Getting Your Branding Right

As the effects of the credit crunch continue to bite, it’s time to review and protect your business assets. And it is vital that you do not overlook your branding.

A strong brand can make the difference between commercial success and failure, particularly for West Country businesses with all the geographical challenges and opportunities we face.

Most successful brands comprise a variety of assets, including business name, products and services, intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyright, personnel and internet presence, including domain names.

Consider a market-leading brand such as easyJet and the related businesses within the easyGroup. First and foremost, these companies are well known for their pervasive use of the colour orange in advertising materials together with their easy-use approach to everything they do.

Or consider the massively successful Virgin Group. It is inescapably associated in the nation’s mind with its iconic ‘Virgin’ logos, and the relaxed charm but impressive ambition of boss Sir Richard Branson.

Few Westcountry businesses can lay claim to such instantly-recognisable brands but, on a smaller scale, their corporate reputation relies on exactly the same factors – all of which need to be nurtured and protected for success. So how vulnerable are you to a competitor “stealing” your ideas or staff? What about a competitor gaining a commercial advantage by suggesting they are linked to you. Then there is that database you spent hours putting together that they copy.

Sorting out such issues should be a priority.

It’s usually a good idea to register your trading and product names as trade marks. This is a simple and cost-effective process that gives protection against anyone infringing your hard-earned rights. Registration helps make infringement claims straightforward.

Even if you have not registered your trade marks you may still be able to bring a legal action for ‘passing off’ to protect your mark if a rival is copying them without permission.

Also, you will own the copyright to the logos you have designed to market your business. You can certainly claim for damages for copyright infringement and an injunction if anyone uses your logos and icons without permission.

Internet domain names are another valuable asset. Don’t let anyone ‘cybersquat’ on a name that is rightly yours. Nominet, the registry for .uk domain names, runs an effective complaints procedure to sort out domain name wrangles. If necessary, this can be followed up with court action claiming trade mark infringement or ‘passing off’.

If your business invests in compiling valuable databases of information, you can take advantage of a relatively new type of intellectual property, called ‘database right’. For some organisations, such as Yellow Pages, building and exploiting databases is a core business and worthy of vigorous protection.

Any brand also relies on the quality of the people behind it – the top executives and staff who, like Sir Richard, add valuable personality to a commercial enterprise so stopping those staff working for a competitor or setting up in competition to you may be a priority you can’t afford to overlook.

Armed with this inventory, take a brand new look at your business and enhance and defend your brand.

For more information or advice, contact Cathryn Smith

Published 08/05/2008. The author of this article is Cathryn Smith