Post on 28-May-2020
transcript
© 2014 MarkMonitor Inc.
Best Practices for Managing Brand Compliance Online: The IHG® Success Story
Featuring: Dana Dojnik Digital Program Manager, InterContinental Hotels Group Dan Morton Product Marketing, Brand Protection MarkMonitor
Best Practices for Managing Brand Compliance Online
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Featured Speakers
Dana Dojnik
Digital Program Manager,
InterContinental Hotels Group
Dan Morton
Product Marketing, Brand Protection
MarkMonitor
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®)
Global hotel company with over 4,600 hotels in over 100
countries and territories
Network of thousands of franchisees worldwide
Portfolio of strong, preferred brands
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Brand Compliance at IHG®
Ensure our guests have the best and most consistent experience
Liaison with over 1,600 properties that choose to have an Independent Website • Check websites are ‘on brand’: updated logos, colors, etc.
• Linking through to IHG.com for booking purposes
Our Brand Protection team is cross-functional, consisting of: • Legal
• Performance Marketing (Paid Search)
• Social Marketing
• Independent Websites
• Domain Management
• And, on occasion, the Fraud Dept.
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Consistent brand touch points bring guests back to IHG® properties
Understanding our Compliance Challenges
Manually audited 4,600 hotels online to understand overall
brand compliance issues
Executive team realized it was time to put in the effort in the
area of compliance and enforcement of brand standards
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Non-existent Branding
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Dated Design, Graphics and Functionality
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Obscured Corporate Branding
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Too Localized
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OTA Keyword Buy
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OTA Landing Page Doesn’t Advertise Branded Keyword Hotel
The Impact of Brand Non-compliance
Inconsistent brand experience, brand confusion
Diverted website traffic
Diluted revenue from indirect bookings
Higher marketing costs from increased PPC and higher cost
of branded keywords
Increased commissions paid out to OTAs, Aggregators and
Affiliates
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Start with a Structured Program
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Proactive Monitoring for Brand Compliance
Monitor franchisee sites and scour the Internet EVERY DAY
for new infringers, even outside of our hotels
Monitor for brand inconsistencies and bad booking links
Monitor partners and our hotels to ensure compliance when
buying branded keywords
Make intelligent decisions about where to focus our efforts
• Focus on biggest infringers
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Partnering for Compliance
Work closely with partners and franchisees to come into
compliance
Really understand the needs of the GM or Hotel
Marketing Manager • What’s really important to drive more business?
• How do those needs align with our brand directives?
Multi-step enforcement process
• Start with a warning, escalate only if necessary
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Taking a “soft” approach can effectively curb brand misuse
Coming Into Compliance
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Improving our Corporate Website Experience
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Improving our Corporate Website Experience
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Brand Compliance Success at IHG®
Providing a consistent brand experience throughout the
Customer Journey
Increased revenue from direct bookings
Steady reduction in independent website non-compliance
Boost in website traffic by reducing diversion and
cybersquatted domains
Minimize unnecessary commissions paid to partners
Reduced marketing costs by lowering average CPC
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Brand Compliance Best Practices
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Partners: Many Names, Same Function
Third parties that represent your brand…
AND are bound by an agreement
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Best Practices
STRONG
AGREEMENT
PROACTIVE
MONITORING
SELECTIVE
ACTION
Brand Compliance Best Practices
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Best Practices: Start with a Strong Agreement Some elements to consider…
Domain / Website
• Domain Ownership: Trademark Use, Links, Confusion
• Website Brand Consistency: Use of Logos / Landing Pages
• Unauthorized Sales Channels: Online Marketplaces, Social Media
• Required Disclaimers: Industry or Government (FTC, SEC, etc.)
Paid Search
• Direct Linking: One Display URL at a Time, Replaces Corporate Ads
• Branded Keyword Bidding: Higher CPC Costs, Consumer Intent
• Ad Ranking: Partners Ranked Higher than Corporate Ads
Social Media
• Social Media Profile Names: Causes Confusion, Competition
• Prohibited Words or Terms: “cheap”, “wholesale”, “discount”, etc.
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Best Practices: Proactive Monitoring
Where to Start? • Become the customer. Go where they would go.
• Use tools to hide your corporate presence
• Monitor during non-business hours
• Use a systematic approach
Other Tactics • Tap internal teams for clues:
− Customer service complaints?
− Keyword costs increasing?
− Unusual commission patterns, high conversion rates
• Look for loopholes in your own agreement (is there the potential
for abuse?)
Infringers can be sophisticated or naïve
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Best Practices: Selective Action
Remember these are your partners • Some may not be aware they are violating the agreement
• Three Strikes Approach: Reminder – Warning – Out
• Remove repeat offenders and large scale abusers
“Bad Apple” Scenario
• Allowing just one abuser will encourage others
More Leverage
• Rewrite agreement to cover common loopholes
• Issue notices to partners
• Take corrective action on remaining abusers
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Examples of Misuse…
PROBLEM: BRAND
CONFUSION
Auto company with
dealers owning
excessive number
of branded domains
including those in
other dealer
territories and
brands + competitor
domains.
PROBLEM:
URL HIJACKING
Direct sales
company with
independent reps
creating paid
search ads that
displayed the
corporate domain,
then linked to their
individual profile
pages.
PROBLEM:
INCREASED CPC
Travel company
with lax view
toward keyword
bidding witnessed
excessive
competition for
branded keywords
in paid search ads
driving up
marketing costs.
PROBLEM:
LOST SALES
Large cruise line
found a travel
seller that owned
hundreds of
branded domains
that redirected
traffic to a
webpage that sold
competitor
products.
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Q&A
Featured Speakers
Dana Dojnik
Digital Program Manager,
InterContinental Hotels Group
Dan Morton
Product Marketing, Brand Protection
MarkMonitor
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Thank You!
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