What Pharma Brands Can Learn from the Amazon & Macy’s Brand Ad Hijacking Lawsuit

If Amazon gets the Macy’s flagship billboard in Herald Square, this could be the greatest example of brand hijacking to-date. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/business/macys-billboard-amazon.html

“…the negative impact of allowing a “direct competitor” to promote itself from a block that has long been associated with Macy’s “would be immeasurable.”

“The damages to Macy’s customer good will, image, reputation and brand should a prominent online retailer (especially Amazon) advertise on the billboard are impossible to calculate,” Macy’s said in the complaint.”

That is ad hijacking IRL.

On Google, marketers monitor and attempt to protect their brand from ad hijacking with competitive blocking bid strategies on key brand and category terms. Industry tools exist to assist with this, but they aren’t as easy to use as simply doing a quick Google search on 1-2 of your most important to check if your brand is protected right now.

For Rx pharma brands, there’s a drawback: most Rx ads are labeled “prescription treatment website” instead of the brand domain, so your teams have to click on the ad to confirm it’s yours in the top spot. Those clicks waste ad budget: millions of dollars/year.

Enter the PranifyRx Google Chrome Extension for Pharma marketers. It’s the only way to reveal which Rx brands are in top position when you conduct a search without having to waste ad budget by clicking the brand-connected ads.

Pharma marketers can get an invitation to download the PranifyRx Chrome Extension for free here: