Comments on: How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands

By: RT @ErikJHeels How To Write Web Headlines That Work In #Twitter http://goo.gl/8MKDa | ErikJHeels.com

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:35:20 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. [...]

By: Stop Wasting Money On Patents | @ErikJHeels

Stop Wasting Money On Patents | @ErikJHeels — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:14:49 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. [...]

By: Vergeet uw domeinnaam, social media is KING! « Out of Site Webontwikkeling Antwerpen

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:09:46 +0000

[...] voor hun marketingafdeling voor het grijpen ligt. Een onderzoek van de Engelsman Erik Heels toont aan dat 93 van de 100 topmerken niet beschikken over hun eigen [...]

By: How Some Top Websites Fail To Tell Their Stories Well | @ErikJHeels

How Some Top Websites Fail To Tell Their Stories Well | @ErikJHeels — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:18:34 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands (1/8/2009) [...]

By: Brands Can Prevent Twittersquatting | LiveWorld SocialVoice Blog

Brands Can Prevent Twittersquatting | LiveWorld SocialVoice Blog — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:01:11 +0000

[...] to the continued proliferation of Twittersquatting and the relative ease of acting as a "brand impostor," just how are we to know that a [...]

By: How To Stop A Squitter « Lauren's Marketing Blog

How To Stop A Squitter « Lauren's Marketing Blog — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:27:13 +0000

[...] Oracle, Starbucks, Thomson Reuters, and Yahoo all received a "pass." 3Source: http://erikjheels.com/?p=1298. See link for a full list of the 100 [...]

By: Drawing That Explains Google Buzz Privacy Problems @ErikJHeels

Drawing That Explains Google Buzz Privacy Problems @ErikJHeels — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:54:03 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. [...]

By: RT @ErikJHeels How To Write Web Headlines That Work In #Twitter http://erikjheels.com/?p=1800 @ErikJHeels

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:20:45 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. [...]

By: Lekker twitteren tussen al die “Bekende” Nederlanders

Lekker twitteren tussen al die “Bekende” Nederlanders — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:36:49 +0000

[...] Ook is het belangrijk om je bedrijfsnaam zo snel mogelijk vast te zetten. Zo zijn de bedrijfsnamen van de Twitter accounts @Campina, @Heineken, @Unox, @Andrelon en @Amstel allemaal in handen van personen die niets met de bedrijven te maken hebben. Het schijnt zelfs dat 93 van de 100 meest bekende merken niet de juiste Twitter account in bezit hebben. Zeker een gemiste kans voor die jongens. Een lijst hiervan vind je hier. [...]

By: Fire Extinguishers

Fire Extinguishers — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:24:33 +0000

lol never really thought how bad this was till i read this. However i cant see twitter sticking around for long so i dont think the celbs or companys are that bothered about getting thier accounts

By: Twittersquatting: Twitter Is Doing Something About It

Twittersquatting: Twitter Is Doing Something About It — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:29:42 +0000

[...] January 2009, attorney and engineer Erik J. Heels wrote a blog post discussing the failure of an overwhelming majority of the top 100 brands in securing their brand [...]

By: Believing Popular Myths About Twitter Could Cost You Money — Des Walsh dot Com

Believing Popular Myths About Twitter Could Cost You Money — Des Walsh dot Com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:02:37 +0000

[...] have the problem others have had from fake Twitter accounts in their name or their company name. Twittersquatting offers a serious challenge to any business marketing strategy and probably a more serious challenge to businesses which [...]

By: » Cybersquating Leads to Identity Theft - Blogger News Network

» Cybersquating Leads to Identity Theft - Blogger News Network — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:59:12 +0000

[...] also known as social media identity theft, where peoples names and an estimated top 100 brands have been [...]

By: Donshep

Donshep — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:47:58 +0000

American Express can't use AMEX because it is trademarked by NYSE. They aquired the name from the America Stock Exchange which pre-dates American Express.

By: Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:36:04 +0000

You not recognising these brands is neither a failing on your part, nor on their part. Branding of the sort that you mention works if the consumer is in the market space that the brand intends to occupy. In insurance, for example, AXA is a huge – and I mean H U G E – name. But if you're not into stuff about insurance (like any sane person ;-)) then you may not have heard of them. H&M, Hérmes and Zara are huge fashion brands in Europe – Hérmes alone took 1.76Bn Euros in sales last year. I live in Europe so I know the brands well. Ask most Germans and they'll tell you that BMW stands as much as for motorcycles as they do for cars. Does that mean that BMW are doing a lousy job at branding?

One of my pastimes is high-end hi-fi. Dominant brands are companies such as Wilson, Naim, Linn, Koetsu and Krell. If you're into high-end audio, then you'll immediately recognise these brands. If you're not, then you won't. And I'm sure that the companies that I mention are fine with that.

The vast majority of Europeans are not aware of US brands such as Banana Republic, Walgreens, J.Crew or Scion. Does this mean that these US companies are failing at promoting their brand?

I don't believe that just because an individual doesn't make a mental association when a particular company is mentioned, that it means the company in question is necessarily doing a bad job at branding. There are millions of companies out there, but only a fraction of them will ever have resonance with me. There's simply no way that I could have a distinct mental association with so many brands. And nor should I, since maybe 90% of those companies sell products or services that have no interest for me.

Hey, just my 0.02c. Regardless, I enjoyed your post!

By: How To Fire Your Lawyer @ErikJHeels

How To Fire Your Lawyer @ErikJHeels — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:19:08 +0000

[...] How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. [...]

By: @ErikJHeels

@ErikJHeels — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:07:30 +0000

Greetings,

No, I'm not kidding. I haven't heard of many of these companies. That not a failure on my part. It a failure of the brand. It's also not surprising, since many company stink at branding. Branding is like name association. When you hear the brand, you should think of a word or two for which that brand stands. BMW = cars. Rolex = watches. AIG = thieves. You get the picture.

But these brands are empty for me, creating no immediate associate to any product or service, and I suspect I'm not alone:

Accenture
Allianz
AXA
Danone
H & M
Hermes
Zara