“The reputation which the world bestows is like the wind that shifts, now here, now there.”  These thirteenth-century lines of the poet Dante might easily have been written for the twenty-first century corporate world.

A reputation painstakingly built up over a period of years can be destroyed overnight by a single mistake or even a solitary throwaway remark. The classic example is Gerald Ratner whose joke in a 1991 speech – that a sherry decanter sold in his shops was crap – helped bring down his entire company.

These days, counterfeiting is the cause of many a brand integrity crisis. While companies dedicate time and energy to build their brand image – manufacturing products and developing new merchandise that meet or exceed quality and safety standards – their reputations can take a beating in an instant as the result of counterfeit goods penetrating the market. The substandard quality of fake goods can cause lasting harm to a brand's reputation in the eyes of long-standing and potential consumers, just as if the brand owners themselves had made an error.  

But whatever the cause of the crisis, there is a basic approach which can prove highly effective towards minimising its impact on your brand's integrity.

One: Get back to basics with the “3 Rs” – Regret, Reassurance and Remedy

*     Express Regret – This concept does not imply accepting any responsibility but shows that the company is sympathetic and caring towards the victims of counterfeiters.

*     Provide Reassurance – It is imperative that your consumers know how they can find or discern the genuine product.

*     Present a Remedy – Show the market that your enterprise is making an effort to combat fraud by integrating anti-counterfeiting technologies and methodologies into the process, from prototype to the end-point of the distribution chain.

Two: Have a crisis response plan on reserve

The struggle against illicit goods is constant, and you never know when a brand integrity crisis will drop on your lap. Thus, brand owners should have a response plan that can be implemented immediately. Know who should be the voice of the company in expressing its regret over the deceit perpetrated upon its consumers. Have fact sheets and consumer alert numbers ready to aid consumers. Communicate to the buying public the diverse efforts your enterprise is taking to ensure the satisfaction, health and safety of its consumers.

Three: Ensure rapid response

This is critical. A generation ago, newspapers appeared once a day and most television news shows were shot on film. When a journalist got hold of a story, it would be at least hours, possibly a day or more, before that story saw the light of day. Now with the Internet, 24/7 radio/TV news and citizen journalism, a passer-by can record an incident on a mobile phone and the pictures can be on television screens around the world within an hour. As the old adage has it, a lie will go half way round the world before the truth has got its boots on. 

Four: Control the story

Craft your message and get it out there before public opinion or fears dictate the outcome of your brand integrity crisis. Ensure that your message incorporates the concerns of your legal team – but don’t get caught in a quagmire. Get your facts straight, be proactive and share with the public what is known and what dangers, if any, lie ahead. This way, you control the story. It is far better to have the brand owner on record as protecting its consumer base even if the threat turns out to be insubstantial, than to have the brand owner failing to stand up for its consumers in a time of crisis.

While it is a mistake to be complacent about the media, it is equally wrong to be paranoid about journalists. As many companies have discovered, the press – print, radio, electronic and TV – can prove to be the most effective and rapid means of getting a message out.

How real-life brands have dealt with crisis

* Durex, member of SSL International and a manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, has weathered a few fake condom sagas and their proactive approach has been successful in maintaining consumer confidence.  Durex has been consistently prompt with statements to the press about the dangers of counterfeit condoms, even including information about how to tell the fakes apart from the genuine article. The company also proactively launched appeals to track down the counterfeiters. Meanwhile, the UK's MHRA (Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority) added its own helpful advice and kept the media informed of the details of its investigations.

During the crisis, Durex and the MHRA demonstrated their regret and sympathy with the counterfeit victims by issuing warnings about the dangers of pregnancy or disease which could arise from using the fake condoms. Then, they provided reassurance, giving the media, for example, batch numbers of counterfeit packets so that people can check whether the condoms they bought were genuine. Finally, they presented a remedy, in this case, the efforts to track down counterfeiters. 

* Microsoft – During the early days of Microsoft's expansion into the Russian and Eastern European markets, the software giant discovered the piracy rates of their programs hovering at 97%. Internet cafes, the primary source of Internet access for Russians, were using pirated software. To achieve their goal of converting potential Russian consumers to buyers of genuine software and reducing the number of Internet outlets reliant upon pirated software, Microsoft launched an anti-piracy education campaign, a discounted pricing programme and an amnesty period for Internet cafés to purchase real products from authorised dealers. In tandem with their business programmes, Microsoft led an aggressive publicity campaign to communicate their anti-piracy message.  

Note: In most counterfeiting cases, public sympathy will, at least at the outset, be on the side of the legitimate trader and against the counterfeiter. Big corporations, however, need to beware of the David and Goliath syndrome. There is always the possibility that the media will champion a perceived underdog if a large enterprise aggressively attacks a small trader.

"Doing a Ratner", Not Really

While most brands come out heavily against the production of fakes or the misuse of their brand, there is always the odd exception. When on a business trip to China in 2007, Giorgio Armani did not help the anti-counterfeiting cause when he told the Hong Kong press that he regarded fake versions of his products as a compliment. He mentioned how he was impressed with the quality of the fakes bring produced. As expected, the press were efficient in sharing Mr. Armani's words with consumers. Luckily for Armani's enterprises, the effect of his comments did not ricochet like Ratner's.

Finally, an old Chinese proverb to remember

It would heed brand owners well to remember the words of the late US President Kennedy, "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity".

If you have prepared a media crisis management plan focusing on the 3 Rs – regret, reassurance and remedy – and act swiftly and proactively during a brand integrity crisis, your enterprise can minimise any potential threat.