It is 2024 and safeguarding your brand reputation isn't a competitive necessity, it's a cornerstone for survival. The painstaking years invested in crafting your brand image, only to have it shattered by a single online scam, is a grievous crime. This unsettling reality underlines the crucial role proactive brand protection plays today. But, brand protection isn’t necessarily an absolute field. It is constantly shifting, demanding strategic agility that transcends reactive measures.
The only way to be equipped is to understand and embrace the key trends shaping the future of brand protection, build a shield for your brand reputation and empower your brand to thrive in the highly competitive market. So, what are the new trends in 2024, that you must watch out for?
1. AI and Automation for Threat Detection
Manual brand monitoring? So yesterday. Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a game-changer. It can analyze vast data volumes in real-time to identify and respond to threats at lightning speed. AI-powered tools are becoming vital weapons in the brand protection arsenal. They help spot counterfeit products on online marketplaces and uncover social media impersonations.
While automation is crucial, AI's true power lies in its ability to uncover hidden patterns and connections. Advanced analytics can predict emerging threats. They can also assess risk levels and even recommend tailored countermeasures. This data-driven approach empowers brands to shift from reactive defence to proactive protection, safeguarding their image and customer trust.
2. Customer Engagement and Loyalty.
When information is available in a matter of seconds at your fingertips, the biggest challenge you will face is the increasing concern about inauthenticity. This is why, almost one-third of customers feel loyalty to a brand they trust and connect with. Building genuine customer relationships fosters brand loyalty, making your audience your first line of defence against misinformation and fraud.
Imagine customers proactively reporting suspicious activity or counterfeit products directly to your brand. This collaborative approach, fueled by trust and transparency, can significantly reduce the impact of threats. Consider implementing customer reporting channels, educational initiatives and loyalty programs that incentivize active participation.
3. Metaverse, the Virtual Wild West.
The metaverse, a blend of physical and virtual realities, is rapidly becoming the new brand frontier. Over 53% of fashion brands have already started using Augmented Reality (AR) for showcasing their products. Exciting as it is, this immersive environment also comes with a unique set of challenges. Protecting your brand identity, intellectual property and customer data in these virtual spaces is paramount.
Prepare to encounter virtual counterfeits, intellectual property infringement within metaverse platforms and even brand impersonation through avatars. Brands need to develop comprehensive metaverse protection strategies that consider access control, community moderation, and robust IP enforcement mechanisms.
4. Supply Chain Traceability
Counterfeiting isn't just an online problem. Infiltrating physical supply chains allows fraudsters to introduce fake products into the market, damaging your brand reputation and potentially harming consumers. Only 6% of the brands have attained complete visibility into the supply chain. Aggressive supply chain security measures are crucial to ensure product authenticity throughout the entire journey.
Blockchain, the go-to technology, with its inherent transparency and immutability, holds immense potential for supply chain security. By creating a tamper-proof record of product movement, ownership and authenticity, brands can gain visibility and control over their entire supply chain, minimizing the risk of malicious intervention throughout the life cycle.
5. Evolving Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces are not the same anymore. There are over 20 million e-commerce platforms active today and they are constantly evolving, with new platforms emerging and established ones expanding their reach. While offering wider exposure, these diverse channels also present unique challenges. Each platform has its own rules, enforcement mechanisms and user base, requiring brands to tailor their strategies accordingly.
Building strong relationships with key online marketplaces is crucial for effective brand protection. But even more important is for brands to prioritise online brand protection solutions that can be tailored for each platform. This will allow brands to gain access to valuable data, early warnings of potential threats, and support in takedown efforts.
6. Live Shopping Countering Threats in the Streaming Spotlight
The trend of products being promoted and sold through live video streams is exploding in popularity. When Live Shopping came into existence in 2020, there were over 3.5 million buyers on TikTok. But in just one year, the number raised to an astonishing 13.7 million shoppers. Live shopping is highly favoured by influencers and social media platforms providing a dynamic shopping experience.
However, it also poses significant challenges for brand protection. Counterfeiters can exploit this fast-paced medium to showcase and sell knock-offs with alarming speed, often outpacing brands' ability to track and enforce their intellectual property rights. This necessitates a paradigm shift in brand protection strategies, demanding adaptability and cross-platform vigilance to effectively detect and thwart these deceptive practices.
7. Deepfakes and its Blurring Lines
Deepfake technology, which allows for the creation of realistic yet fabricated videos and audio recordings, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. From 2022 to 2023, a 10x increase in deepfake videos was calculated globally. While primarily used for entertainment purposes, malicious actors can leverage deepfakes to impersonate brand executives, damage reputations and spread misinformation.
Deepfakes are even considered a major threat for several upcoming national elections. They shout out how dangerous they can be. Brands need to be prepared to identify and address deepfake threats by implementing detection tools, educating employees and developing clear communication strategies.
8. Balancing Personalization and Target Marketing.
Brands are opting for a more personalised touch in advertising. 89% of brands see a positive rise in ROI ever since they’ve adopted a personalised approach. Targeted advertising is an extremely powerful marketing tool for converting audiences into customers, but they are not without concerns.
Highly targeted campaigns can be exploited by bad actors to deliver deceptive content or phishing scams directly to vulnerable audiences. To avoid that, brands need to implement robust data security measures. They should also ensure transparency in data usage by prioritizing responsible marketing practices.
9. Building Trust through Sustainability and Ethical Practices.
Consumers are increasingly conscious of the ethical and environmental practices of the brands they support. 67% of customers prioritize brands that adopt sustainable practices. Additionally, 63% of customers choose brands that market their products as ethically and sustainably produced.
Knock-offs, however, often disregard these standards, posing a potential risk to brand reputation. Brands can leverage their commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing as a differentiator by using a track-and-trace solution like Origin which allows customers an opportunity to verify and identify the source and sustainable efforts upheld by the brands.
An Ongoing Crisis
Remember, technology is not only helping brands protect their reputation in the market, but it is also evolving. This is allowing counterfeiters and fraudsters to better their operations and loot your brand’s profits. It depends on who takes the action first. In 2023, there was a huge surge in the application of brand protection solutions across the globe. But, will the trend continue in 2024 or will the counterfeiters take the lead?
With online and offline threats growing, comprehensive brand protection is no longer optional. Acviss founded by Vikas Jain, stands out with the omnichannel solutions securing over 2 billion products globally, boosting customer loyalty and brand revenue. Launched in 2016, Acviss empowers both manufacturers and consumers with in-depth product insights, shielding supply chains from integrity breaches. As a member of ASPA Global, Acviss actively combats counterfeiting and market fraud, ensuring a safer, more transparent future for all.
