Three Upcoming Trends in Brand Security
Brand security is critical if you want to sell your products to the customers who wish them. Otherwise, counterfeiters will get to them first.
This problem has two consequences: the customers may get harmed by low-quality products, and you will lose potential sales.
Counterfeiters don’t care about your investment in the research or consumers’ well-being. They only want profits, and profiting has become easy with advancements in counterfeiting technologies.
Therefore, you must protect your brand’s identity and integrity. You can see the following three trends emerging in brand security.
More Businesses Investing in Brand Security
You can see that Brands worldwide accept this situation. More brands are getting involved in monitoring services that would alert you if there is a counterfeit in the market.
This process is possible as now, with the advancement of technologies, you can track your supply chain. For example, you can be sure of a counterfeit if you find that your brand is famous in certain regions, but your products don’t reach there.
The tracking technologies include mobile verification, where your prompt consumers to verify the delivery by scanning a QR code.
Using Hybrid Technologies
Companies are using hybrid technologies to safeguard their brand. That means using covert and overt security technologies together has become popular.
Covert technologies are
- RFID: these radio frequency IDs are invisible. Only an RFID scanner can detect them.
- UV pigments: companies use certain dyes only detectable under UV light.
- Micro-text and Micro-tagging: you can use micro devices to print tags and texts on your packaging that will only be visible under scrutiny.
These covert technologies remain hidden from a casual observer; nobody will copy them. Overt technologies are
- QR codes: there are specific patterns easily recognizable on a package. However, you need a QR code scanner to read the data.
- Holographs: these are certain logos formed using holography techniques that embed more information than ordinary photographs. Though these are visible, it is impossible to copy them. You can only make a hologram if you have the unique patterns to create them.
- Color-changing inks are another type of overt technology, easily recognizable if you tilt the package. You can see these tags change their color. These type of color varies you cannot accurately duplicate.
These overt technologies are there to discourage counterfeiting. Additionally, consumers can easily verify if the products are from the brands they ordered.
On the contrary, covert technologies are evidence of the brand in case of legal disputes. However, you can also use RFID technology to track the supply chain.
Protecting Brand without Compromising Aesthetics
Another trend you can see is that brands don’t want a security label or hologram that does not go with their packaging. Although covert technologies mentioned above do not disrupt the brand’s personality on the packaging, overt ones do. For example, holograms, QR codes, or color-changing inks are easily visible, hindering the brand appeal.
In addition, they may make the packaging look off-putting. Therefore, companies want these overt securities to integrate seamlessly into the brand’s overall packaging.
So, for example, if it’s a color-changing sticker, it should have the brand’s signature color. And if it’s a hologram, it should have the brand’s symbol and be aesthetically placed on the package.
Conclusion
So if you want to improve your sales and protect your consumers from dangerous counterfeits, you must take measures to protect your brand. The increasing number of brands investing in brand security is evidence of its importance.
You can also see brands using overt and covert technologies to discourage counterfeits and track their products. Another emerging trend is aesthetically using overt technologies, such as QR codes and color-changing labels.
Brands want them to be a part of the design instead of an odd symbol on the package. If you need help with brand security and anti-counterfeiting solutions for your brand, visit www.zircontech.com