The following is an edited transcript of Chapter 15 of my book video Building a Bold Brand: Avoiding Generic Use
In the last few years, more and more brands have added a generic product or category name after their brand name on packaging. The first brand to do this extensively was Kleenex®. Their packaging says “Kleenex brand tissues” to make it clear that Kleenex is not the name for all tissues and to help people avoid using the “Kleenex” name generically. Many people misuse them to refer to an entire category of goods: All tissues are not Kleenex® brand!
Some brands simply use the term “Brand” after their brand name or trademark for the same purpose. A brand name that becomes generic is less profitable, less valuable, and less protected under the law. Here are some popular brands that do a nice job of ensuring that their trademark does not become an unprotectable generic term by including the generic term or something else to modify the brand name:
- Frappuccino® Blended Coffee from Starbucks
- Play-Doh® modeling compound
- Poland Spring® brand
