Brandjacking is an activity whereby someone acquires or otherwise assumes the online identity of another entity for the purposes of acquiring that person's or business's

brand equity Brand equity, in marketing, is the worth of a brand in and of itself – i.e., the social value of a well-known brand name. The owner of a well-known brand name can generate more revenue simply from brand recognition, as consumers perceive the pro ...

. The term combines the notions of 'branding' and '

hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''likej ...

', and has been used since at least 2007 when it appeared in ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' referencing the term used in a publication by the firm MarkMonitor (MarkMonitor and its PR firm, the Zeno Group, coined the phrase; MarkMonitor registered "BrandJacking Index" as a trademark, but not the term "brandjacking" on its own). The tactic is often associated with use of individual and corporate identities on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, a ...

sites, as described in Quentin Langley's 2014 book ''Brandjack'', and may be used alongside more conventional (offline) campaign activities. While similar to

cybersquatting Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting) is the practice of registering, trafficking in, or using an Internet domain name, with a bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The term is derived ...

identity theft Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...

phishing Phishing is a form of social engineering and a scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware, or ransomware. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticate ...

in nature and in possible tactics, brandjacking is usually particular to a politician, celebrity or business and more indirect in its nature. A brandjacker may attempt to use the reputation of its target for selfish reasons or seek to damage the reputation of its target for hostile, Waddington, quoting Quentin Langley's
Brandjack News
', describes brandjacking as "the ability for an individual to criticise and publicly shame a company ...

lacing Lace is a lightweight fabric patterned with open holes. Lace(s) may also refer to: Arts and media Films * Lace (1926 film), ''Lace'' (1926 film), a German silent crime film * Lace (1928 film), ''Lace'' (1928 film), a Soviet silent film * Laces ( ...

the brand in a hostile relationship with the consumer." malicious or for political or campaigning reasons. These reasons may not be directly financial, but the effects on the original brand-holder may often include financial loss - for example, negative publicity may result in the termination of a celebrity's sponsorship deal, or, for a corporation, potentially lead to lost sales or a reduced share price.

Brandjacking examples

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

- in 2013, a commercial, "The Bitter Taste of Sugar", for

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

( Oxfam Novib Netherlands) parodied a Coca-Cola Zero commercial, drawing attention to its unsustainable business practices. *

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

- in 2006, a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

-hosted video presented a spoof advert for a Starbucks Frappuccino underlining the contrast between consumption and poverty. * Nestle - in March 2010,

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

campaigners used a YouTube video that parodied Nestlé's KitKat 'Take a Break' advertising, to draw attention to the multinational's use of

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

from unsustainable operations in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and the consequent impact on

Orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

habitats. Protesters outside Nestlé's UK head office in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

carried signs with the words 'Give me a break' and 'Killer' printed in the distinctive red and white

Gill Sans Gill Sans is a Sans-serif#Humanist, humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype Imaging, Monotype in 1928. It is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Johnston (typeface), Underground Alphabet", t ...

.Nestlé faces KitKat boycott over links to 'palm oil killing orangutans' claim (18 March 2010), '' Metro'' - http://www.metro.co.uk/news/818000-nestle-faces-kitkat-boycott-over-links-to-palm-oil-killing-orangutans-claim *

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

- in 2008, a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account (@ExxonMobilCorp) was set up purporting to be the views of an official spokesperson for the oil company, only for it later to be exposed as fake. * Also on Twitter, @BPglobalPR is not an official voice for BP, but a satirical account that has grown in popularity during the 2010

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

, attracting more followers than the official BP Twitter account. * Politicians - fake

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

pages were created for US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and US Republican governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

(among other politicians). Major corporations have also been the subject of brandjack-based protests on Facebook. *

Fake blog A fake blog (sometimes shortened to flog or referred to as a flack blog) is an electronic communication in the blog format that appears to originate from a credible, non-biased and independent source, but which in fact is created by a company or o ...

s - may be considered a form of brandjacking if created by a critic or opponent of the person or brand supposed to be behind the blog. * Affiliate brand bidding - This is a tactic used by some affiliate marketers. Some consider such tactics unethical or Black Hat. The method is to bid on keywords related to the marketer's site / product, but to do so seemingly as a competitor. *Colleges and universities - In 2008, college guidebook company College Prowler created hundreds of Facebook groups purporting to consist of actual incoming first-year students of various universities in order to surreptitiously gather their personal data and promote the business. *In June 2011, Greenpeace activists launched a campaign against

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

's use of a packaging supplier, APP, said to be desecrating Indonesian rainforests, using images of Mattel dolls

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

and Ken. A Greenpeace video showed Ken dumping Barbie ("I don't date girls who are into deforestation"), the group created a mock Twitter feud and a stunt involving Barbie in a pink bulldozer, and unfurled a banner on the wall of Mattel’s Los Angeles headquarters; some 500,000 people sent protest emails to Mattel. In October 2011, Mattel announced a global policy to keep rainforest destruction out of its supply chains. ''Brandjack'' author Quentin Langley praised Greenpeace for its integration of online (YouTube, Twitter) and offline (stunts, etc.). *In a 2023 action by the Barbie Liberation Organization, actress

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

, posing as a spokesperson for Mattel introduced the collection of biodegradable dolls and announced in a short video that the company would stop using plastic by 2030. This was one of several videos produced by Yellow Dot Studios as part of the BLO's campaign to leverage the publicity surrounding the launch of the ''Barbie'' film to raise concerns about the pervasive use of plastics. Tying in with the satirical campaign is a hoax website bearing heavy resemblance to the real Mattel corporate site, where they issued a fake press release for the fictitious biodegradable Barbie line.

Brandjacking avoidance

Brandjacking avoidance may include: * Pre-emptive registration of brand names and sub-brands as screen names on social media sites. * Staying vigilant * Use of social media and general media monitoring tools to seek evidence of infringement * Legal action against those seen as responsible for the infringement. However, action against the brandjackers and their supporters can actually draw attention to the problem (the

Streisand effect The Streisand effect is an unintended consequences, unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or Censorship, censor information, where the effort instead increases public awareness of the information. The term was coined in 2005 by ...

). For example, following Greenpeace's KitKat campaign, Nestlé had the video removed from YouTube, but Greenpeace quickly re-posted it to video-sharing site Vimeo.com and highlighted the attempted censorship using Twitter and other social media. Attempts by Nestlé to constrain user activity on its Facebook fan page further fanned the controversy.

References

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External links

Online brand-jacking increasing
Zdnet.com Identity theft Cybercrime

Brandjacking examples

Brandjacking avoidance

See also

References

External links