| Brand Protection |
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TMA Guild’s strategic approach to brand protection, whether it be offensive or defensive, is focused on managing the threats the Internet presents to your company. Over the past year we have seen a sharp increase in the number of clients coming to us in need of brand defense online. The reasons for the increase are varied:
Forced Settlements. The legal industry has discovered the power of the Internet, and how to use it, to force opponents into settlement. In this example, Client ‘A’ wants to force Client ‘B’ into some sort of settlement. Attorneys for Client ‘A’ post favorable information about the case online and optimize those pages for high ranking. Cleint ‘B’ is then faced with a tainted reputation based upon the implied recommendation of organic search results. This alone is a problem; however, it gets more complicated over time. Long after the case is settled the footprints made online by Client ‘A’s attorneys is still out there in the search results. Getting information at the top of search engines is hard work but, removing it once it’s there can be even more difficule. The longer you wait to take action to defend your brand, the more difficult it can be. TMA Guild knows - without a doubt - what needs to be done to protect your brand when you are in litigation.
Brand Hijacking. This is when another company or person has more control over your brand than you do. If you search on our brand and see other sites coming up ahead of yours that you do not have an editorial relationship with than your brand is hijacked. There are infinite examples of brand hijacking; however, one example is the unauthorized “fan site”. Fan sites can be great for a brand, but what happens when they are no longer happy with you? What happens if a competing interest purchases the domain? Another common case for brand hijacking is the disgruntle employee or client. The person who has something to prove can, and often does, take to the Internet to express their dissatisfaction. In today's Internet age one person with an Internet connection can do a lot of damage to a brand. These cases are often outside the reach of the law and must be addressed head on with and integrated suite of online strategies and tactics designed for the specific case. Brand hijacking isn’t just something that happens to small companies either; we see Fortune 500 companies in this situation today. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” really applies in this case.
Brand Verification. Let’s be honest, people have become jaded from marketing messages. While we diligently work toward crafting our messages for our target audiences, the Internet has enabled the most powerful form of marketing – Word Of Mouth. Information seekers are smart and should be treated as such. What you say about yourself isn’t nearly as important as what others say. Getting people to talk about your brand requires a deep understanding of the online communication modalities and where, when, and why people flock to a topic. TMA approaches the Internet as multi-channel, multi-cultural, multi-societal organism all of which are important to brand verification. |