© 2015 MarkMonitor Inc. All rights reserved.

Keeping Your Partners on Track: How to Protect Your Brand Online

Daniel Morton

Product Marketing Manager, MarkMonitor

Industry Policy Breakout

Terminology

Special Challenges

Examples of Policies Across the Following:

• Automotive

• Travel & Leisure

• Direct Selling Industry

• Insurance

Workflow and Remediation

How and Where to Monitor for Brand Abuse

Strategic Approach

Remediating Brand Abuse

Agenda

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Third parties that represent your brand and are bound by a partner agreement.

But, first let’s get on the same page…

Partners: Many Names, Same Function

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Part 1 Policy Breakout by Industry

Unique challenges across industries

Common Industries with Partner Programs

Industry Snapshot

Automotive

Dealers

Geography- based

Often sell multiple brands

Travel & Hospitality

OTA’s, Affiliates,

Aggregators

Franchisees Sub-affiliates

High competition for

paid ads

Direct Sale Companies

Independent Representatives

Distributors, Consultants, …

Focus on off-line sales

Inexperienced marketers

Heavy social media use

Insurance

Agents, Independent

Representatives

Highly restrictive regulatory

environment Large penalties

for non-compliance

Partners

are called…

Special

Challenges…

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Automotive

Industry Focus

Partners: “Dealers”

Challenges:

• Dealers are geography based

• Automotive dealerships offer multiple brands in one location so

keeping brand identity separate is necessary

Monitoring Focus:

• Domain name ownership

• Website content (text, logos, links, etc.)

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Domain name violations are common across industries.

Domains:

• Custom domain required if doing paid search ads.

• Cannot mention names of other manufactures.

• Should not include broad geographic coverage.

Use of Brand in the Domain:

• Examples:

www.brandpartner.com

www.cheapbrandpartner.com

www.brandhoustontexas.com

www.brandpartner-competitor.com

Common Guidelines

Automotive Example

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The words a partner uses influences customer perceptions of your brand.

Website Content:

• No links to other manufacturers

sites.

• Should not include other

manufacturers' names, logos, or

product images.

• Can only offer complementary

products.

• Advertising messages that shout

“distress merchandise” not allowed

• Parked Pages

Automotive Example

Common Guidelines

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Landing Page and Paid Ad Violations

Automotive Examples

Dealer Owned Domain:

www.dealername-brand-location.com

Generic

Parked Page

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Travel and Hospitality

Industry Focus

Partners: “Online Travel Agents (OTAs)”, “Affiliates”,

“Aggregators”, “Franchisees”

Challenges:

• Franchisees

• Sub-affiliates

• High competition for paid ads

Monitoring Focus:

• Paid ad keyword use

• Landing page compliance

• Domain names

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Guidelines for websites help reduce brand erosion and channel conflict.

Domains & Websites:

• Websites must clearly indicate that travel agency is the website

operator.

• Cannot claim to be "official website" of the brand.

• Cannot use brand trademarks as domain name. Including typos.

in any part of the domain name URL path or subdomain.

• Cannot include trademarks in the meta data or title tags.

• No Cloaking - presenting one type of content to the search engine

but redirect visitors to another type of content.

• No hidden text - such as trademarks or typos in the background

color to achieve ranking. Or as alternative text for images.

Common Guidelines

Travel and Hospitality Example

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Paid search guidelines help reduce marketing costs.

Paid Search:

• May not use brand trademarks or typos as keyword terms.

• When purchasing generic destination related keywords - must

negative match brands trademarks so ads are not shown.

• Ad text with the brand name can only be used if the landing

page is substantially dedicated to the brand and does not

contain any competitor products.

Social Media:

• May not use the brand as usernames or in profile pictures.

Common Guidelines

Travel and Hospitality Example

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OTA Generic Landing Pages for Branded Ad Text

Travel and Hospitality Example

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Direct Sales Company

Industry Focus

Partners: “Independent Representatives”, “Independent

Distributors”, “Consultants”, Others

Challenges:

• Off-line sales, restricted online advertising

• Inexperienced marketers

• Heavy social media use by partners

Monitoring Focus:

• Social media usernames and links

• Online marketplaces

• Unauthorized websites / domains

• Paid ads linking to company provided page

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Websites and social media are the primary forms of online contact for partners.

Websites and Domains:

• May not create or maintain any page, other than your company supplied

"personalized page"

• May not register any domain names that include the brand name.

(agrees to transfer any such domain names to company).

• Cannot register email addresses with brand. For example:

mybrand44@yahoo.com

• May need to include specific government required disclosures to website.

Social Media:

• Cannot create social media profile just for sales purposes.

• Profile pictures cannot contain the logo or product images.

• Linking from social media sites IS allowed.

Common Guidelines

Direct Sales Company Example

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Anyone can put up an ad quickly – it is easy to violate partner guidelines.

Paid Search:

• Cannot purchase

keywords that contain the

brand name or any other

trademark.

• Cannot link back to

corporate site or “shared

site domain”

Marketplaces:

• Cannot sell products on

online auctions or

marketplaces.

Common Guidelines

Direct Sales Company Example

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Social Media Username Violations

Direct Sales Company Example

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Insurance

Industry Focus

Partners: “Agents”, “Independent Representatives”

Challenges:

• Highly restrictive regulatory environment

• State dependent advertising guidelines

• Large penalties for non-compliance

Monitoring Focus:

• Unauthorized domains

• Website content

• Social Media Use

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All advertising to undergo compliance review in highly regulated industries.

Domains & Websites

• Highly restricted advertising policies in all online channels.

• Brand provided material only.

• Any unique content must be approved by compliance department.

• Not allowed to create websites outside of company provided.

• Specific disclosures must be used on website and email

communications.

• Brand updates (ie: new logo) require additional compliance efforts.

Social Media

• Certain types of communication are prohibited.

• Greater information requirements for profiles – such as full name

and insurance number.

Common Guidelines

Insurance Company Example

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Brand Consistency Needs Monitoring

Insurance Company Example

Candidate

for Soft Letter

Communication

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Part 2 Workflow and Remediation

Brand Compliance Best Practices

Strong

Agreement

Proactive

Monitoring

Selective

Action

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Develop a workflow that works best for your particular situation.

Use as a Guideline

Typical Workflow

1. Automate Monitoring Across Channels

2. Filter Results

3. Classify / Categorize

4. Prioritize

5. Take Action

i. Soft Letter

ii. Assertive Letter / Phone Call

iii. Withhold Commissions / Remove from Program

6. Help Prevent Future Issues

i. Revise partner agreement regularly.

ii. Communicate changes to your partners.

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Existing and Newly Registered Domain Names

Website Content

• Text on page, logos, links, hidden text, meta text, title tags

Search Engine Advertising

• Trigger keywords, title and text, display URL, landing page

Social Media

• Usernames, images, links, content of posts (if regulated)

Marketplace & Auction Sites

• Usernames, auction / listing content, store names / content

Mobile Apps

• Images, association, function, reviews (negative?)

Email Content

Partners operate across multiple internet channels!

Areas to Focus your Monitoring Efforts

Monitor Across Channels

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Sample Letter

Communication Sample

Identify message origin

Explain violation

Provide solution

Use inclusive language and

provide method of verification

and contact information

Increase compliance with specific letters to violators.

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Remember these are “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.

Prevention

• Rewrite agreement to cover common loopholes

• Issue notices to partners.

• Take corrective action on remaining abusers.

A comprehensive plan is critical to the success of your partner program.

Workflow and Remediation Final Tips

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Questions?

Thank You!

For information on MarkMonitor solutions, services and

complimentary educational events

• Contact us via email:

field.marketing@markmonitor.com

• Visit our website at:

www.markmonitor.com

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