Web Brand Names And Site Names Overpopulated

In two years, trademark registration of words containing the word "web" grew from two to 1,000, while more than 13,000 sites on the World Wide Web placed the "w" word in their addresses. Lexicon Branding Inc., of Sausalito, California, suggests a trade name or Web site containing web may be past its time.

Most companies getting onto the World Wide Web want to leverage the term web to identify their products and services with a high-tech image. But, according to Lexicon, these companies are about to get lost in the clutter instead of creating an identity.

"The most important task of a brand is to differentiate itself. But with all the web names out there, it’s almost impossible now to develop a unique personality if you use the word web in your name," said David Placek, Lexicon’s founder and president.

What should a company do today to build an electronic identity? "Companies must move away from being descriptive in their brandnames," Placek advises. "It is easier to be descriptive with the use of words such as `web,’ but I am afraid those days are over. Companies must now create a brand which suggests something about the personality of their products or services."

"There is no easy road left. You simply have to open that creative channel. A good example of suggesting personality is `Java.’ Sun Microsystems could have called it Internet Programming Language, but they created an identity which represents the personality of the product."

(Contact: David Placek, President of Lexicon Branding Inc., tel 415-332-1811)