Protection From Brand Infection

The Chief Marketing Officer Council released an intriguing study this week called "Protection From Brand Infection." The report involved a study of more than 300 senior-level marketers from various B2C and B2B sectors.A new study by the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Council on the impact of counterfeiting and other brand infringement found that marketers are scrambling -- playing catch up to crooks and counterfeiters who are way ahead in employing increasingly sophisticated techniques to dupe and entice consumers online and off. This is nowhere more true than in the fashion or accessories industry -- where counterfeiters freely peddle their wares online and in major areas of commerce, like New York's Canal Street.Knock-offs are the new black -- the Black Market has become a Mainstream Market -- with billions of consumers in emerging markets and “counterfeit cultures” striving to “own a brand clone” and make style statements with luxury goods bought on the cheap.At stake for marketers is as much as 20 percent or more of company revenue and as much as $5 million or more spent by some companies in trying to fight back against brand pollution and trademark trespassing.The CMO Council, a global peer organization of senior marketers, found marketers are trying to step up. Consumers will begin to see more warnings as well as reminders that “genuine and authentic” sales fuel taxes that fund their schools, create jobs and ensure the apparel they buy carries the flame-resistant properties of the genuine article -- a must for safety.To download the report or for a free executive summary, please visit http://www.cmocouncil.org/resources/form_protection.asp