Social Media to become new brand battleground

RESEARCH published today by a firm of UK intellectual property specialists has labelled the internet as a double-edged sword for brands - and claims that social media will exacerbate some of the problems.

Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of respondents to Marks & Clerk’s annual survey – based on the views of 266 UK business executives responsible for brand ownership, marketing and control – argue that while the digital age has brought tremendous opportunity for brand promotion, intellectual property abuses and threats to brand integrity are more numerous and difficult to protect against.

Successful search advertising, it is argued, is no small feat, often requiring millions in advertising and PR spend over time. However, social media is seen as even more problematic

The importance and commercial opportunity of social media to brand owners is clear, with 62 per cent expecting social media to evolve from a communication channel to a “substantiated sales and revenue source” for businesses within the next 2 years.

However, growing use of social media brings a threat to brand owners, particularly if social media looks to search-advertising to establish a stronger and more viable business model to sustain itself. 69 per cent believe that social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook will become the “next big threat” for brand.

Pam Withers, Partner at Marks & Clerk, said: “With the nation now held firmly within the grip of social media, our research shows clear concern that the digital threat to brand owners is most likely to increase, rather than recede, in the future. Search-advertising revenue is hardly new, yet the prevalence of online search is certainly a growing facet of business marketing and likely only to extend over the coming years as social media platforms begin to monetise their impressive reach. With Facebook reportedly having the world’s ‘third largest population’ – more than 400 million users, compared to a population of just over 300 million in the US – it is little wonder we are seeing increasing protectionism and nervousness from brand owners.”

OTHER FINDINGS:

* 91 per cent of brand owners support the imposition of stricter conditions and penalties on platforms such as eBay, to combat counterfeiting

* Over 8 in 10 (81 per cent) state that intellectual property law has failed to respond to the challenges posed by the internet

* 63 per cent believe that Google search-advertising is unacceptable when businesses bid on the name of a rival’s trade mark

* Almost 7 in 10 (69 per cent) predict that social media will become the “next big threat” to brand owners in protecting their brands online

Leave your comments:
(Please note all comments are subject to an approval process before publication, no HTML or scripts allowed.)