Introducing… And Marketing.
I’m thrilled to announce Faire Marketing has rebranded as And Marketing.
I’ve loved the Faire Marketing brand. I love the reasoning behind it, the way it fit with my ethos, nodded to my background in languages, and I worked very hard on making my brand bigger than “just” me.
I recently applied to trade mark the brand name. My application was opposed by Faire Wholesale, Inc., a multinational online wholesale marketplace which houses over two million independent retailers. Faire Wholesale, Inc., a company which professes to support and empower entrepreneurs, has trademarked the word “Faire” (an incredibly common French word) in the same categories and deemed “Faire Marketing” not distinctive enough from their own mark despite not being the standalone word, and offering totally different services to a different market.
In response to a letter from their IP firm, I wrote back to appeal their opposition, and explain how different our companies’ scopes are. I explained about Faire Marketing’s ethos, background and client base, and offered to reduce my application.I finally received a reply at 2.55am today, the day of the IPO’s deadline, and they have informed me at the last minute that they will not negotiate.
Because they hadn’t replied in almost nine weeks, I had to decide whether to continue paying for a solicitor and contribute to their legal fees (an unknown amount, the way the IPO works) for an uncertain outcome, or accept that as a sole trader, I simply don’t have the resources to fight this at an unknown cost for an unspecified length of time.
I decided to take control of the situation. I have chosen to rebrand instead of defend.
This could be devastating to a sole trader. However, since I launched Faire Marketing on my own in September 2020, I now work with a developer, designer and copywriter to deliver on projects.
We are growing. Our digital marketing services have expanded and now include websites, branding, design, PR and more. Most of all, we work with clients who I love, and who trust us to help them grow their businesses.
We’ll continue with the same attention to services and results-driven ethos as before. And this new iteration of the company will be bigger + bolder, just like us.
Michelle
