As the recent Tiger Woods scandal illustrates, brand reputation is more precarious than ever before. True and false information spreads like wildfire in the vast and interconnected social media landscape and even the most venerable brands can be leveled in a flash-by disgruntled customers, competing companies, even internal sources. Here, veteran marketing executive Jonathan Copulsky shows companies and individuals how to play brand defense in the twenty-first century.
Five Signs that You Need to Pay More Attention to the Possibility of Brand Sabotage:
A group of uniformed employees posts embarrassing YouTube videos, in which they display unprofessional attitudes towards their work.
One of your senior executives publicly blames a supplier for product defects, even though they predate your relationship with the supplier.
Your competitor's ads trumpet their solution to the performance problems associated with your most recent product.
A customer unhappy with changes made to your product design launches a Facebook group, which attracts 5,000 fans.
Your outsource partner is prominently featured in numerous blogs and websites describing allegations of worker mistreatment and workplace safety hazards.
"Be afraid. Be very afraid. Brands are now so valuable that damage to them can mean millions or billions in lost profits, while threatening the very foundation of a business--its customer loyalty. Luckily, history gives us good models for defense against such threats, and Copulsky does an outstanding job of showing how brand stewards can apply these models to keep their brands safe. A must-read fo
Marty Neumeier
"Shakespeare tells us that: 'who steals my purse steals…nothing…But he that filches from me my good name…makes me poor indeed.' In a world where brands are more vulnerable than ever, Copulsky does a terrific job of clearly identifying the risks to your 'good name' and providing a blueprint for proactively managing these risks. His insights on how to play aggressive brand defense are invaluable
Mark Zupan, Dean, Simon School of Business and Professor of Economics and Public Policy
"Increasingly, brand value and trust are influenced less by what companies say and more by what others say about them. Today's social networks provide a great opportunity for companies and their customers to amplify a brand's qualities, but not without risk. Copulsky does a great job describing how these powerful social networks can also quickly damage brands. This book is a must read for anyon
Chris Abess, V.P. Strategic Marketing, SunPower Corporation
