{"id":5175,"date":"2016-09-30T11:58:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T15:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acro.net\/blog\/?p=5175"},"modified":"2016-09-30T11:58:07","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T15:58:07","slug":"from-snapchat-to-snap-not-a-great-rebranding-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acro.net\/blog\/from-snapchat-to-snap-not-a-great-rebranding-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"From Snapchat to Snap : Not a great rebranding idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent rebranding of Snapchat<\/strong> to Snap<\/strong>, and the assorted “upgrade” of the corporate domain to Snap.com<\/strong>, generated positive commentary in the domain community.<\/p>\n

Going from Snapchat.com to Snap.com might seem like an upgrade at first. But in my opinion, it’s a brand downgrade.<\/p>\n

Old school domain investors follow a specific paradigm: dictionary word domains are the holy grail of every business.<\/p>\n

For the most part, this general rule of thumb is self-fulfilling, as it sets the price of dictionary word domains quite high.<\/p>\n

The downside, is that there are many dictionary words that are far too generic to be turned into brands, and trademarks. Many won’t even rank on their own in search engines, unless the TLD is affixed to the search.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for “Snapchat” you are certain to land on one of their services, and nowhere else. Search for “Snap” however, and you’ll end up in a large variety of different destinations.<\/p>\n

In Florida, there’s SnapOrlando.com<\/strong><\/a> that pops at the top search results, and it’s an art gallery.<\/p>\n

In Australia, it’s Snap.com.au<\/strong><\/a>, a web and print design firm.<\/p>\n

In the UK, the top Google result is Snap Assessment and Education<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

German searches will also return Snap!<\/strong>, a German eurodance group from the late 80s. Here’s the top YouTube video<\/strong><\/a> for “snap”.<\/p>\n

Snapchat claims that they had to rebrand, as they are expanding from simply a chat program, to video-recording sunglasses, and more. That’s always tempting to do, but it’s actually a dilution of a brand that has become a household name.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Snapchat Glasses” would be a great extension of the existing Snapchat brand, as it appeals to video recording fans. “Snapchat Emoji” would be another such example of expanding the brand into chat add-ons. Even “Snapchat Fashionware” would be perfect for any Snapchat branded clothing, if that were an upcoming expansion.<\/p>\n

On a separate note, Snap.chat<\/strong><\/a> is not owned by the company now known as “Snap.” There are hundreds of other “Snap” gTLDs and ccTLDs, each one with their own generic purpose and use.<\/p>\n

The Snapchat brand is also a suggestive trademark<\/strong> that enjoys protection due to its distinctiveness.<\/p>\n

It’s on a par with fanciful trademarks, such as Xerox or Kodak.<\/p>\n

Any future “Snap” marks would most likely be descriptive, requiring the acquisition of a secondary meaning. As of now, there is no such association between the word “snap” and the services provided by Snapchat. The brand is getting rebooted, and on the same level with every other “Snap” business.<\/p>\n

When opting to use a generic, dictionary word as a brand, one can run into other problems: positive words, such as “Hottie<\/em>,” can often have an alternate meaning with specific overtones.<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

In my opinion, the decision by Snapchat to rebrand was bold but dangerous. Only time will tell whether it will pay off as handsomely as the price of the matching .com they had to acquire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent rebranding of Snapchat to Snap, and the assorted “upgrade” of the corporate domain to Snap.com, generated positive commentary in the domain community. Going from Snapchat.com to Snap.com might seem like an upgrade at first. But in my opinion, it’s a brand downgrade. Old school domain investors follow a specific paradigm: dictionary word domains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[101,997,1303,1302,1301,1297,1298,1299,1300],"class_list":["post-5175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domains","tag-dictionary-domains","tag-domain-rebranding","tag-fanciful-marks","tag-generic-trademarks","tag-rebranding","tag-snap","tag-snap-com","tag-snapchat","tag-snapchat-com","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Snapchat to Snap : Not a great rebranding idea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Snapchat to Snap : Not a great rebranding idea. 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