Troll Proof Branding in the Age of Doppelgangers

Fake news, Hacktivism, Internet trolls and Culture jamming are rampant pop culture phenomena in the age of consumerism. Clever strategies such as emotional and cultural branding can only help your brand go as far as one little slip from grace. In the blink of an eye, your brand’s image can be tarnished by its monstrous doppelganger. Tweets by angry fans along with memes about your brand can become your worst nightmare.  Troll Proof Branding in the Age of Doppelgangers captures the evolution of the brand alter-ego, also known as brand doppelganger, created by consumers, anti-brand activists, competitors, opinion leaders, media and the public. The book discusses the world of monstrous doppelgangers and various reasons and situations that create negative imagery of personal and public brands. Most of the time, these doppelgangers are the result of the company’s own faulty products and complacent attitudes towards consumer feedback, for instance, Pepsi and McDonald’s anti-health and obesity-promoting menu. But there are also brands like Starbucks that have their customer base built on quality and emotional loyalty to the brand.  And still, Starbucks’ reputation eventually got overshadowed by its evil twin―the one who crushes the local competition by making mom and pop stores run out of business. This means that even an emotional branding popularly used by brands can backfire! In contrast, Nike, when attacked by its doppelganger, bounced back by installing a code of conduct in its factories― SHAPE: Safety, Health, Attitude, People and Environment. Then, there are cases of personal brands such as Ravish Kumar, a seasoned Indian journalist, and Alia Bhatt, the Bollywood actress, being trolled online by anti-fans.  This book aids you in developing strategies to counter the impact of your brand doppelgangers. Arm yourself with strategies to promote brand positivity to fight trollers and hacktivists.