Barbour cracks down on online counterfeits

Barbour, the heritage outerwear brand famous for its iconic waxed jackets, has launched an internet campaign to help crack down on rogue traders selling counterfeit Barbour products online. The luxury brand is teaming up with Leeds-based

search marketing agency Search Laboratory to clamp down on online counterfeiters with a Google paid search campaign. The ads will warn about the dangers of buying counterfeit products, as well as directing consumers towards Barbour’s 2,000 registered retailers.

When you type in ‘Barbour’ into Google’s search engine an ad reading, ‘Barbour official jackets: only buy from official Barbour stockists. Learn who they are’ appears. However, if you enter ‘Barbour fake’ it generates a text ad saying, ‘Don’t get caught buying fakes, see which fake websites to avoid’ linking to the counterfeit education section of Barbour’s website.

The company, which was established in 1894, produces more than 130,000 hand-crafted wax jackets each year, and the ‘Counterfeit Education’ page aims to help consumers make sure they’re buying the genuine article. The site features information on how to spot a fake from the branding, to the studs and cord trim, as well as listing retailers that it doesn’t recommend you buy from.

Ian Harris, CEO, Search Laboratory, said: “Barbour’s approach is pioneering. Usually clients want to sell more of their products or services online, but Barbour is wholly focused on maintaining their reputation as a luxury lifestyle clothing brand and protecting their following from poor quality counterfeit merchandise which will inevitably disappoint the purchaser in the long run.

"It’s the first time I have seen a brand use search marketing in this way and we are really excited about what Barbour is trying to achieve with this innovative use of Pay-Per-Click marketing."

Steve Buck, Managing Director at Barbour, added: "Protecting our customers and our brand is of paramount importance to us. We always advise customers to buy only from approved Barbour stockists and we believe that this approach will really help to get that message across."

Image: Barbour SS12