The first trade-marks or branding that many people think of are descriptive of their product or service.

For the most part, thats a bad idea.

From a legal perspective, one can’t have a trade-mark that is “…clearly descriptive… of the character or quality of the wares or services…”. (Section 12(1)(b) of the Trade-marks Act.)

If a trade-mark is descriptive, it is considered “weak”, in that it does not do a good job of distinguishing that company’s wares or services from similar wares and services of competitors.

The right approach is to have trade-marks that people easily remember, not ones that describe your product – or your competitors product.

An example of a memorable trade-mark is Nerds on Site for computer services.

Read a Trade-marks Guide with info about the care and feeding of trade-marks