One must remain sharp to fend off the pirates — and the vikings.
But your work’s not done. You must then protect your brand. You must be on guard not just against your competitors, but also actual counterfeiters, and brand knockoffs.
That’s not a huge surprise, especially if you’ve ever been offered an eye-widening bargain for a new “Gucchi” handbag or “Rollects” timepiece. It might shock you to learn, though, that this is hardly a new phenomenon. Premium brands were being harried by knock-offs much earlier than most of us realize.
How early? At least as early as the Viking age — over 1,000 years ago.
The well-equipped Viking, as he set out from Scandinavia on his dark errands, might wear at his hip the finest sword he could afford. We know from the archeological evidence that the most sought-after sword in those days was the Ulfberht.
No one today is sure exactly what the word Ulfberht means. It might have been a family name, but since the swords were in production for well over a century, it probably wasn’t the name of a single craftsman. It was clearly a brand, though, in the most literal sense. The word was proudly and intricately inlaid into the steel of the blade.
A few dozen Ulfberhts have been recovered and are in museums around the world. Not long ago, researchers noticed something odd about them. About a third of them bear their “trademark” in this format: +ULFBERH+T. Tested metallurgically, the steel of these blades were found to be remarkable: extremely high-quality carbon steel forged in a process that wouldn’t be recreated in Europe for centuries.
The others, which comprise the majority, are branded +ULFBERHT+ and are made of cheap, inferior metal. Our hypothetical Viking would have no way of knowing this without access to a scanning electron microscope…or until his prized sword shattered during battle.
The battle metaphor is pretty common in business, marketing, and yes, branding. Some wonder if it might be hyperbole. Our 1,000-year-old case study insists it isn’t. Consumers buy brands they trust because they’re expecting consistency in quality and service. Knock-offs dilute that quality and erode that trust.
And even today, long after the last Viking ship has sailed, this can still be a matter of life and death.
The C4
- Brand counterfeiting isn’t just about cheap handbags that look vaguely like the original. Everything from auto parts to smoke detectors are being counterfeited. Cheap knock-offs can and do hurt people.
- A thousand years ago, some unlucky Vikings learned this the hard way. The expensive+ULFBERH+T and the affordable +ULFBERHT+ looked equally shiny and nice just off the showroom floor. It was only when its owner needed it most that the metal’s mettle was truly tested.
- Consumers and brand-owners are both in similar peril today. Every product, every brand is subject to counterfeiting. Only an informed public and a proactive business community can fight that.
- First you build your brand, then you protect it. Branding is a process that never stops. Yes, we’ve said it before, and we’re sure to say it again.
