Fluid Trademarks: Using Visuals to Convey a Message

"In the industrial age, a logo was just a signature. It should be a message." - Marc Gobé, CEO of Emotional Branding LLC 

We all have noticed how Google redesigns its logo to mark any significant event. While Google is a well known trademark, it also keeps adding variations to it and still remains recognizable. 

With COVID-19, the phrase 'social distancing' came into our vocabulary. Now, every brand is advocating for it by redesigning its trademarks. These redesigns are known as fluid trademarks.  

Take McDonald’s for example, the ‘M’ of Mcdonald's now has a space to signify social distancing. While the four interlinked rings of Audi's logo have become separated. 

The key thing to notice here is that even though the logos have been modified they are still recognizable. This is the essence of a fluid trademark. In these trademarks, the underlying trademark remains the same while minor tweaks are made in the appearance of the logo to deliver a message. 

Marketing strategy 

Fluid trademarks are essentially a marketing strategy. The temporary changes are made to grab the attention of the public. These also enable the brands to maintain something of a fresh and innovative brand identity. They also help to strengthen brand awareness by interacting with consumers. Fluid trademarks are usually used by those brands that already enjoy a certain level of recognition in the world. One thing that should be kept in mind while developing these trademarks is that the consumer should be able to make out the original trademark even with the variations in its design. This is because trademarks act as a "source identifier." Just as a person would run into trouble signing their signature differently each time, brand owners can run into trouble if they present their trademarks differently each time. 

Legal basis

This marketing strategy also has a place in the law, and it is known as “fluid marks”. In India, fluid marks may even be protected as series marks. This would allow the proprietor to register a series of marks in respect of goods and services of interest.

Conclusion 

The fluid trademarks help popularize the mark by adopting a new and trending approach. It is a complicated process to create a fluid trademark that is why designers and intellectual property lawyers should work hand in hand to create it. Their goals should be to enhance the brand owner's intellectual property portfolio and deliver the required message.