Incopro, the online brand protection vendor, recently commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study and examine the return on investment of using their software designed to protect their clients' brands online. The findings of this study are designed to help brand owners evaluate the potential financial impact of online brand protection on their organisations. A ‘composite organization’ was created by Forrester and was based around the findings of four Incopro clients that they researched. This organisation was then used to create a three-year financial model to calculate the benefits and costs of using their software. Benefits: Forrester concluded that “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”. 1) Increase in revenues by reducing online counterfeits Incopro’s strategic, intelligence-led approach to online enforcement results in the permanent removal of infringements and increased revenue, an outcome that the ‘whack-a-mole’ approach is unable to achieve. This enables brands to increase sales and market share, with Forrester’s research highlighting that revenue uplift impacts 3% of sales per online brand protected on average. Increased revenue through online enforcement provides demonstrable return on investment (ROI) for brands, with Forrester calculating a 305% return for brands with a payback period consisting of only 3.1 months. 2) Incremental legal compensation The most damaging infringers can be targeted for offline action by brands’ legal teams to obtain compensation and offset damage caused. Using Incopro technology, they link activity across platforms and accounts and support the collection of offline data such as factory locations, allowing brands to build cases and win settlements against those that are causing the most damage to them. Together with effective online enforcement, targeted litigation helps brands' legal teams improve revenue generating activities. 3) Increased legal capabilities Incopro enhances legal teams’ ability to gather evidence and proof points to support litigation and deliver compensation. Forrester stated that “Prior to using Incopro’s software 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.” Forrester found that by year three of a contact, the value of increased legal capabilities Incopro provides are equivalent to an extra full-time lawyer. 4) Increased business intelligence capabilities The business intelligence capabilities of brands are enhanced as a result of enforcement, data collection and trend monitoring. With these insights, brands reported the ability to better quantify demand; highlight market hotspots; identify competitors, partners and acquisition targets; and develop market entry strategies. Forrester found that by the third year of service the value of business intelligence developed is equivalent to 75% of the cost of a business intelligence analyst’s annual salary. Follow this link to read the full Total Economic Impact report conducted by Forrester and learn the tangible impact and insights about online brand protection.
