Changing the name of any business or nonprofit venture is often a branding disaster. For the organizers of this event, changing the name of this event so close to the date of the event is unfortunate, but doesn’t change the underlying value of the event itself.
We wouldn’t be doing it if we had not received a couple of letters from the lawyers at a well-known public speaking and professional development organization (WKPSPDO) insisting that we remove all references to their brand except for this disclaimer. Including the letters “T” and “M” in the name of the event and the web address. Including any reference to the WKPSPDO clubs sponsoring this event with volunteer labor.
EVV CON, as we’re calling it now, was never an official WKPSPDO event, and we always tried to make that clear. WKPSPDO may have had legitimate concerns about making it more clear, about the money we were collecting to cover event expenses, and about how that money was being managed. If they had been willing to work with us, I think we could have found a better solution.
Ultimately, I realized I was wasting my time communicating with their lawyers. So with the magic of search-and-replace, all mentions of WKPSPDO’s real brand name disappeared from the text of this website.
The sad thing is one of the main purpose of the event was to publicize the value of WKPSPDO, demonstrate the value of the program in this virtual speaking era, and provide a marketing and recruiting opportunity for the participating clubs. That becomes harder when we can’t mention the clubs or link to their websites.
Whatever.
The biggest value of any event like this is bringing people together in real-time. There will be opportunities for participating WKPSPDO clubs to promote themselves during the event and showcase the talent of their speakers. This dustup is a distraction, but a minor one in the grand scheme of things.
Yours in WKPSPDO,
David F. Carr, Distinguished [Brand Name Omitted]