Interflora® is a flower delivery network that allows you to call one florist and get flowers delivered by another in the network. They have agreed flower ranges and set processes, which are methods of guaranteeing brand consistency. Interflora® is also a registered trademark and in May 2008 UK retailer Marks & Spencer used Google Adwords to bid on the word ‘Interflora’.

Understandably the team at Interflora® were very unhappy and legally challenged Marks &

Spencer in court for infringement of their trademark. Interflora® argued that the adverts misled the public (they could be tricked into thinking that Interflora® flowers were available form Marks & Spencer), it increased the price of the advertising as a bidding war started and it damaged their brand. A five-year battle took place and Interflora® finally won the court case at the European Court of Justice.

Generally in the UK we avoid tactics of naming competitors in adverts and this had applied to bidding for ads online. We tend to think that this is unacceptable behaviour even though it is common practice in countries like the United States.

Two points to note from this:

• Firstly, if you are working somewhere and the organisation is being challenged by competitors, it is wise to gain formal trademark registration to protect brand assets, especially in a world-wide online environment. This is probably better managed through a trademark specialist as there are no worldwide trademarks – you need to register in specific locations, such as the UK, Europe, the United States and Japan.

• Secondly, if you are on a placement year and, as you are the digital marketing person, they ask you to bid on a competitor’s brand or name, think carefully – it could all end in court!

Case Questions

• If working on placement, how would you manage a request from a manager to bid on a competitor’s name?

• What other options might be available?