In honor of all the great ads during the Big Game this past week, I'm dedicating this post to one of my favorite teams - Marketing. I love Marketing. In every company I have worked for they are the most enthusiastic, energetic, and optimistic group in the company. That may be because they're given such creative license until Legal and Accounting/Procurement get involved to rain on their parade.
My favorite ad was the Samsung one. As a lawyer advising the marketing team I have had that exact conversation on an almost yearly basis. So when I first saw it, I literally laughed out loud. And then shared it with my other media lawyer friends - marketing win! Of course my conversations generally get a stronger reaction from the marketing team, and elicits quite a few more curse words before we move on to working on alternative wording.
For the in house lawyers in the audience, the last part of the conversation is the most important part - move on to working on alternative wording! Don't just leave your team hanging. They have spent countless hours developing that promo. They've agonized over the font, the colors, the overall look to try to convey just the right message in just the right tone. And you've just told them that their labor of love can't be seen by the public - A labor over which they missed out on date nights, dinner with the family and seeing daylight for several days if not weeks.
You are not their favorite person right now. So how do you change that? First, let them know how real the threat is, the NFL takes real action every year over use of their trademarks. Then start brain storming with them on what would be acceptable. Offer alternatives - Big Game, Showdown in New Orleans, etc. They don't have to be good - that's what the marketing team is for. You just need to get their wheels turning in the right direction and be on their side.
My favorite ad was the Samsung one. As a lawyer advising the marketing team I have had that exact conversation on an almost yearly basis. So when I first saw it, I literally laughed out loud. And then shared it with my other media lawyer friends - marketing win! Of course my conversations generally get a stronger reaction from the marketing team, and elicits quite a few more curse words before we move on to working on alternative wording.
For the in house lawyers in the audience, the last part of the conversation is the most important part - move on to working on alternative wording! Don't just leave your team hanging. They have spent countless hours developing that promo. They've agonized over the font, the colors, the overall look to try to convey just the right message in just the right tone. And you've just told them that their labor of love can't be seen by the public - A labor over which they missed out on date nights, dinner with the family and seeing daylight for several days if not weeks.
You are not their favorite person right now. So how do you change that? First, let them know how real the threat is, the NFL takes real action every year over use of their trademarks. Then start brain storming with them on what would be acceptable. Offer alternatives - Big Game, Showdown in New Orleans, etc. They don't have to be good - that's what the marketing team is for. You just need to get their wheels turning in the right direction and be on their side.
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