With a global economy, brand owners have to contend with a fast growing geographical market that may be difficult to manage and monitor. As a brand becomes increasingly popular, it may find itself becoming the target for counterfeits and sabotage. Out of the factories, manufacturers find themselves having to secure and protect consumers’ interest by ensuring any products carrying their brands and trademarks are genuine and not tampered with in any manner. Be it automotive spare parts, pharmaceutical drugs, software, food and beverages or consumer electronics, brands are fighting against increasing threats that undermine consumers’ confidence in their products.
Brady’s explains that despite a myriad of brand authentication technologies available in the market, in general they can be grouped into five major types:
1. Overt Security
2. Covert Security
3. Track and Trace technology
4. Water indicating technology
5. Tamper indicating technology
Overt Security
Overt security solutions allow a brand to be authenticated without the need for a special tool, and such measures include security hologram labels, color-shifting inks/films and micro printing which are difficult to replicate for counterfeiters using traditional printing methods. Others include encrypted serialization and barcodes that can be easily authenticated and traced using a smart phone, Internet or scanner.
Covert Security
If you would prefer to keep your brand’s counterfeit and piracy protection features confidential, covert security technologies provide brand security with private authentication. They include security labels with covertly hidden images or serial numbers that can only be authenticated through the use of UV light, microscopic magnifications or polarized light, or hidden barcodes are only readable with specially equipped scanners. For the highest level of protection, you can even opt for forensic security solutions where a forensic element is added to a label’s ink, coating, or adhesive, detectable only by forensic laboratory that knows the brand’s exact chemical makeup and presence.
Track and Trace technology
Brand protection extends beyond prevention of counterfeiting. With track and trace technology, you can monitor and track the sales and distribution of your products with unique unit level security codes and labels to gain a better understanding of your sales performance. The serialized codes also allow you to run promotions and marketing activities (such as a reward program) and connect directly to your customer base via the code verification process. An experienced track and trace solution vendor can even implement real-time analytics to help you locate and identify counterfeiting and gray market activity using easy to access business portal interfaces with heat map dash boards, alerts and business reports that offer real-time details.
Water-Indicating Technology
For manufacturers of consumer electronics such as communications handsets and handheld games, evidence of water intrusion is critical when it comes to honoring warranty claims. It is in your brand’s interest to integrate security labels that provide irreversible evidence of water contact to protect against fraudulent claims.
Tamper indicating technology
Consumers’ confidence will be increased tremendously when they are assured that the products they are purchasing have not been tampered with. Tamper evident labels and tapes are used as security seals to provide visible evidence of label switching, reuse or illegal entry into packaging, unauthorized service, product dilution, or alteration. Protect your brand with security labels that show clear evidence of tampering and protect against fraudulent remarking. Some labels are designed to provide a visible and irreversible pattern on label when removal is attempted, while others break into pieces to show signs of product tampering or attempted removal of the security seal. You can even prevent attempts to use solvents or heat to remove labels with the right tamper evident labels.
Protect your brand
Looking around us, we can find brand protection in various aspects of our lives. From the currency and credit cards in our wallets, to the hologram seals on our software boxes right down to the tamper indicating seals on foodstuff, all these protection schemes serve to protect and boost consumer confidence.
Brand protection is an important investment for your brand. A reliable vendor should have excellent track record and a multi-layered and customized solution to protect your brand against diversion, tampering, counterfeiting and piracy. Brady does not just offer standard solutions, but has the capability to work with the client to create custom-engineered labels and seals that are unique to their brand for maximum protection — a reliable partner that they can trust their brand protection needs with.
