Brand Identity Theft
Last week's subject was dedicated to the issue of Brand Reputation and how it can quickly and easily become a big problem if someone goes online a starts dismantling your brand via new media capabilities such as blogs, message boards, social networking sites, etc.
This same form of new media can also cause anyone with a computer and a connection to wreak havoc on your brand by committing brand identity theft.
This can occur when someone sets up a Facebook, Twitter, or other online account and names it something that could easily be taken as an official brand communication channel.
This happened to BP during the Gulf crisis spurred by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig disaster. @BPGlobalPR on twitter was a fictitious BP Public Relations channel set up by an individual who broadcast messages that made BP appear both foolish and incompetent. This is very dangerous for a brand when these imposters are taken as the real thing and actually start believing that parody or malicious messaging is being send by the company when it really is not.
This situation can also affect personal brands as well. When Rahm Emanuel decided to return to Chicago and run for mayor, he was well aware of how well new media assisted his friend in attaining the White House just a few years earlier. He set up @RhamEmanuel on Twitter, which makes sense, and started keeping his followers, 16,746 of them, informed of his mayoral bid. The problem came to be when an anonymous twitter user set up @mayorEmanuel and started rather frequent postings laced with rather unusual language for someone running for office. Well, it was quickly figured out that @mayorEmanuel was an impostor, but again, if someone does not know this and assumes that this is him, it could have some adverse effects on his personal brand as he ran for mayor. Oh, and the bogus account has 49,458 followers reaching over twice as many people as the real Rahm Emanuel on Twitter and as a result of the content of the feed, gained as much if not more media attention.
Emanuel handled the situation well. In touching on one of last week’s points, do not overreact with overwhelming force. He could have easily dumped a few lawyers on the issue, made threats to sue, and things like that. But he didn’t. He offered $5000 to the charity of choice of the person doing it if they made themselves known. It worked and once Dan Sinker admitted to being the man behind it all, he got his 15 minutes of fame, Emanuel had de-fused the situation and the whole thing was a non-issue anymore.
Identity theft can happen to brands as well as individuals. This is another good reason to keep up with and engage with online communities. Someone may be talking for the brand and not in a very flattering way.
Tod O'Brien
Director of Creative Services
One Eyed Dog Productions
www.oneeyeddog.com
P.S.: Don't forget....Youth Marketing Today is an online community for advertising, marketing and brand management professionals; and young people who take an active interest in how they interact and communicate with brands and how those brands interact and communicate with them.
This same form of new media can also cause anyone with a computer and a connection to wreak havoc on your brand by committing brand identity theft.
This can occur when someone sets up a Facebook, Twitter, or other online account and names it something that could easily be taken as an official brand communication channel.
This happened to BP during the Gulf crisis spurred by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig disaster. @BPGlobalPR on twitter was a fictitious BP Public Relations channel set up by an individual who broadcast messages that made BP appear both foolish and incompetent. This is very dangerous for a brand when these imposters are taken as the real thing and actually start believing that parody or malicious messaging is being send by the company when it really is not.
This situation can also affect personal brands as well. When Rahm Emanuel decided to return to Chicago and run for mayor, he was well aware of how well new media assisted his friend in attaining the White House just a few years earlier. He set up @RhamEmanuel on Twitter, which makes sense, and started keeping his followers, 16,746 of them, informed of his mayoral bid. The problem came to be when an anonymous twitter user set up @mayorEmanuel and started rather frequent postings laced with rather unusual language for someone running for office. Well, it was quickly figured out that @mayorEmanuel was an impostor, but again, if someone does not know this and assumes that this is him, it could have some adverse effects on his personal brand as he ran for mayor. Oh, and the bogus account has 49,458 followers reaching over twice as many people as the real Rahm Emanuel on Twitter and as a result of the content of the feed, gained as much if not more media attention.
Emanuel handled the situation well. In touching on one of last week’s points, do not overreact with overwhelming force. He could have easily dumped a few lawyers on the issue, made threats to sue, and things like that. But he didn’t. He offered $5000 to the charity of choice of the person doing it if they made themselves known. It worked and once Dan Sinker admitted to being the man behind it all, he got his 15 minutes of fame, Emanuel had de-fused the situation and the whole thing was a non-issue anymore.
Identity theft can happen to brands as well as individuals. This is another good reason to keep up with and engage with online communities. Someone may be talking for the brand and not in a very flattering way.
Tod O'Brien
Director of Creative Services
One Eyed Dog Productions
www.oneeyeddog.com
P.S.: Don't forget....Youth Marketing Today is an online community for advertising, marketing and brand management professionals; and young people who take an active interest in how they interact and communicate with brands and how those brands interact and communicate with them.
posted by One Eyed Dog Productions at 1:51 PM
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