The Top 10 Online Brand Protection Strategies For 2011

1. The Top 10 Online Brand Protection Strategies for 2011
1. Be proactive—monitor your brands online!
The onus for protecting brands online remains with the brand owner. Major 2010 rulings, including
Tiffany vs. eBay, LVMH vs. Google and Viacom vs. YouTube, had one outcome in common: all these
cases clearly signaled that brand owners are still responsible for monitoring their brands online.
2. Target the promotional channel.
Counterfeiters and pirates are savvy marketers, taking full advantage of the Internet’s powerful
promotional channels to lure consumers to their illicit goods and content. To effectively combat
counterfeiting and piracy, legitimate brands must target their deceptive promotions—paid search
scams, black hat SEO tactics, spam and cybersquatting—as well as their online distribution channels.
3. Prepare for the launch of new gTLDs.
The launch of ICANN’s new gTLD program is expected in the first half of 2011. By now, companies
should have already decided whether to apply for one or more new gTLDs, or whether to limit their
strategy to defending their brands during the ICANN application process. Faced with the realities
of competition and brand abuse in this increasingly complex space, brand owners now need to be
prepared for how the launch of hundreds of new gTLDs will impact their domain registration practices
and policing strategies.
4. “Right Size” your domain portfolio.
The bulk of corporate domain portfolios largely consist of defensive registrations which often include
common misspellings, product names, and abbreviations. More than ever, companies should be taking
a hard look at their defensive holdings and asking themselves whether or not they really need all of
these registrations.
There are a number of methods that can be used to “Right Size” portfolios; however, the single most
important factor in making decisions about what to keep or drop comes down to traffic. Understanding
just how much traffic is being generated by defensive registrations is essential for rationalizing portfolios,
adding domains where needed or dropping domains with little or no traffic.
5. Combine and escalate enforcement measures.
Brands have a multitude of enforcement options available to them for addressing infringing sites or
content—from automated Cease & Desist (C&D) letters to UDRP. However, the most successful
brand owners have a clear enforcement escalation path that matches the enforcement measure—or
measures—to the severity of abuse. The result: cost-effective, long-term compliance.
6. Follow the 80/20 rule.
Where should you focus your anti-counterfeiting efforts online? Hint: 10 online marketplaces account
for fully 80 percent of all marketplace traffic. By following the 80/20 rule and focusing their efforts
on the most highly trafficked marketplaces, brand owners can have a significant impact on online
counterfeit sales. However, the popularity of marketplaces is ever changing. For example, marketplaces
in emerging markets are growing at an astronomical rate. So, it’s wise to keep abreast of which are the
most popular marketplaces.
7. Address affiliate abuse.
Affiliates are productive partners that increase brand exposure and help drive sales, but any good
affiliate program must be monitored. Misguided affiliates bid against brands on their most productive
keywords, driving up prices and siphoning away natural traffic. It’s important to clearly articulate your
company’s affiliate program policies and then monitor for compliance.

2. 8. Continue to monitor social media.
Facebook became the largest display advertiser this past year. With the massive growth
in display ads, comes the challenge for brands to continue to monitor this explosive social
media channel and to take action quickly. Brand abuse in social media currently shows
no signs of slowing down.
9. Promote brands regionally through ccIDNs (Country-Code
Internationalized Domain Names)
The launch of ccIDNs has provided companies with a unique opportunity to strengthen
their brands regionally—and, globally. However, with so many possibilities available
across so many languages and countries, deciding what and where to register is
becoming increasingly difficult. Start by reaching out to your regional marketing groups
who can provide valuable information about where and how brands are actively
marketed. Information obtained may be of critical importance in deciding the value of a
new registration.
10. Lock down your business-critical domains.
With the value of critical domains at an all-time high, it’s no surprise that hackers (or even
disgruntled employees) may attempt to hijack domains. Even when the temporary loss
of a domain is purely accidental, revenue losses and brand erosion can be staggering.
Protect business-critical domains now by implementing Registry and Portal Locking,
Two-Factor Authentication and Name Server Monitoring.
For more information on developing a comprehensive online brand protection strategy,
please call us at 1-800-745-9229 or visit www.markmonitor.com.
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