, my blog has opened doors for me to give workshops and has people eager for my book (currently with a publisher for consideration). If I had not started this blog, no one beyond my “inner circle” would know about the book or the workshops, and I would have spent a year merely ruminating on this thing called retirement marriage. “BUT”—you say, “I’m a graphic designer or a marketer—not a writer.” A blog is still possible. Writing in a blog is more informal than in a book, a magazine, or even publicity materials. The only rules seem to be: don’t sell – offer help instead, and never badmouth • www.amp-ri.com Page 6 another. If you know your industry well, which I presume you do or you wouldn’t be with AMP-RI, you can offer tips on how others can benefit from your field of interest. You can also quote others and discuss their comments. Running contests in a blog or highlighting events and topics that are relevant to your clients is another tool that brings people to your site. The important concept is that you provide a helpful forum for people to come to know you as reliable and trustworthy, and someone to do business with. “The important concept is that you provide a helpful forum for people to come to know you as reliable and trustworthy, and someone to do business with.” Special Offer for AMP-RI Members in good standing The first three AMP-RI members who email Nora will get a free 30-minute blog brainstorming session. Be one of the first three AMP-RI members to respond by sending an email to Nora at norahall@verizon and you will win a brainstorm session. About Nora Hall Nora was a member of AMP-RI when she worked full-time as a freelance business writer, creating website, blog and brochure copy for small businesses. When her husband retired, she moved her focus to writing about her experience—and those of the many other women she interviewed—in “surviving” a husband’s retirement. Today she spends most of her time blogging and planning workshops on this subject, but is still delighted to help selected clients create copy for their web sites, brochures, and blogs. To see her blog, go to www.surviveyourhusbandsretirement.com. To brainstorm about ideas for your blog or web site call Nora at (401) 767-6451. AMPCIRCUIT STAFF Managing Editor Anne Berg / Proofreader Sheila Flanagan / Layout & Designs, Illustrations Rob Kenney Contributors Tyler T. Ray, Louise Cote, Anne Berg, Nora Hall COMMENTS? If you have any comments about AMPCircuit or would like to contribute an article for a future issue, please contact Anne Berg: anne@artforcommerce.com