Pop Funk logo featured in Amazon Brand Protection stories

Pop-culture print pioneers find their brand protection hero

"If you want to have the ultimate protection of your brand on Amazon, get Project Zero."
Jamal Aoun
Marketplace Director

The importance of going where the fans go

Popfunk has been satisfying the pop-culture penchants of customers across the globe with a superstar line-up of on-demand merchandise since 2007. With over 1000 licences under its belt, the company adorns items such as T-shirts and hoodies with a vast array of fan-favourite images, logos and more. From Friends and Harry Potter to Pink Floyd, Jurassic Park and Sesame Street, Popfunk has licensed some of the biggest names in pop culture and sport.


Though initially only selling to brick-and-mortar retailers, the brand made the decision to open up its sales channels in order "to go where the fans go". That meant finding new franchises and old favourites, and bringing them straight to the people.

And that's just what it did — harnessing Amazon's incredible reach and technology to connect customers with the worlds, characters and stories they love most via authentic, high-quality products.
Amazon Brand Protection: Popfunk-branded clothing with colourful graphic T-shirts

Great licences, great responsibility

A great hero will always have a nemesis. Licensing some of the biggest names in television, film, comics, music, sports, collegiate and more makes Popfunk's products prone to counterfeiting of the brand's registered trademarks and those of its licensing partners.

Protecting its intellectual property was a priority for the business. Popfunk was concerned that counterfeits would increase the number of poor customer reviews, potentially turning customers away from its products and hitting its bottom line.

Fortunately, as brand owners, there was a solution to help Popfunk strike back.

Issues resolved in an instant

Protecting its brand from counterfeiters has been a priority for Popfunk since day one. When the company first started selling on Amazon, it used the Report a Violation tool. After the business became eligible for Project Zero, it began reporting claims via the self-service counterfeit removal tool.

"Project Zero has made our lives easier by giving us the power to take down infringing products ourselves.
Within minutes of reporting the bad actors, we would receive a notice of successful take-down."

Jamal Aoun
Marketplace Director

Reporting counterfeits

The first step that Popfunk took was to enrol in Amazon Brand Registry and use the Report a Violation tool to search for counterfeit listings. While Amazon swiftly investigated and removed infringing content that was reported, the Popfunk team still had to wait for Amazon to finish its investigation and make a decision regarding the reports sent.

Credits roll

Project Zero has proven to be a real game-changer for Popfunk's business, ensuring that customers receive authentic products and have a great experience.

It's giving the Popfunk team more time to focus on growing the business instead of wasting time chasing down bad actors.

And, for a business focused on growth, it's also providing another major benefit: this system is helping Popfunk win more licences and further expand its ever-growing list of products.

"I have to speak to our licensing partners. Having such a responsive tool at our disposal for managing infringements is critical and it also helps us build customer trust. Project Zero is a massive advantage for us."

Jamal Aoun
Marketplace Director
Pop Funk logo featured in Amazon Brand Protection stories
Location
Madison Heights, MI, USA
Sector
Clothing, fashion
Launch on Amazon
2016
Brand protection tools
Brand Registry
Project Zero

Learn more about Project Zero

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