The
brands owned by a company are
among its most important assets.
The brand represents an assurance
of consistent quality associated
with the company that owns it.
Like
any other asset, brands are prone
to various forms of attack. Counterfeiting,
duplication, alteration, misuse,
tampering or diversion are some
of the various known and repeated
forms of brand attack prevalent
all over the world. When brand
attack occurs, brand owners lose
their revenue and market share
that are legitimately theirs.
More importantly, their reputation
and image of the company suffer
huge damage.
Almost
everyone in the value chain is affected
when a brand is attacked.
Consumer
-
Gets less value, feels
cheated and could even risk his
life by consuming spurious goods.
Brand Owner
-
Loses profits, brand
value and customers.
Government
-
Loses tax revenue
and incurs additional expenditure
on enforcement due to the pressure
to raid counterfeiters.
Society
-
The resultant deterioration
of culture, breeds dishonest behaviour.
Therefore,
it is in the interest of consumers,
brand owners and the Government
to bring the menace of brand attack
under control. The scale of counterfeiting,
today, is untenable, representing
5-7% of world trade, which
reflects a massive loss to the
recorded economy.
Thus,
there is an urgent need to constantly
look at newer and newer means
of addressing and trying to resolve
the problems from various forms
of brand attack. The Kavach approach
to addressing brand attack enables
manufacturers to co-opt the consumer
in the process of brand protection
- a unique approach that gives
more power to the
brand owner and consumer, and can infact
improve the brand equity of the brands
protected.
