In search of answers to Brand Vandalism

After working on Brand Vandalism for almost six-months the first draft is done. Now starts the tedious process of editing and rewrites before Steve Earl and I hand over the manuscript to Bloomsbury at the end of April. Brand Vandalism is our second book. It’s a follow-up to Brand Anarchy which was published by Bloomsbury in March 2012.

Brand Anarchy is a provocative examination of the impact of media change on what audiences think and say about organisations. It describes how the reputation landscape now looks because of a vastly changed media landscape.

Brand Vandalism continues the story. It explores the dirtiest corner of the audience - the people who are mobilising themselves to cause reputational damage in a war on the organisations that they dislike.

The Internet allows them to wreak havoc, but also forces a level of engagement and dialogue that organisations, public and private, have never had to contemplate before.

Engagement isn't an option - it's a necessity. Brands are going to have to get to grips with media change, audience engagement and more agile communication.

They're going to need to be well-prepared for the vandals too, with a smart approach to not only dealing with the threat of their deadliest reputation enemies, but turning their criticism and attempts at image sabotage into a positive.

Horror stories are easy to come by, but as we work on re-drafts of Brand Vandalism want to seek out success stories.

We’re on the look-out for smart organisations to profile that have retooled their public relations workflow and communications team to truly get to grips with the challenge of engaging audiences in a 24/7 conversation.

We’re searching for the organisations that have got to grips with the fragmented media environment, real time monitoring, data, developing content around a brand narrative and 24/7 newsroom communication. The organisations that are helping define the future of modern brand communication.

If that’s your organisation we’d love to hear from you and tell your story in Brand Vandalism. Please get in touch either via the comments below or by email.