Kevin Joy Talks About Top Luxury Brands Webcast

What do counterfeit handbag makers, angry bloggers and domain squatters have in common? They all pose online threats to luxury brands, says Kevin Joy, vice president of marketing at BD-BrandProtect.

Joy plans to address such menaces – and offer solutions – in “Top luxury brands: Are they vulnerable on the Internet?” a free ARF webcast on Wednesday, April 23, from noon to 1:00p.m.

BD-BrandProtect helps companies assess their online presence, monitor threats to their brands, and stop infractions. The Toronto-based firm’s LinkWalker software has mapped some 300 million websites to gather intelligence on infringements since the company was founded in 2001, says Joy. The solutions it advocates range from cease-and-desist letters to working with law enforcement.

With more advertisers scrutinizing the return on their digital media buys, agencies need to be aware of online threats to the brand-building work they are doing, says Joy. By monitoring threats, he says, “you can stem some of the waste and focus on the effectiveness of the creative work.”

One often overlooked threat to luxury brands, says Joy, is traffic diversion. A porn site might mention a luxury brand name in its text or metadata, in order to appear in web searches on that brand. “I call it reputational shoplifting, “ he says. “It can contribute to brand slippage.”

Even more damaging can be online attacks by activist groups and hostile bloggers, he notes. “It’s a death by 1,000 cuts scenario,” he says. “There are hundreds of thousands of sites associated with each brand. If even a small percentage is doing something that has an impact on a brand’s reputation, over time that has a very significant impact in the customer experience and the relationship with that brand. “

To learn more about the approach Joy advocates for brand protection, sign up for the webinar on MyARF (if you don't yet have a MyARF account, sign up and then register for the webinar).

“We’re taught by the social media gurus that brands are now out of our control, but we can at least exert some influence over them,” says Joy.