BrandlandUSA™

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for orphan brand names is the companies that drop them, and then seek to keep them away from new owners by way of lawsuits and intimidation. American business history is rife with hundreds of thousands of brand names that have been dropped, discontinued or made bankrupt by company managers.  [...]

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For those of us who grew up in the 1970s, a Hyatt House was a sort of hotel paradise. Yes, there were Ramada Inns and Holiday Inns, and these were actually decent places for everyday family trips and such. But in terms of a really smart, slick hotel, a really modern hotel, where the food [...]

See larger image The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice (Hardcover) List Price: $39.95 USD New From: $21.85 In Stock Used from: $21.19 In Stock

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CINCINNATI – This May, Procter & Gamble is offering limited edition, retro-packaged versions of Tide, Bounce and Downy, only available at Target. It’s an amusing promotion that helps to educate younger consumers about Tide’s legacy, while giving older consumers a bit of nostalgia. “Technology has changed how we wash and dry our clothes and there [...]

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ALEXANDRIA – The United States Patent and Trademark Office will host the 2011 National Trademark Expo on October 14-15 at the USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va.  The free two-day event is designed to educate the public about the value of trademarks in the global marketplace. Exhibitors are invited to showcase their trademarks through educational exhibits.  [...]

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Today, when you get a sales slip from a store, it is usually a foot of printed tape with a request for you to go online and register with them to fill out a customer survey. We don’t understand it. First, doesn’t the company get enough info when you swipe a Visa card at the [...]

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Alexandria, Virginia – The United States Patent & Trademark Office will host a public roundtable discussion to gather input on its Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries. The question? Are they effective in an electronic era, and if so (or not) what is the best future course. The roundtable will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 [...]

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Edwin Heathcote, writing in the Jan. 15, 2011 Financial Times on old British eateries, said: The more everything becomes the same, the more ubiquitous branding begins to grate, the more everything looks like it belongs in a mall – the more Britian’s few surviving “caffs” represent a refuge.’ Heathcote was writing about those British cafes, [...]

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Recently, our parish priest “commissioned” another week’s worth of bell ringers for The Salvation Army. Our family adopted a kettle, and one star member of the congregation, Janet Trefry, helped organize a whole season’s worth of ringers. What an tremendous job. The whole effort was a boost to Publix, which is known for being a [...]

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Some readers were discussing distinctive men’s colognes that were still around. One of the survivors (and a potent scent) is Canoe by Dana. Above, a 1981 ad for the cologne. Below, an earlier ad. Notice the pronunciation has changed, to CAN-O-EH, rather than Canoe. The Dana company is still around, but a shadow of its [...]

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MECHANICSVILLE – While it is no longer made on Hope Farm in Mechanicsville, Virginia, we are still fans of the classic Mrs. Fearnow’s Brunswick Stew brand. A great Virginia recipe, it has the proper ingredients for such a stew. In fact, the only Brunswick Stew that beats it was the Rt. Rev. Joe Pinder’s Brunswick [...]

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