It is now well accepted that virtually all brands, from the utmost recognized to the newly eager, face an unprecedented onslaught of counterfeiting and gray market trading. In emerging countries, this menace is bold and audacious, with outright fakes appearing in the open marketplace. In developed countries, the problem is equally insidious due to online propagation of counterfeit products through e-commerce platforms.

In addition to counterfeiting there are two other challenges that concern brand owners. One of them is how to keep pace with the recent trend in interactive mobile customer engagement. The digital world is rapidly changing, and eyes are now on the mobile device as the gateway for that very engagement. Broadly speaking, this engagement may include direct-to-consumer marketing, product information and usage guidelines, personalized loyalty programs, cross-selling of associated brands, consumer feedback and much more.