Rob Clark: The Brand(tm)
Tom Peters would tell me that I have to work to cultivate the brand of me, but I’ve discovered I can afford to sit back and relax. A vanity search has revealed to me that there’s some marketing dollars being thrown behind the brand of ‘Rob Clark’.
“Rob Clark is something to be aspired to.” says Harry Dubin, marketing and sales director for the Athena Group NYC. Wow. Thanks Harry. That’s really nice.
“You might have missed him during the city’s stylish holiday festivities. You probably won’t see him at the upcoming Oscar party being thrown for Forest Whitaker. In fact, Rob Clark’s PDA is so full of high-profile lunches, glitzy evening galas and weekend jaunts to far-off lands that he’s basically impossible to nail down. He leads a glamorous life and is one of the biggest international players of them all.“, writes Paul Browne for IN Los Angeles Magazine. Ah shucks, Paul. I’m just this guy, y’know.
I was doing a vanity search for the first time in a while and there was ‘therobclark.com’ just above me in Google. I had to chuckle, as this has been a naming strategy of mine for years. When a URL or username you want has been nabbed by another, stick ‘THE’ at the beginning. My business is not just any variation of ‘elusive fish’, for instance … it is THE elusive fish. The real deal. Accept no imitations nor substitutes.
So who is this doppleganger of mine with the good press and the marketing bucks behind him? Well, according to the press release, “The Rob Clark is a condominium building that has been transformed into a modern, stylish and hip living destination. Named after an aspirational character created to set the tone for the building.” Yes. Rob Clark is more than you’ve ever thought Rob Clark to be… Rob Clark is a way of life. THE way of life.
Rob Clark is trendy. Rob Clark is cool. Rob Clark is hip to all that jive. Rob Clark is trademarked. Wait a minute. Trademarked?
“Rob Clark is a fictitious character that we created and trademarked“, says Harry.
uhm… No.
While I will agree that I am a bit of a character, I should be shelved in non-fiction. And unless you’re set for a blood test, I’m going to take my parent’s assurances that they made me. Just so you know, I’ve been doing trade under my name for quite a number of years now, so I think I quite rightly qualify as prior art. But don’t worry Harry. So long as you folks keep saying nice things about THE Rob Clark, I have no problem with you making use of the name.
Just be sure to mention from time to time that THE Rob Clark is also a creative individual, handy at putting together web sites, whipping up illustrations or consulting on the ways of social media.
