| How much does your brand contribute to bottom line | | | | customers away and threaten the company's future. |
| revenue? If your firm falls victim to an identity theft | | | | Worse, the accelerated nature of Internet-based |
| scam, do you know what it might cost you? | | | | threats makes companies increasingly vulnerable |
| While most firms actively protect against disasters that | | | | because by the time they've built a trained staff of |
| can destroy buildings, equipment, and people, they | | | | Internet protection experts, even more insidious threats |
| often fail to put a dollar figure on their brand. Or what | | | | will have evolved. |
| happens to them if that brand is tarnished. | | | | But protecting your brand isn't an impossible task. In |
| This could be a significant mistake, of course, because | | | | today's business landscape, investment in brand |
| buildings can be rebuilt much more easily than | | | | protection is a must. |
| reputations. Companies often fail to invest in brand | | | | Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, |
| protection for the following two reasons: | | | | which spent more on advertising in 2007 than any |
| 1.Brands are intangible, which can make it difficult to | | | | other American company, learned the value of brand |
| assign a specific value to them | | | | protection the hard way. After rumours began |
| 2. Internet threats move fast and change often, which | | | | circulating in the 1980s that its logo was a Satanic |
| can hamper an organization's efforts to protect itself | | | | symbol, the company sued any person or company |
| from disaster | | | | that attempted to perpetuate this urban myth. After |
| Today's online threats to your brand can take many | | | | years of proactively managing this ongoing threat to its |
| forms:o Phishing or mirror siteso Traffic diversion | | | | brand, it changed its logo. |
| schemeso Hijacked domainso Weblinking infractionso | | | | In doing so, P&G illustrated a truth that has roots in |
| Social media-based smear campaignso Counterfeit | | | | pre-Internet marketing, and remains even more |
| product sales | | | | relevant today: Companies that own threatened |
| This list evolves rapidly, but the bottom line is clear: | | | | brands cannot afford to ignore reality. The Internet's |
| Your corporate reputation could be irreversibly | | | | ability to accelerate and broaden all channels of |
| damaged if you fail to respond. Identity thieves could | | | | communication between companies and stakeholders |
| compromise your customers' confidential data. Domain | | | | makes protective measures essential. |
| hijackers could redirect traffic toward illegal sites - and | | | | In future articles in this series, we'll more closely |
| subsequently siphon away revenue and destroy the | | | | examine the specifics of Internet brand protection. For |
| trust you've worked so hard to build. Malware attacks | | | | now, take the time to calculate the value of your |
| could compromise legislative compliance efforts. | | | | brand, and the impact on the company if it is criminally |
| Whatever form an attack takes, it could leave your | | | | compromised. |
| bottom line in tatters. A damaged brand could drive | | | | |