ReputationDefender Special Projects
VIP reputation management for brands, executives, and public figures.
How important is your reputation?
ReputationDefender’s elite Special Projects team offers the most powerful reputation management tools available anywhere.
Custom, Personalised Solutions
Designed to your needs—no two engagements are alike.
Powerful Results Delivered Quickly
Proprietary approaches not available anywhere else, fueled by over a decade of research and development.
Discreet and Confidential
Handled by a dedicated team of experts who work exclusively on Special Projects.
90% of employers factor a job candidate’s social media accounts into their hiring decisions.
– The Manifest (2020)
A company’s reputation is responsible for nearly two-thirds of its market value.
– Weber Shandwick (2020)
Special Projects Explained
We have experience with virtually every type of online reputation and digital privacy issue imaginable. Below are some of the most typical requests handled by our team.
Search Management
Reorder your search results to amplify true, positive materials and de-emphasise attacks or misleading items.
Autocomplete and Search Suggestion
Change the suggested terms that people see when they start searching for you or your company.
SEO Consultation
Get the most out of your existing web properties with actionable advice on how to leverage them.
Image and Video Remediation
Control which images and videos appear in your main search results, your knowledge graph, and in image and video searches.
Strategic Publication
If you or your business lack content that accurately reflects you online, we can build a network of positive, quality materials that promote your reputation naturally and effectively.
Analysis and Reporting
Receive detailed reporting and on-demand consultation throughout your campaign.
Excerpt from a Special Projects client report
Tracking the progress of search remediation
As ReputationDefender’s work commences, less authoritative negative sites are quickly suppressed.
More authoritative negative sites show initial progress, followed by a period of regression as search engines acclimatise to our changes. Eventually, the negative site drops permanently.
Is a Special Project right for you?
ReputationDefender’s Special Projects team steps in when standard online reputation management approaches just won’t cut it. Special Projects clients have prominent public personas—or want to avoid developing them.
| Defender® | Special Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| Client profile | ||
| Notability | average | high |
| Search volume | low to moderate | moderate to high |
| Online presence | little or none | moderate to extensive |
| Type of threat | blogs reviews local news | national media images viral video PR issues |
| Engagement profile | ||
| Duration | 6 months | variable |
| Content publication | required | optional |
| Technological search signalling | × | |
| Custom, multi-pronged approach | × | |
| Engagement targets | ||
| Search results | ||
| Images & video | × | |
| Search suggestions | × | |
| Search autocomplete | × | |
| Optimize existing websites | × | |
Typical engagement scenarios
Scenario #1
Brand haunted by old news
Past mistakes made by a previous executive team continue to dominate the search results, steering potential business partners, investors and key stake holders to incorrect, outdated materials. In the news media, old issues continue to dominate, overshadowing recent successes. Hostile bloggers further highlight the negative.
Solution #1
Three-pronged approach
We use proven techniques to push down the old, outdated search results.
We push up more relevant, recent materials through search engine optimisation.
We conduct SEO work with the company and mount a strategic publication plan.
Scenario #2
Executive being maligned
A former disgruntled business partner with an axe to grind makes up scandalous allegations against a successful executive. Harmful and serialised content begins to appear in the executive’s search results, which attracts attention from bloggers and the media. As a result, potential business partners cease negotiations and prominent clients opt of partnerships. In addition, threats are made anonymously against the executive’s family.
Solution #2
Privacy and reputation
Privacy monitoring and protection is implemented for the executive and their affected family members.
Search remediation technologies are used to suppress the harmful and negative press.
Under advisement from our Special Projects team, the company’s PR department publishes strategic news releases to change the online conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Standard ReputationDefender engagements rely on strategic content creation and publication. Special Projects instead rely on a suite of proprietary technologies designed to influence broad search trends around your name or company name. New content is sometimes helpful for Special Projects, but it isn’t always necessary.
That said, the techniques employed in Special Projects are very resource-intensive and expensive. If you can solve your issues through a standard ReputationDefender engagement, you should consider it.
Yes we can. Since Special Projects are largely technological, we can often work entirely with pre-existing positive content that already exists in your search results. Our efforts will look completely natural – because they are. All we do is influence the order of the materials that are out there, drawing attention away from negative or misleading content.
We can’t disclose the specifics, but broadly speaking, the technologies we use work by influencing search patterns. This makes it more likely that people will find relevant, positive materials about you or your company. Once people start finding and interacting with positive content, their behavior sends signals to search engines about what information is important to them. As a result, search engines reorder the results to better represent your reputation.
It depends. As you can understand, discretion is extremely important to our Special Projects clients, and most are not willing to speak to third parties they do not already know. However, occasionally we do have clients who are willing to serve as references, under specific circumstances. On request, we can reach out to a potential reference on your behalf.
Yes, definitely. In fact, Special Project engagements are often much more successful when we can work jointly with your PR or marketing teams.
No, absolutely not. Since Special Projects engagement work predominantly with pre-existing content, your search results will be filled with natural links to real sites. If you do require the creation of new content, we will work with you or your team to design materials that faithfully represent you or your company.
Case studies
Consultant misrepresented
Problem
An internationally renowned business consultant contacted ReputationDefender because comments he had made on a news show had been taken out of context and used against him, resulting in negative follow-up coverage.
Outcome
Despite ongoing media attention, the ReputationDefender Special Projects team successfully cleared the first page of his search results of all negative content.
Financial services firm maligned
Problem
A team of entrepreneurial financial experts launched an innovative company that gives consumers more control over their credit. Unfortunately, just as the young company started to achieve its first successes, it was mischaracterised by the press.
Outcome
The ReputationDefender Special Projects team aggressively targeted the company’s search results, pushing all negative content off page 1 within three months.
Defamed law practice
Problem
A law firm specialising in financial law was targeted by an online smear campaign, mounted by another firm facing bankruptcy. Although the targeted firm won legal relief from its attacker, negative third-party commentary continued to rank online, leading to the loss of important clients.
Outcome
We were able to suppress the firm’s negative content from page 1 of the Google results within six weeks, reversing the firm’s losses and allowing it to rebuild its client base.
Philanthropist faces threats
Problem
A prominent financier and philanthropist contacted us following a robbery in which his passport was stolen. The individual was distressed that the thief had been able to track him down and break into his car. He was also worried that his search results painted a one-sided picture.
Outcome
ReputationDefender’s Special Projects team removed his personal information from the vast majority of people search sites within two months and created the desired online image within four months.