How are you guarding your Crown Jewels?
At the Tower of London this week, I was inspired by the Crown Jewels: it got me thinking about who guards your company’s Crown Jewels — your Brand.
According to its web page, the British Crown Jewels are “are the most complete collection of royal regalia in the world”. And any collection boasting the world’s most famous gems, is bound to be guarded with the most sophisticated security imaginable. Most experts believe that the value of the Jewels is incalculable.
Your brand is the Crown Jewels of your company. It might not contain the Koh-i-Noor diamond but according to reports of Brand Equity top brands are valued in the Billions. SAP’s for example is valued by Forbes at $25Bn. And just like the jewels in the Tower of London, you need the best security possible.
Small number of entrances, all well-guarded
Like most castles, there are a small number of entrances, and those are heavily defended with a drawbridge, a portcullis and huge towers to allow hidden archers fields of fire against attackers.
Cybersecurity is a new threat to brands. Just look at British Airways this week who’s brand took a big hit due to having poor defenses. On the Supply Chain side, do you really know what’s behind all those EDI connections, supplier portals or Excel files with embedded macros? Much better to have exactly one secure connection to your suppliers via a Digital Business Network.
Multiple Lines of Defence
A potential thief attempting to break into the Tower of London has to deal with the river or moat, then multiple walls, spies, cannons and security guards — the Yeoman Warders who have been guarding it for 500 years.
Likewise no single solution is enough to protect your brand. You should look at supplier quality, pro-active inspections, certificate review and quality audits. Don’t forget to include monitoring of social media channels, news sites and blogs. Your Brand is more likely to be influenced by a hot meme than by 10 staid press releases.
Keep up to date with technology
Today’s crown jewels are kept behind bombproof glass, use 100s of hidden security camera and other techs that Her Majesty’s Royal Collection Trust will never reveal.
This is true for brands today. The old, manual yearly supplier reviews look as old fashioned as a pair of muskets. State of the art technology uses Machine Intelligence to survey the market for any risk with suppliers that could blow back to your brand.
To hear more about using technology, machine intelligence and Business Networks to protect your brand, join me at the Tower of London (seriously!) on Sept 12th.
