If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve had to weather some storms. You’ve had to endure some attacks from old competitors, from blood-hungry startups, and from angry customers. Maybe, you’ve even had to defend yourself against your own screw-ups. Hey, it happens. But what is the best way to defend your brand?

At one point or another, you’ve probably heard me say that “PR builds a brand, and advertising defends it.” Whenever I say this, I usually get a distant “ahh-ok” look from the listener…like they’re agreeing with me but don’t have a clue what I mean. For the most part, this statement is a very broad generalization, but a good starting point for a tactical discussion of brand defense.

Crash course: advertising no longer works to build a brand. It is a great medium for reinforcing what the consumer already knows, but it is a terrible medium for changing a mind. PR (public relations) is the way to build a successful brand. By PR, I mean media coverage, word of mouth, and anything else that puts your brand in the position of having consumers talk about it amongst themselves. (The myriad reasons for this being the case today is the subject of numerous other blog entries here on this site- and countless books down at your local Barnes & Noble. I suggest you read one).

So anyway, when a client says to me “we’re losing some business to a competitor” the first question I usually ask is “why?” After all, there is always a reason. Here are three:

The natural ebb & flow of the market.

The economy, competition, seasons, fads, natural disasters, consumer hype, geo-politics, etc.- the list of reasons that your bottom line fluctuates are numerous. All of these reasons imply that you haven’t necessarily done anything wrong. It’s just that consumers are fickle and impressionable and tend to get bored easily and want to try new things from time to time. Or, maybe consumers are responding to other factors that are no one’s fault or beyond everyone’s control. In this case, advertising is a good way to shore up your message and defend your brand. It works in this case because your ads are simply reminding consumers of what they already know. And, as we’ve said, advertising is a great medium for this.

Someone made a boo-boo.

Maybe it was you. Maybe it was your accountant. Maybe it was a lazy factory worker in China. Or, maybe it was a burned-out sales clerk who went postal on a customer. It really doesn’t matter. The point is that someone within your company screwed up and now everyone knows about it and everyone is mad at you and doesn’t want to buy from you anymore.

Advertising will not fix this. The reason is because the bad press is true. And, once again, advertising is a terrible medium for changing a mind…particularly when you’re trying to convince someone of something that is patently false. Everyone knows that advertisements are a self-serving message straight from the company’s marketing department and are always taken with a grain of salt. When those ads run counter to what everyone has heard or experienced, then they are dismissed outright, and you’re slapped with the label of “liar.” So, in this case, advertising will only exacerbate your problem.

The only way to combat this bad PR is with good PR…and lots of honesty. Give as many consumers as possible a very positive experience with your brand, and then encourage them to talk about it. Encourage the media to talk about it. You talk about it to anyone that will listen. But…you’d better be humble and you’d better be honest. Today’s consumer has no tolerance for liars.

Mistakes are costly, and you won’t compensate for it overnight, so be prepared to dig in and keep up the good PR for the long haul. If the consumer believes that you are sincere in your good PR, he or she will eventually forgive you. If they think you’re just saying what you have to say to get your ass out of trouble, then your game’s over. Thanks for playing.

That’s no moon, it’s a space station!

It starts as a subtle trickle that you probably dismiss as the natural ebb and flow of the market. Then, suddenly, it spirals out of control. Bad press, rumor, speculation, hearsay- and you don’t know where it’s coming from- you’re just trying to plug along and do your thing. Then it hits you…and you realize you’re under attack by a very clever and shrewd competitor (who probably has on staff a brilliant marketer with the ethics of a Vegas streetwalker).

This case presents an interesting challenge. If you’ve truly done nothing wrong and are truly being victimized by vicious competitors, then you will probably want to respond with a good mix of PR and advertising. PR, because it’s the tool of choice for creating goodwill. And advertising, because it’s a great tool to reinforce what consumers already know- and if the attacks on your brand are really unsubstantiated, then the ads should have the desired effect.

The worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand and hope that the attacks will stop. These are jungle rules, and if you show signs of submission, the hyenas will close the circle even tighter. Respond quickly and vigorously. Develop good PR. Spend the money on an ad campaign. And most of all, mind your p’s and q’s- don’t give your competitor any room to gain a throat-hold. In other words, in your zeal to respond, don’t screw up.

On the same token, don’t live your life in fear of having to defend your brand. When you’ve been in business for a while, you will find yourself in defensive mode. But this is an opportunity to revive your brand and reconnect with your consumers. So, from that perspective, it’s a good opportunity. So don’t sweat it. Be prepared, but not fearful…and keep the mistakes to a minimum.