The Demise of Trademarks?

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registered over 140,000 trademarks last year. But, according to an article in the November 2004 issue (12.11) of Wired, "Even as companies have spent enormous amounts of time and energy introducing new brands and defending established ones, Americans have become less loyal. . . . A study by retail-industry tracking firm NPD Group found that nearly half of those who described themselves as highly loyal to a brand were no longer loyal a year later. . . .Another remarkable study found that just 4 percent of consumers would be willing to stick with a brand if its competitors offered better value for the same price . . . .'Brands have run out of juice. They're dead," says Kevin Roberts, CEO of advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi and author of the new book Lovemarks. "Now the consumer is boss. There's nowhere for brands to hide.'"