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[Wednesday 21st May 2008] – It has been nearly two weeks since the introduction of arguably the most material and controversial policy change for the UK and Irish paid search markets, and it has sparked outcry amongst brands.

• Teletext have threatened legal action on any company which bids on its trademarked name
• Lastminute.com and Auto Trader have considered legal action against Google
• Confusion is rife as companies decided which words to bid on or brands to bid against
• Reciprocal 'gentlemen's agreements' are being made to afford a degree of protection to brand terms
• 'Aggressive Tactics' have been adopted so brands can pay their way in to win the minds of consumers looking for info on rivals.

But have brands lost sight of the positive implications of the policy? Legal action is most likely a redundant exercise – this law is about levelling the playing field NOT starting a brand bidding war.

Up until now, brand owners, who have been able to buy cheaper 'brand traffic', have consequently used the brand to run PPC campaigns which deliver solid performance. From our perspective, however, PPC coverage should incorporate generic and product-related links as well as brand campaigns. The apparent success of these brand campaigns often mask the fact there are poor, or in some cases non-existent, generic and product campaigns.

With the trademark restrictions removed, it is open season on brand bidding with the prices (and volumes) set to rise. Brands get their traffic at lower cost to competitors and due to the relevance of their sites and landing pages, but will probably struggle to achieve their former performance.

The overall impact of this – brand owners need to begin to look beyond the brand and focus on the real expertise required to deliver true multi-dimensional paid search campaigns.

This policy doesn't mean curtains for your brand. There are a number of simple things that advertisers can do to help ensure this. For more insight into achieving a multi-dimensional Paid Search campaign and how brands need to adapt (or otherwise die!) to achieve maximum ROI.