Experts call for stringent measures to curb brand counterfeit
By Oghale Mafuru
Against the backdrop of rising cases of brand counterfeit, experts in the Integrated Marketing and Communications industry have called for stringent measures as well as deployment of effective monitoring systems to curb this kind of infringement.
Speaking about the need for brand managers to constantly monitor the market for possible ‘pass off’ of their brands, experienced sales, marketing and communications professional, Moses Mogbolu advised business leaders and marketing professionals to develop the right tools for brand monitoring as such misrepresentation and imitation is capable of tarnishing the image of the brand.
The marketing expert said: “ Brand imitation is an unethical business strategy and should be discouraged. Brand impersonation can reduce the market share of the original brand, it could discourage customers of the brand and lower brand patronage and can affect the whole industry if not properly monitored and checked on time.”
While urging brand managers to be on top of their game, Mr. Mogbolu said they can sometimes employ unconventional methods that can guarantee the attainment of their goals.
He said that, “ As a brand executive at DN Meyer Plc in my early years of my brand marketing career, I have to be close to the strong guys of Amu market in Mushin and constantly monitor all their activities to ensure zero imitation of our decorative paints; these guys are smart so you need to be smarter in your strategy and tactics”.
To dispel the claim that imitation exists with smaller brands passing off attributes of bigger brands, marketing expert, Olayemi Samuel cited the infringement case between Rites Foods and NBC, where NBC energy drink predator used a similar logo as Rite Foods’ Fearless.
He said: “Even big brands imitate each other. I would take the case of Rite Foods Limited and NBC. Rite Food came to the market in 2017 with Fearless and NBC came with Predator in 2020. Observing closely, the imprint logo of both energy drink is very similar and without prejudice, one can pick a side.”
He added that, “ The most important thing is for brand practitioners to monitor and counter any impediment on the way of their brands, corporate and products”.
On his part, Aigboje Joseph , Brand management expert while affirming the need for brand managers to continue seeking more innovative ways to protect their brands from infringements, said most organisations fight it off by advertising both brands together showing the difference between the original brand and fake one.
He said: “ Nigerians buy a lot of counterfeited products, most especially beverages and spirit drinks.”
Mr. Joseph, who described the act as a crime and a punishable offence, noted that counterfeiting affects the brand equity of the business and causes distrust among consumers of the original brand.
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