The Total Economic Impact ™ of Talisman

Executive summary

Incopro’s Talisman is a software platform that finds, prioritizes, and eliminates online brand and IP infringement. The Incopro company commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) businesses may realize with Incopro’s Talisman. The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of Talisman on their organizations.

To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment for the total economic impact, Forrester interviewed four customers with extensive experience of using Incopro’s Talisman platform. Forrester aggregated the data gained from these interviews into a model or composite organization, around which a three-year financial model was built.

By using Incopro, the interviewed organizations were able to significantly reduce the number of counterfeit listings on large online marketplaces, thus protecting brand equity and resulting in increased revenue. Furthermore, their legal capabilities increased, in turn resulting in incremental legal compensation. Interviewees also experienced increased business intelligence capabilities through the use of the platform.

Prior to using Incopro’s Talisman platform, the legal departments of the interviewed organizations, already resource-constrained, could only react passively to the multitudinous counterfeit listings and were ineffective at eliminating and discouraging IP infringement.

Interviewed organizations

Consumer goods (Europe)
Engineering (Europe)
Toy manufacturing (US)
Fashion (Europe)

Key challenges

Interviewees faced several challenges that led to their investment in Talisman:

The legal departments and brand protection teams struggled with increasing pressures

Brand protection, copyright, registration, enforcement, litigation, and other responsibilities of the legal function within the large companies interviewed were under increasing pressure. At the same time, they were usually seen as a cost center and were therefore financially constrained and limited in their ability to increase their resourcing.

Online counterfeit goods were an increasing drag on sales

Online counterfeit goods were an increasing drag on sales. With the continued growth of online sales comes the growth of online IP infringements. In the case of physical goods, counterfeits were a growing issue for the interviewed organizations, cannibalizing genuine online sales and taking traffic away from genuine offers. Furthermore, companies struggled to gauge which counterfeit listings had to be targeted and which were less important.

Copyright infringements and counterfeit goods negatively impacted brand equity

Counterfeit product listings impacted the equity of product brands in several ways. Multiple listings made it confusing for consumers to know what was genuine and what was not. Online search results were sometimes overwhelming; consumers found it difficult to know what to choose and could be easily led away with alternative offers. Counterfeit goods often resulted in customer complaints and low feedback ratings and also increased the risk of litigation in the case of injury or a negative health outcome. All these factors often discouraged partners and channels from working with these brands.

“We do not want the customer to see a lot of counterfeits; two pages of counterfeit listings simply does not look good.”

Director of global anti-counterfeiting, consumer goods

Total Economic Impact – Key findings

Increased revenues driven by the reduction in counterfeits

All the interviewed customers reported that sales benefited directly from the implementation of Talisman, in particular from reducing counterfeit listings on online marketplaces.

Incremental legal compensation

Because the legal teams are able to target the most important counterfeiters and gather evidence more effectively, their litigation efforts are more effective and thus more successful. This changes the internal perception of the team from a cost center to a revenue generator

Increased and more effective legal team capabilities

Lawyers, paralegals, and others in the legal team have many responsibilities, both online and offline, and the growth of sales through digital channels has increased demands on their limited time. Talisman increases the legal team’s capabilities, allowing them to be more effective.

Increased business intelligence capabilities

Those customers with more experience using the platform reported its value in gathering business intelligence. Customers monitor trends, convert unauthorized distributors and anticipate problem areas.

Key stats

Interviewed customers reported a payback period of just 3.1 months. Forrester found that Incopro customers also benefit from:

Three-year ROI

305%

Increase in online sales per year

3%

“We experienced a 160% revenue increase in the first week, then 180% in the following week. Overall, we saw 130% growth in the year to September (before the growth rate was only 30%) – so there was a huge impact”

Head of Trademarks and Copyright, leading toy manufacturer