For Naming’s Sake: A Tale of Two Podcasts
I hope the seasonal change is bringing both comfortable temps and some spots of color to your landscape. The cooler temps have me thinking about campfires and s’mores and telling stories. Actually, I have a podcast tale to share with you. Let’s call it “A Tale of Two Podcasts.”
One podcast will be known as the Yes Podcast and the other, the No Podcast. This little tale shares a lesson in rebranding your podcast for existing shows or naming your podcast, if you’re just starting out.
One day the Yes Podcast who had recently celebrated being in production for more than eight years decided it was time for a fresh rebranding—getting a new podcast name, a complete change in podcast graphics and intro music plus possibly adding an additional host to give another layer of variety to the show’s vibe.
As the show host began to make plans and finally settled on the new name, they did their due diligence by checking to see if any other podcast was currently using the name they wanted to use. This is when a Google search showed another podcast listed in the Apple directory with the same podcast name. The research revealed this show appeared to have ended but perhaps they were simply on hiatus. Would the Yes Podcast need to rethink their plans?
Several states away the No Podcast was facing their own inner battle about what to call their podcast. So many others were breaking into the podcast scene, The No host felt they were behind and needed to move like the speed of lightning to establish a presence and get listeners. The No Podcast thought and thought about what to call the show and then it hit them. In a snap they were off to contact their marketing team and get the ball rolling with production. Would what the No Podcast didn’t research or know about using this name turn out to be problem?
When the Yes Podcast host reached out to the existing show host from Apple directory to inquire if they were still using the show name, they were pleasantly surprised to learn the show had been discontinued and there were no qualms about saying “yes” to using the name. There was no trademark or copyright associated with the usage nor had a domain name ever been registered. This greenlighted the marketing and production efforts to move forward.
After weeks and weeks of producing a full series of 25 episodes, the No Podcast set everything in motion to schedule and publish the weekly show. Things came to a screeching halt after only 4 episodes aired. What happened? The host received a cease-and-desist letter from another show bearing the same name as their show. The other show had trademarked the name plus had been around for two years with an established audience. The No Podcast faced legal penalties and fines if they continued using the show’s name.
The No Podcast’s failure to do any due diligence research prior to airing episodes was going to be a headache to untangle everything and costly to reproduce and rebrand.
What the No Podcast could have done differently?
Here’s what the Yes Podcast did right and what you should do whenever you are starting a new podcast and choosing the name or if you ever want to rebrand to a new name.
Do a Google search to see if anyone is currently using or has ever used the show name you’d like to use.
Check to see if the name you want to use has ever been copyrighted or trademarked. You want to choose a name which has no strings attached and is free and clear to use.
Check to see if a domain name is available for the name you’ve chosen. Whenever possible try to secure a .com domain name though .biz, or for You Tube shows, a .tv domain name are acceptable.
If you find someone is already using the show name you wanted to use, reach out to them to ask if their show is still going strong or has been discontinued.
And, what to do if you find someone has used a show name that matches your current show?
Communication is key. Reach out to them to discuss options for renaming their show. Even a slight naming variation is enough to distinguish between two shows.
If your show is trademarked or copyrighted, you have legal rights to the name and will need to contact the other show to ask them to stop using your name. You may need to get your attorney involved with a strongly worded letter if your first attempt is ignored.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the tale of two podcasts and picked up some tips around naming your podcast or rebranding an existing podcast.