Finding unclaimed or unregistered names for companies, products
and services is getting harder, say marketing and communications
executives at U.S. corporations. More than two-thirds of 400
executives responding to a poll by marketing agency Rivkin &
Associates Inc., Midland Park, N.J., say finding appropriate new names
is more difficult than five years ago. As PR NEWS reported earlier
this year (April 15, p. 3), a loosening of laws regulating filings
with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office fueled the naming surge--
allowing registration before a name is used in the marketplace.
"Companies are banking names for future use," said agency president
Steve Rivkin.
Among survey respondents, by far the most popular means used to
generate new names is internal task forces, used by 77 percent. Other
popular approaches are "extensions" of existing names, and using ad
agencies, selected by 46 and 41 percent, respectively.
Rivkin mailed surveys to a total of 850 companies, whose minimum
employee size was 300. (Rivkin, 201/670-1265)