What is Logo Detection and What is it Used For?

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All you need to know about Logo Detection: What is it? Who uses it? What can it do

Logo Detection is the foundation on which VISUA was built. Our very first product, LogoGrab, was a detection API specifically trained to detect logos for a variety of purposes including Brand Protection, Brand Monitoring and Sponsorship Monitoring. It remains one of the most enquired about services that we offer, and therefore one that we hear a lot of questions about.

What is Logo Detection?

Logo Detection is an aspect of image recognition, a computer vision technology that can serve a large number of purposes. 

Image recognition technology most often uses end-to-end deep learning algorithms within artificial neural networks. It enables the detection of logos in different scales, qualities, colors and even with alterations. 

Be Sure To Also Read ->Logo & Mark Detection Technology Overview

What is Logo Detection Used For?

There are many use cases to which logo detection can be applied, which is why it remains at the core of VISUA’s product offering. 

Brand Monitoring and Social Listening 

The original and most obvious use case for logo detection is brand monitoring. With social media users increasingly favouring visual content across a number of platforms, it is not just advisable but completely essential that brand owners can analyse image and video use. Brand managers can unlock more than 1000% more brand mentions on social media if they have the ability to scan and analyse visual content for their logos. Logo detection is the only way this can be achieved. 

Anti-Phishing 

One of the most recent but universally beneficial, use cases of logo detection is Anti-Phishing. Not only does this have the potential to benefit large businesses, but it could also protect individual interests as phishing detection organizations continue to adopt more sophisticated technologies. 

Visual-AI developed with anti-phishing in mind can be integrated into any cybersecurity platform’s existing AI-based workings. It can help create a warning system that detects spoofed brands and markings in emails and on web pages. Providing instant analysis and detection that fits right into an existing framework can revolutionize the way cybersecurity technologies work. 

Counterfeit Detection 

Counterfeit products do not just affect the growth and job opportunities in legitimate brand businesses. The counterfeit industry also has undeniable ties to terrorism, child labour, drugs and other criminal activity. This emphasises the importance and urgency of counterfeit detection. 

Logo detection technology enables the monitoring of logo variants on products listed on marketplaces and across social media. This allows brands to issue takedowns, alerting the marketplaces to the presence of counterfeit products on their websites.

Product Authentication 

Another aspect of counterfeit products is the selling and distribution of fake cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and products such as cigarettes and alcohol. The consumption of these products can be detrimental to one’s health and it is a high priority of companies operating in these industries to combat the sale of such counterfeits. Many of these businesses will work with product authentication providers. These providers can introduce an element of image recognition to detect anomalies in otherwise convincing logos on the packaging.

Copyright and trademark compliance 

Trademark and copyright owners strive to protect their content from infringement. Logo detection via computer vision can play an integral role in stopping people from committing copyright infringement on platforms such as Etsy, Redbubble and on social media. In fact, Visual-AI is the only truly reliable and flexible solution that solves the challenge of searching, reviewing and taking action on visual content that infringes on trademark and copyright laws. This serves not only the interests of copyright owners but also those of marketplaces and print-on-demand platforms that may be at risk of lawsuits due to third party infringement. 

Sponsorship Monitoring 

Logo detection combined with the ability to analyse live video has revolutionised sponsorship monitoring, particularly in the sports sponsorship field.  VISUA’s purpose-built sports sponsorship monitoring API incorporates logo detection to provide accurate data about the impact of brand appearances at sporting events, especially when combined with the ability to detect the specific placements of those logos. 

Digital Piracy Monitoring 

The upsurge in illegal streams being made available online has been almost impossible to tackle, however, logo detection is one technology that turns this impossibility on its head. Now, Digital Piracy platforms can incorporate logo detection to analyse video across a multitude of platforms to flag unsolicited streaming and sharing of videos containing watermarks and logos. This is helping to prevent enormous loss of earnings, particularly in an age when people are less comfortable going to the cinema to view new releases.

The two most important things to consider if you need logo detection.

If you’re researching logo detection for your use case, there are two key things you need to make sure you ask…

1. Can new logos be added to the library?
   You need to make sure that the system you choose allows you to add new logos to the library. Logos change and companies refresh their brands. You may need to track sub-brands or even lesser-known companies. Whatever the reason, you don’t want to be beholden to the technology provider to update the library when it suits them, and you certainly don’t want to be stuck with a limited set of logos that can’t be added to/refreshed. You’d be surprised how many computer vision API providers (including the most well-known ones) don’t allow logo library updates.
   
2. Does the system provide instant, or at least fast, logo learning?
   OK, so the library can be updated, but if you have to wait weeks for a new model to be created for the logo you need, it’s not exactly agile. And if you have to provide hundreds of examples of the logo in different sizes, positions and uses, then it’s not exactly easy.

VISUA provides instant logo learning (just provide a single example of the logo needed) and an unlimited personalised library. Find out more on our Logo Detection page.

Want to know more about Logo Detection?

If you have more questions about how it works and how it might fit in with your existing technology, you can find a list of frequently asked questions on our logo detection page. Of course, sometimes it’s best to talk to someone, in which case you can fill in the form below and someone will be in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss how Visual-AI can enhance your platform. 

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