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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?{{B}}Brands{{/B}} ?
?The word brand is a comprehensive term that encompasses other narrower
terms. A brand is a name, term, symbol, and/or special design that is intended
to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers. A brand
differentiates one seller’s products from those of competitors. A brand name
consists of words, letters, and/or numbers that can be vocalized. A brand mark
is the part of the brand that appears in the form of a symbol, design, or
distinctive coloring or lettering. It is recognized by sight but may not be
expressed when a person, pronounces the brand name. ? ?A trademark
is a brand that is given legal protection because, under the law, it has been
appropriated by one seller. Thus trademark is essentially a legal term. All
trademarks are brands and thus include the words, letters, or numbers that can
be pronounced. They may also include a pictorial design, Some people erroneously
believe that the trademark is only the pictorial part of the brand. ?
?One major method of classifying brands is on the basis of who owns them —
producers or middlemen. Sunbeam, Florsheim, Spalding (athletic products), and
Sara Lee are producers’ brands, while Allstate, Shurfine, Sysco, Craftsman, and
Penncrest are middlemen’s brands. ? ?The terms national and private
have been used to describe producer and middleman brand ownership, respectively.
However, marketing people prefer the producer-middleman terminology. To say that
the brand of poultry feed marketed in three states by a small Birmingham,
Alabama, manufacturer is a national brand, whereas the brands of Penney’s or
Sears are private brands, stretches the meaning of the terms national and
private. |