One of my favoriteparts of working in sports, music and entertainment is watching how quickly amoment can bring people together. A breakout performance, a tour announcementor a surprise collaboration can send fans looking for merch almost immediately.I have also seen how quickly unauthorized sellers respond.

It is tempting totreat those spikes as unpredictable. You can’t forecast every viral moment, butyou can prepare for the ones already on the calendar and give your team a wayto respond to the rest.

Build the calendar with your licensing and merch teams

Start withreleases, games, postseason possibilities, premieres, tours and product drops.Ask the people closest to the merchandise program what fans are likely tosearch for, which designs are approved and when the official product will beavailable. That context matters when you are deciding whether a new listing isan infringement or a legitimate partner going live.

A pre-launch sweepcan surface early copies. Once the moment arrives, look beyond a singlemarketplace. Sellers can use AI, videos, creators, paid social, shoppingresults and their own websites to push a product into a fan’s feed. Thecustomer may never type your brand name into a marketplace search bar.

Watch the seller, not only the shirt

If a listing comesdown and the same image appears under a new account the next day, anothertakedown alone will not tell you much. Keep the evidence and look for repeatedimages, linked storefronts and domains. A seller promoting dozens of copiesacross channels deserves a different response from a single low-visibilitylisting.

None of this workswell when the licensing, marketing and legal teams are operating from differentlists. Agree on the official products and sellers, establish an escalation pathand share what fans are reporting. If a customer asks whether a store is real,that is useful intelligence and a chance to point them to an official channel.

The energy arounda big moment is a gift to the people who created it. A protection plan shouldmove at the same pace so that fans, brands and their legitimate partners canbenefit from that excitement.

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Want to discuss your brand’s protection priorities? Request a CounterFind demo to talk through your challenges and goals.