Holography continues to secure brand and profits From bank notes to sporting merchandise to identities, Dr Paul Dunn, chair of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), provides insights into new developments in security and authentication holography. Innovative developments in materials and advanced processes together with new applications, ensure commercial holography continues to feature in the frontline fight against counterfeiting, identity theft and brand piracy. The technology’s capacity to secure data and combat the effects of criminal interference, tampering, alteration, forgery or imitation is also priceless. Moreover, in addition to preventing counterfeits, holography acts as a physical detection device, making it easier for the trained eye to distinguish the genuine item from the fake. A well-established security device in commercial use for some 40 years, the flexibility, relatively low production costs and visual appeal of holography sees its continued use by brand owners across the globe looking to protect their products. The 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, for example, will see visitors from around the world descend on Japan where they will be encouraged to avoid counterfeits by buying official merchandise only at licensed venues, stores and booths. At these places, products such as key rings, mascots and jewellery will feature anticounterfeiting labels incorporating authentication holograms.
Holy grail Brand owners are increasingly demanding useful customer data. Indeed, business intelligence could be considered as the new ‘holy grail’, creating new avenues of opportunity for holographic technologies. Hologram producers and their customers are able to utilise the unique identification on each holographic label to maximise the data it offers about the product’s supply chain. This can be particularly effective in the case of officially licensed merchandise, or in the use of contract manufacturing where third party manufacturers have to report back to brand owners their unit volumes to calculate royalties. Such systems offer a strong deterrent for preventing not only counterfeiting, but also grey market diversion, as under-reporting becomes highly visible and out of territory sales are easily traceable. Using enforcement teams, the authenticity of official merchandise can be checked and verified quickly in the field. Licensees also benefit because their brand investment is protected against counterfeiting. The fundamental impact holography has on thwarting the counterfeit trade surrounding some of the biggest sporting set pieces cannot be underestimated. One of the most glamorous and popular
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global sports, Formula One motor racing, uses holography to protect its lucrative brand identity. Many of the top racing teams feature security holograms to protect their official merchandising from counterfeiters. Ferrari and others have led the way in producing attractive gift sets that incorporate holograms as an added authentication mark alongside official logos. Away from the track, De La Rue in the UK, working for Copyright Promotions Sport (CPS), provides a secure hologram-based brand authentication programme for top level football, enabling the Football Association to track and manage the England Three Lions brand once it has been licensed - again to protect it against the threat from counterfeiting, grey market diversion and piracy. It was in the USA - and in the major sporting leagues – where the sports merchandising industry we recognise today really took off at the beginning of the 1990s. All the major US leagues have embraced holography to varying degrees to protect reputation, brand image and, importantly, revenue streams. The big four: American football (NFL), baseball (MLB), basketball (NBA) and hockey (NHL) all have had licensed product protection programmes using holography for nearly 20 years. Several smaller leagues, such as soccer, are now following suit.
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