Genericide: How Standing Out Can Kill You(r Brand)
We all want to be the name people remember. The Google amongst Bings. The Coke in a world of colas. The Uber in a sea of taxis. The kind of distinct that doesn’t need a logo.
But… there’s a fine line between being recognisable and dead.
Where your brand becomes so iconic, the term gets used for any product or service remotely like yours… where you lose your originality, control of your brand, and possibly even your trademark.
Welcome to the Graveyard of Lost Brands
Post-it. Band-Aid. Velcro. Yo-yo.
All started as trademarks. Now they’re just… what we call things.
It’s called genericide: a dramatic name for when your brand becomes so good at owning a space, it loses ownership altogether.
Suddenly, you’re not the standout…you’re the shorthand.
And, to punch some nails in your coffin, once your name becomes the category, you can’t really claim it anymore.
You’re the Adjective, not the Noun.
Google doesn’t love being used as a verb. But they’re a megacorp. No one’s confusing a knockoff search engine for Google. The brand is big enough to survive the blur.
Unfortunately, most of us don’t have that kind of buffer.
And, if people don’t link it back to you, you’re not building a brand…you’re handing out free promo for anyone offering that product/service.
That’s why brands need to clearly attach their name to what they make, like Tabasco sauce or Apple’s iPhone and iPad (the “i” doesn’t spell out “Apple,” but thanks to years of consistent branding, we still know it’s theirs. iMac, iPod, iWhatever…it all points back to Apple).
This way, it’s not just a product; it’s their product. Their name becomes the adjective for the product noun.
Without doing this, you run the risk of your brand becoming the noun. And when that train starts choo-ing, you’ll be hard pressed to get the get the emergency gears to stop the motion. I mean… could you imagine not using the word thermos, tuppaware, or airfryer for your discount-store kitchen items (yes, all of those trademarks have fallen victim to genericide)
This ad was Band-Aid’s attempt at surviving their generification
see how they distinguish noun from verb? It’s subtle… slightly clunky…but a safe move for a falling star.
How to Survive
Enforce your tradmark rights; making sure that if someone does infringe on them…act
Make sure your team understand how to use your brand as an adjective rather than noun…and educate your consumer
Use the ™ symbol or ® (if you are registered of course)
Create many distinct products/services under the same company umbrella (i.e. Dyson and Jim’s)
Lawyers. Always lawyers. If you’re in distress, phone a lawyer.
So Visible You Become Invisible
That’s the paradox. You stand out. You build something recognisable. People start using your name as shorthand for the whole category.
And suddenly, you’re not the brand anymore.
You’re just what people call the thing.
If you’re not careful, the more you’re known… the more you disappear.
P.S. Velcro’s legal team took this to heart. They made an entire music video asking people to stop calling everything “Velcro.”