Now let's take a look at some academic insights. The research on doppelganger brand images is still emerging, so it's still a lot that we don't know about this new form of anti-brand promotion. However, a number of key insights are starting to emerge, I like to discuss two studies in particular. This first study was published in 2006 in the Journal of Marketing and was conducted by myself and two of my former colleagues back when I was at the University of Wisconsin. This article established the concept of the doppelganger brand image and took a look at Starbucks and the DBI surrounding this well-known, and popular brand. In this article, we observed and interviewed 30 patrons of local coffee shops, both in Wisconsin and also Illinois, and asked them what they liked about their local coffee shop. Now, although we never mentioned the term Starbucks to all 30 people, so that one of the key reasons they liked their local coffee shop was because it wasn't Starbucks. Now, a deeper investigation revealed that all of these consumers had negative impressions of the Starbucks brand due to its DBI because it lacked authenticity, because Starbucks was trying to take the image of being an intimate local coffee shop while in actuality being one of the largest global brands, and also due to the fact that most of the shops really lacked any type of local distinction, they were pretty much the same. Thus, this article provides evidence that DBIs may have negative impact on consumer's willingness to buy a brand and as a result go to alternative competitors. This second study was conducted by my friend Markus Giesler, who's in the faculty of York University in Toronto, this was published in the Journal of Marketing in 2012. In this study, Markus conducted a longitudinal analysis of how DBIs affect the marketing of the Botox cosmetic. You may be aware of Botox, this is actually, I believe, a rather dangerous substance that people inject, or have injected, into their eyes and other body parts to remove wrinkles. Now, Markus' study analyzed Botox marketing campaign over an eight-year period from 2002-2010, and also the DBIs that were used against this brand over this eight-year time-frame. This article reveals that these doppelganger images actually shift over time in response to changing marketing claims, and also shows that managers can use a variety of tactics to combat these negative images, such as fostering brand communities and using customers to help market their brands. Now, here are four practical recommendations for how firms and managers can combat and actually leverage a doppelganger brand image. First of all, monitor digital cues. Firms should view DBIs not only as a threat, but also an opportunity to ensure that their brands stay relevant. Firms can take advantage of this opportunity by carefully monitoring digital cues for the potential signs of the emerging DBI. Brand managers should carefully and regularly monitor industry and brand-related websites, social media channels, and review sites to keep an eye on any potential brand backlash. In addition to this web browsing, the number of tools for tracking brand-related conversations such as Google alerts, Topsy, and Brandwatch. The next course in our specialization will dive into these tools in more detail. Second, identify and track brand avoiders. In addition to monitoring these digital cues, firms should also identify and track consumers who are avoiding their brand due to the presence of a DBI. Blogs and anti-brand websites are good starting points for locating these individuals. Now, once these avoiders are identified, a firm can and should conduct research to determine which specific doppelganger meanings are resonating most strongly with them. For example, through a series of a small number of simple and short interviews, we were quickly able to determine that coffee shop customers were avoiding Starbucks mainly due to the fact that they perceived that it lacked an authentic, personal touch and which had nothing to do with concerns about the quality of its coffee. Third, develop and test a new story. Firms need to be proactive, especially in a digital age. Once a DBI is identified, even in an early stage, brand managers should seek to craft a new story that either addresses a DBI or bypasses it entirely. For example, when Botox was first launched back in 2002, anti-brand activists created a DBI that focused on potential health risk and propagated claims that using Botox could be fatal. In response, Botox developed a new campaign that positioned this product as not only safe, but also a miracle of modern medicine. Now, this type of strategy must be handled quite carefully in order to make sure that the claims that are made remain true to the brand because any authentic story will quickly be detected, exploited by anti-brand activists. Fourth and finally, vaccinate your brand from the threat of a DBI. In essence, these doppelganger images are really viral marketing campaigns that offer a social critique about brand and authenticity. Thus, firms may be able to vaccinate their brands from this critique by crafting their own viral marketing campaigns that display their brands in authentic manner. A good example of this is the Will It Blend campaign by the US blender manufacturer Blendtec. In a series of viral videos, Tom Dickson, the founder of Blendtec and quite a character, conducts a series of fun experiments in which he attempts to blend a variety of objects such as a baseball, a garden hose, and even an iPhone in a Blendtec blender. In addition to being fun and authentic, these videos also provide a clear demonstration of the blender's performance and capabilities. Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about the doppelganger brand image, I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this fascinating concept in our discussion forums.
