Brand Vandals

Book excerpt: Thanks to the rise of social media, what audiences think and say about organisations has never been more critical. Steve Earl and Stephen Waddington's Brand Anarchy examined the impact of media change and the new reputation landscape brought about by disaffected shareholders, customers and staff voicing their opinions to a global Internet audience. The authors continue the story here with the brand vandals going one step further; mobilising themselves, and the Internet, to wage war on organisations and willfully cause lasting reputational damage. For the organization, engagement isn't an option – it's a necessity. Brand vandals are forcing a level of dialogue that organisations, public and private, have never had to contemplate before. Smart organisations are helping to define the future of modern brand communication by retooling their public relations and communications teams to truly get to grips with the challenge of engaging audiences in a 24/7 conversation that not only answers criticism, but positively rebuilds corporate reputation. Is your organisation ready for the brand vandals?