Hi Matthieu! Thank you for taking the time to do this interview to help our audience understand Brand Monitoring better. First, could you please tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get started in this industry, and what is your role now?

What is Brand Monitoring and how would you describe it to someone who might not be familiar with the term?

Matthieu: I would start by saying that the term “monitoring” encompasses both conducting an inventory of what could be out there on the internet and monitor what will happen on an ongoing basis. It is also about finding infringements to gain an overview of the internet landscape before launching a new product, as well as rationalizing and improving an existing domain portfolio. The main objective for a brand owner is to gain a clear view of the current internet landscape. This will establish the foundation of a suitable strategic approach from the domain name registrations up to the defence of the rights / a client’s online presence. For example, when you have an idea, you want it to be novel and become a pioneer in your filed with it. And for this idea to turn into a reality, you need to conduct prior research and get the best visibility and protection of your idea and product. That is the aim of Brand Monitoring.

Why is it so important for brands to invest in brand monitoring?

Matthieu: The Internet is a tremendous tool which gives access to a worldwide audience. There are basically no boundaries in the sense that a domain name and its content are accessible from wherever the internet user is located. The internet landscape is too broad to be monitored manually and infringements are as big as opportunities are. Cybercrimes have risen by 150% since 2019, and phishing attacks are now conducted by 3 billion phishing e-mails per day. There are about 100 victims of cybercrimes per hour corresponding to an increase of 1570% over the past 20 years and causing about 5 billion of loss per year. Therefore, establishing a clear strategy is mandatory to:

• Secure your online presence
• Optimize your brand’s visibility
• Control costs

Anticipating and preventing attacks and risks are key elements of brand protection. Thus, to get the best approach, brand owners also need to rely on Online IP experts to interpret the results and connect the findings to match them closely in each individual case. Our mission is to present and implement the best options in a tailored way for each of our clients to be safe and secure, and to act only if and when required.

What are the different areas of brand monitoring?

Matthieu: When it comes to the different areas that can be covered by brand monitoring, I would always insist on monitoring the domain name as it is the basis of the online presence and the first asset that needs to be secured from a legal and technical point of view. But indeed, cybersquatters reproduce or mimic the brand name not only in the domain name, but they also:

• register a generic domain name,
• use fake blog / social media profiles and / or webpages,
• offer counterfeit products in online marketplaces

… to infringe third parties’ rights by publishing litigious content targeting a verbal or visual brand. A domain name could be an intangible IP asset but could in the meantime be a generic form of communication, unlike a trademark. There are diverse types of monitoring whose criticality will depend on the nature of the products and / or services offered by the company.

How does BrandShelter support a business in brand monitoring?

Matthieu: The first step will be to precisely define the project and the corresponding needs:

• Setting up a new online presence and securing the corresponding domain names by establishing good practices (audit, anonymous registrations, local presence services, acquisitions, …)
• Conducting an audit to rationalize and streamline an established online presence (ownership and management centralization, use of the domain names, security measures, …),
• Auditing potentially infringing registrations (define enforcement actions and adjust accordingly the registration, monitoring and, enforcement strategies),
  Monitor new registrations / deletion of domain names / content,
• Other steps and supportive actions that can be defined according to the specific goals and needs of a business

To obtain an efficient approach, the strategy must be dynamic and adapted on the way. A monitoring search scope for instance will probably have to be adapted to exclude or on the contrary include some terms that could become relevant in a different context. That is why the most fundamental part of what we do is providing the best combination of technology and human expertise. And that is what we have been doing for more than 20 years now.