| Tracking and intelligence gathering solutions offer licensors and licensees/retailers with three core ways of helping to protect their brands and potential revenues.
Intelligence can help with assessing consumer usage and perception of the brand and products, gaining knowledge of bad press or negative commentary. Using this knowledge, organisations can adapt and avoid or limit potentially damaging situations. For instance, if the media or other influencing bodies are undermining your product or giving it an unwelcomed reputation; if competitive brands or properties are viewed as superior; if people are abusing your brand logo or identity. It can help organisations protect their brand’s longevity and potential. Using the information to understand consumer needs and market variables, it can aid the evolvement of product ranges and help to keep brands fresh and relevant. (see ‘Creating & Evolving Brands and Product Ranges') Importantly tracking and intelligence gathering can help to identify unauthorized partners and product distribution. By identifying channels which are diverting or illegally gaining revenue; selling after-market or counterfeit goods, organizations are better able to mitigate the risk or damage to their brand or revenue streams and use it to increase their own sales.
A variety of local and market specific off-line tracking and research options exist. These include qualitative research with focus groups or interviews; media clipping & analysis; surveillance operations. On-line brand monitoring and surveillance systems can give the advantage of very quick, wide tracking coverage, especially relevant to those who appeal to diverse target audiences or who operate in many market sectors or territories.
| 
