On Thursday 2 May at 4.00pm UK time (11.00 am EST), WTR will be hosting a free-to-access webinar focused on ‘measuring the ROI of online brand protection’. Crucially, the exploration will highlight why traditional approaches may not resonate with the C-suite.

Online brand protection provider Incopro recently commissioned Forrester to conduct an independent study, using its ‘Total Economic Impact’ methodology, on four global brands. In the upcoming webinar senior TEI consultant, Jan ten Sythoff will share the results of this research and, crucially, explain how the methodology can be applied by other companies seeking to measure the impact of their online brand protection.

Speaking to WTR about the challenges in identifying ROI, Incopro’s chief strategy office Piers Barclay states that traditional approaches may not truly resonate with the C-suite: “You have big issues around brand reputation and risk mitigation, which are key drivers but almost impossible to quantify in a way that makes sense to a chief financial officer. You also see a lot of people saying ‘we are taking down this value of stock’ but, again, those numbers to me also don’t feel like something tangible. You know not all of it will convert to genuine revenue.”

As to where value is derived from brand protection efforts, then, he argues that while takedowns are key (“unless you are delivering a reduction in availability of counterfeits, you won’t realise any benefits”), focus also needs to be directed towards the true financials. He expands: “A big one is the revenue conversion. It’s a number that is impossible to get to with absolute certainty, but you can get close to it using different angles. There should also be an efficiency benefit of buying a technology solution in – it should, for example, free up time being allocated to it.”

He also observes that real and online world interplay needs to be taken into account, in particular where online leads can be used to identify the best targets for litigation and the recovery of damages:
“Many legal functions justify costs by pursuing damages and, if you get an award, that is cold harsh cash. These are tangible things a CFO can look at and see the benefit.”
Additionally, there can be value derived from the intelligence that investigations uncover, not just for the brand protection team but also for wider business strategic decision-making. Barclay reflects: “It can helps tie in brand protection to the overall business strategy. Brand protection shouldn’t sit in a corner and be viewed as something that is important to do but something that doesn’t drive business.”

The webinar exploring these alternative approaches, and titled ‘Forrester Research: Measuring the ROI of Online Brand Protection’, will take place next week and is presented by Jan ten Sythoff and Simon Baggs, CEO & co-founder at Incopro.

Register to attend the webinar here

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Read the original article from WTR here.