March 10, 2010
The Unfortunate Saga of Risqué Domain Naming and Branding Continues with the Sale of Sex.com
The domain name Sex.com is up for grabs.
That's right, potentially the most expensive domain name in history is in foreclosure and will be sold at auction, with bids starting at a cool $1 million. It was sold for $14 million in 2006, which was a record then until Insure.Com went for $16 million.
I have previously written about how the domain name Sex.com has been poorly managed, and even swindled from previous owners. Now, the story seems to have continued its downward spiral.
It will be sold "as is" in the equivalent of a foreclosure sale and should generate a lot of interest, as it can apparently generate $15,000 of revenue a day if managed correct.
Sex.com is one of the top five most profitable domain names on the web today, the others being Fund.com, Porn.com, Poker.com and Business.com.
The Sex.com domain name has been mismanaged, of course, and is surrounded by clouds of legal skullduggery. It is claimed that one of the previous owners had the name stolen from him, and commenced a ten-year manhunt to find the culprit.
DOM Partners, a New Jersey lender is foreclosing the domain and will auction it on March 18, at the New York law firm, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf.
Ecoconsultancy has a great post up entitled "Six things you can learn from Sex.com's failure," and number one is: A great domain only goes so far.
I have to agree.
It takes more than a name to make a product or a domain name shine. However, we at Strategic Name Development can say, a great name never hurts.
Technorati Tags: Sex.com, Domain Name, Auction, Ecoconsultancy, Foreclosure,
Posted by William Lozito at 9:34 AM| Comments (0)
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February 25, 2010
The 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open Embraces Trashy Naming and Branding
There's really no way to sugar coat this one so I'm just going to put it out there: The official corporate sponsor of the Phoenix Open is Waste Management.
That means the new name of the game is The 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open. They are replacing FBR Capital Markets (which admittedly wasn't the sexiest sponsor name, either).
Time to let the jokes fly.
For starters, you can get wasted there (insert laugh track). Others say the name is "nice and trashy" but, "Trash talking aside, the golf tournament draws more crowds and raises more money for charity than any other PGA event," according to April Stolarz of College Times.
The good thing is that the sponsor gets it. They know it sounds more than a little strange but they are rolling with it. They are putting hundreds of recycling receptacles around the course and "60 solar-powered waste-compactor units." Plus, "The number of plastic cups handed out will be reduced from previous years. Tickets will be printed on recycled paper." They even note that they have "recycled the 'Phoenix' name into the name of the tournament," which FBR had tossed.
The point is that the company is going to get a great deal of exposure and is aggressively integrating its name and its core values into the tournament.
I can't trash talk that.
Technorati Tags: Waste Management, Phoenix Open, golf, PGA Tour, Name Change
Posted by William Lozito at 8:04 AM| Comments (0)
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February 24, 2010
Bridgestone Buys Naming Rights to Sommet Center, Predators Rejoice
The Nashville Predators home arena will soon be Bridgestone Arena after a naming agreement with the Sommet group, whose name is now on the arena where the team plays, went sour.
This is good news for the Predators, who seem to feel that having an internationally known brand name on their arena gives their team a sense of "gravitas."
This is the fourth arena name change in fourteen years (it was first the Nashville Arena, then the Gaylord Entertainment Center). Terms have not been made public but the Predators get all the cash.
Bridgestone Americas Inc, which is based in Nashville, has a strong interest in sports sponsorship: it was Bridgestone who sponsored the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Their support of the Predators in Nashville, not traditionally a hockey mad town, offers hockey in the South a new life. One blogger puts it this way, "The road to the Stanley Cup is less bumpy with Bridgestone Tires."
This looks like one of those rare situations where fans will actually like having a major corporate sponsor take over naming rights for their home team's ice.
Technorati Tags: Brand, Bridgestone, Arena, Sommet Center, Name Change
Posted by William Lozito at 10:01 AM| Comments (0)
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February 10, 2010
Tiger Woods Naming and Branding Still Tops, Even if He Quits Golf
It may be that Tiger Woods's name has not suffered as much as we might have thought it would only a month or so ago.
This week Forbes reports that his name still holds the top spot among athletes with a value of $82 million.
This is still more than the following huge sports names make combined, reports The Street, "David Beckham ($20 million), tennis player Roger Federer ($16 million), NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($14 million) and NBA stars LeBron James ($13 million) and Kobe Bryant ($12 million)."
He gets all this even if he does not hit a single golf ball this year!
This has led PR2live to wonder if he is really "finished." Tiger has been on hundreds of magazine convers, and has been voted AP's Athlete of the Decade.
In summation, "Sports biggest brand may have suffered the greatest blow of his career, but the brand of Tiger Woods is far from expired." In fact, he's picked to win the The 2010 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in April, despite not having even entered yet.
I'm not sure what the takeaway is. One way of looking at it is that he's lost over $20 million in sponsorship. Even though, in 2009 he chalked up $105 million, $20 million is a big hit in anyone's pocketbook.
I suppose if he does come back and crush the competition again, his name may no longer be stuck in a bunker.
Technorati Tags: Tiger Woods, sports, Naming, Dip, Masters, LeBron James
Posted by William Lozito at 9:30 AM| Comments (0)
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January 29, 2010
Football Naming and Branding: Trademark Lawyers From NFL ask "Who Dat?"
While it is indeed tempting to continuing dumping on Apple for the ridiculous iPad name---no it seems a Canadian company has been using the name for bra inserts and owns the trademark in the US, I think I will desist and turn my attention to the NFL.
It seems the NFL is aggressively claiming rights on the phrase "Who Dat?" for use by the New Orleans Saints. This has knocked two small businesses ---Fleurty Girl and
Storyville. This is interesting, as the phrase has been in use for over a century, first finding use in nineteenth century minstrel shows and has been used by fans in reference to their team for decades before the mark was applied for in 1988. Although a music duo seems to have snapped it up five years earlier.
Sal and Steve Monistere recorded a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" in the early '80s and incorporated the "Who Dat" chant into it. ... Because the song helped create the widespread use of the "Who Dat" chant, the Monisteres and their company, Who Dat, Inc., say they own "Who Dat."
If the NFL is going to win this, it has to somehow prove that the phrase is theirs. They also claim the Fleur de Lis sybol is theirs. But as far as "Who Dat" goes, they have a battle on their hands.
"To prevail in a trademark infringement case, one has to show both that the public associates a mark with your business and that you were the first to use it," said David Patron, a partner at the law firm of Phelps Dunbar.
If the NFL keeps it up, the Monisteres vow to create a t-shirt that says 'Defend Who Dat' as owned by the fans and not the NFL. The phrase, they claim, "transcends football"
As can be imagined, this is a rude shock to Who Dat Nation.
Football bloggers are notably upset about this with one blogger asking if the NFL plans on going after the Catholic Church next.
My feeling is that this is the kind of trademark that should remain with
the fans and then be phased out of usage. C'mon guys, the 80s were a very painful time in our past. Why would the NFL want the association?
Technorati Tags: Who Dat, Saints, NFL, New Orleans, Naming dispute
Posted by William Lozito at 10:54 AM| Comments (1)
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January 22, 2010
Minnesota Sports Name Change Sends the Saints Marching Out of Town
Saint Paul, Saint Cloud, and Saint Louis Park are just three of the numerous city names in Minnesota that contain the word 'Saint.' Or do they?
With the state in a frenzy over the upcoming NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, the local sports radio station, KFAN, suggested these cities be called "The Paul," "The Cloud," and "Louis Park," during the week leading up to the game on Sunday. Not having the intention to be taken seriously in their renaming efforts, they may have gotten more than they wished for.
Despite opening day being nearly 4 months away for the Saint Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team in Minnesota, they are temporarily changing their name to "The Paul" to show their hometown support. In addition, it is possible they will be wearing jerseys with the name "The Paul" for a game in the upcoming season.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few "The Paul" t-shirts around the Twin Cities this weekend.
Skol Vikes!
Technorati Tags: Vikings, Jimmy Buffett,
Posted by William Lozito at 4:07 PM| Comments (0)
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Sun Life Snags Dolphin Stadium Naming in Time for Superbowl
The brand names associated to the Superbowl are myriad.
The game itself is "presented" by GMC Sierra, but Bridgestone "brings in" the Who at halftime. But possibly the most amusing naming coup of the game goes to Sun Life, who has tacked their name to the stadium just in time.
The Sun Life naming replaces the Jimmy Buffet inspired Landshark naming, which was in place for less than a year.
I loved the Landshark naming, which was named after the Anheuser-Busch lager sold under Buffet's Margaritaville brand. It was funny, irreverent, and somehow it complimented the Dolphins brand name.
Right now, the stadium is officially "Dolphin Stadium" (not "Dolphins Stadium", interestingly) and has been since January 5th.
Sun Life is a Toronto-based insurer whose name, I must admit, sounds pretty good in Miami.
This is an outright effort to build the brand name in the US. They have a 10 year deal that costs "half what major league stadium sponsorships fetched before last year's financial meltdown."
As the Globe and Mail points out, they are paying only $4 million a year for naming rights, while
In comparison, Citigroup dropped $400-million in 2006 to sign a 20-year marketing deal with the New York Mets baseball team. Bank of America Corp. started paying $7.5-million a year in 2004 to have its name on the home of Carolina Panthers football stadium in Charlotte, N.C., while in Philadelphia, rival insurer Lincoln Financial drops $6.7-million annually for the rights to the home of the NFL's Eagles.
The name change took official effect on January 20, just in time for the Pro Bowl next week. The Landshark name may be gone, but Buffet's fight song will remain, it seems.
Here is the chronology of the naming of Sun Life Stadium, courtesy of the SunSentinel.com.
- Aug. 16, 1987-Aug. 25, 1996: Joe Robbie Stadium
- Aug. 26-Sept. 9, 1996: Pro Player Park
- Sept. 10, 1996-Jan. 9, 2005: Pro Player Stadium
- Jan. 10, 2005-April 7, 2006: Dolphins Stadium
- April 8, 2006-May 7, 2009: Dolphin Stadium
- May 8, 2009-Jan. 5, 2010: Land Shark Stadium
- Jan. 6, 2010-Jan. 19: Dolphin Stadium
- Jan. 20, 2010: Sun Life Stadium
Now we just wait to see what the future holds for the south beach stadium.
Technorati Tags: Landshark, Jimmy Buffett, Dolphins, Sun Life, stadium, naming rights, Miami, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NFL
Posted by William Lozito at 8:07 AM| Comments (0)
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