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Cyber Branding
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• Branding on the Internet is
more than characteristics and
attributes.
It’s all about hands-on
experience and interaction
with brands, something that
was not always available preInternet.
(2001:41)
Definition of cyberbranding
• Cyberbranding
is
an
opportunity to create awareness
of a brand online, develop
name and logo recognition,
communicate a brand message,
drive traffic to a Web site,
establish an identity with
primary
and
secondary
audiences, build a customer
base online, increase sales over
the Internet, and create a
reputation so that as much as a
mention of the brand elicits a
feeling
of
a pleasurable
experience.
• (2001:72)
mBranding
• ‘‘mBranding’’—using the
mobile medium to create
differentiation, generate
sales, and build customer
loyalty as never before
possible.
(Mathieson, 2005:22)
five key advantages over virtually
every other medium today
(Mathieson, 2005:22)
(Mathieson, 2005:23-)
Cyber branding theories
3 ‘I’
cyberbrand has to do with the three “i” theory. (2001:47)
• which does not necessarily mean simply company brochure information,
but information that an audience expects from a brand in cyberspace
(which depends on the brand’s characteristics and attributes).
• that hands-on experience that adds a new dimension to any brand preInternet.
• to avoid emulating another company’s Web site branding and marketing
efforts simply because it looks like a good idea.
New four ‘p’
• Knowing your customers and understanding
their personal needs will allow for a more
enjoyable personalized online experience.
• realizing that the strength of the brand online will
leverage an opportunity that will lead to
stronger recognition and brand awareness
• (2001:47)
New four ‘p’
• having permission from an audience to be online
increases acceptance of the brand as opposed to
consumer criticism.
• There is the belief that online traffic will eventually
transfer to smaller, niche sites and marketers need
to be smart about where they form cyberpartnerships
and promote their brands in terms of allocating cyber
advertising dollars (money).
Simple cyber lesson
learned
THE SIMPLE CYBERLESSONS LEARNED..(1)
THE SIMPLE CYBERLESSONS LEARNED..(2)
THE SIMPLE CYBERLESSONS LEARNED..(3)
• Maintain your company’s online and offline
marketing alike in a well-rounded campaign (TV
network and radio stations online have an obvious
advantage).
•
Branding offline and online will allow maximum
exposure for the brand.
• The Internet is only one communication channel of
many to be utilized.
THE SIMPLE CYBERLESSONS LEARNED..(3)
• Keep in mind that being among the little guys on the Net with
smaller resources means there are bigger opportunities that
many professionals do not realize when it comes to advertising
and sponsors on the Net. There’s no need to compete with the
big guys unless you are ready to join the ranks of the “deep
pockets.”
•
Employ aesthetics that are visually pleasing enough to draw
attention to your site but not overpowering or distracting. The
best mix is the proper amount of targeted content with a
complementary and quick display of graphics that appeal to
the Web site audience.
• (2001:82-83)
Brand Name :
Naming your web
Naming your web
Ideally, a company should try to keep its brand name for its
URL. But when that doesn’t work out, try to keep the
following in mind:
•
The name must be easy to spell. It must be able to pass the
telephone test (most dot-com names are passed by word of
mouth).
•
Stay away from using dot-net. Not many people search by dotnet.
•
Remember that dot-org is reserved for not-for-profit
companies.
• (2001;68)
YOU CAN DO THIS TACTICS..(1)
• Ascovalve.com, a division of Emerson Electric, features English,
Spanish anD Portuguese Web site versions for its worldwide
clients.
• A consumer goes to CancerQ.com to “Ask the Dr.” a personal
question with regard to a relative’s disease and receives an
answer within a two-hour time frame
• Consumers use a keyword search on a search engine like AOL,
Yahoo!, MSN, Lycos, or GoTo.com, and a listing of site
descriptions appears.
YOU CAN DO THIS TACTICS..(2)
• A consumer goes to Northjersey.com for specific
information and is not bombarded with unnecessary
content that does not pertain to his or her geographic
region.
• At Tommy.com, consumers do not have to wait for
long downloads of graphics to view summer fashion
trends and Tommy Hilfiger product information.
Cyber branding problems /
missconception
(2001:70)
There are five factors that need to be
considered when developing a
Web site to properly communicate a
cyberbrand’s message
• Web sites should be simple and concise with consistent design
for easy navigation and location of information. Apple.com
has a clean interface and easy-to-access information. It has
a one-click checkout process in accordance with the “easeof-use principle.”
• Relevant content should be updated daily (if possible), and
weekly at best. iWon.com, a prize-winning Web site, is
updated daily for its users, who come back frequently to win
cash awards and view surveys and sweepstakes results (the
more they visit, the better their odds of winning).
• Quick downloads are necessary for visitors
with slow connections and short attention
spans.
• Yahoo! is the leader of quick downloads and a
Web site model most frequently emulated.
• Nickjr.com rates well among a youthful
audience that visits the site for its design and
imagery and an experience that is symbolic of
the Nickelodeon brand.
• Content must be pertinent to the user and timely
with the trends and must revolve around current
events and present interests.
• A plethora of women’s sites have launched to
face the content issue head-on. Women.com
and iVillage appear to be in the lead, but are up
against praise and criticism as they race to be
“queen of the hill.”
Cyber do’s
Cyber do’s
(2001:95)
Brand Recognition
Brand recognition is realized by
understanding the following
• Customers are in the driver’s seat. (Greg Sherwin and Emily Avila.
…. 2001:123)
• They control the messages about the products and services that
interest them.
• There is a tremendous opportunity to give online audiences more
of the control they readily welcome—to further empower them.
• It’s not what the business has to say anymore:
• less talking and more listening is in order to keep consumers
satisfied.
• On the Internet, loyalty to the cyberbrand may just be a repeat visit
to a Web site.
• In most cases, there’s no exclusivity to any one product or service
• Although visitors might be considered “loyal brand customers,”
chances are they also belong to the competition as well.
• Product purchases in the past were anchored with one well-known
brand; Internet
• provide users with more of the links they seek in their
online excursions.
• formed strategic partnerships with other sites to gain
improved access for its audience to valuable resources.
• companies are making a concerted effort to design Web
sites with personalized features to satisfy their
audiences’ needs.
• It’s the personalization that creates a feeling of control
over the information process and illustrates how
cyberbrands recognize a consumer’s right to make
choices, which results in increased brand loyalty.
• Example:
• MSN’s Hotmail.com recently launched its new calendar
feature to provide Hotmail subscribers with a scheduling
function that sets up their daily schedules and reminds
users of important dates, meetings, and tasks.
• Customization online shows consumers exactly what they
are purchasing by involving them in the process and
offering personalization at the same time.
• giving the customer the ability to choose and tailor a
product to meet the strictest criteria.
•
Examples :
•
Nike iD was introduced by Nike Retail Services to provide its loyal
brand followers the ability to build their own sneakers. According to
Nike, “It’s all about participating in the design of the shoe.
It’s about the freedom to choose and the freedom to express who you
are. . . . It’s about time you had a say in what you’re wearing.”
•
First is the customization strategy for the Nike brand lover to choose
the perfect sneaker. Will it be a running shoe, cross training, or trackand-field? Then there’s the choice of color and accent, too.
•
With Nike iD, the user also gets to personalize an eight character
message that appears on the back of the shoe. The Web site
technology allows the shopper to see how the style, colors, and
personal ID message look by viewing the sneaker from different
angles.
•
This strategy has empowered the consumer to be a part of the
decision-making process.
• Incentive programs have made it to the
Internet, and cyberbrands are rewarding online
consumers for frequent visits to Web sites,
answering surveys and polls, participating in
contests, and, of course, purchasing products.
• The brand builds the incentives and loyalty
into its message. Consumers equate shopping
with rewards. Thus, the brand experience is a
rewarding experience.
(2001:131)
Cyberstrategies to Optimize
Audience Response
• Marketers need to understand the changing
dynamics of cyberbranding strategies
• Audiences are actively engaged in cyberprograms
that are far more attention-grabbing than the
programs of the twentieth century.
Cyberstrategies
a. Move beyond search engines
Search engine optimizer:
• Cyberbrands bought precious real estate as an
advertising strategy.
•
Web site specialists were hired to build sites with
programming language easily recognized by search
engines that would identify metatags and key words
(key words and key phrases inside of HTML tags)
• (2001:138)
• But leaving the fate of a Web site’s traffic up to search
engine optimization is not realistic in the new economy.
• The practice of building cyberbrands by driving traffic,
and engaging audiences interactively with the brand, is
moving in a new direction.
• Again, it’s the cyberstrategies that personalize, customize,
and engage users with information tailored to their
specific needs.
(2001:138)
b.
Institute contagious
campaigns
(viral)
marketing
• viral marketing (viral in a positive sense, meaning a
way to spread the word, not to be confused with the
negative connotation of “infectious”) is “catching”
on in the new economy,
• (Karen J. Banner in her article “It’s Catching,”
which appeared in Adweek magazine).
• In keeping with its name, viral marketing spreads
quickly and is contagious on the Internet
• Viral marketing is the strategy that extends messages
via a brand’s own users who, on behalf of the brand,
forward e-mail messages to friends, family members,
and colleagues.
• The most common form of viral marketing is the
“tell a friend” option on a web site. Word of mouth
and recommendation or referral from a friend is one
of the easiest marketing strategies. (2001:139)
c. Get serious about e-mail with opt-in programs
• Opt-in e-mail is the opposite of spam; it’s the good
twin that users do not mind receiving.
• Ex :
• Customers subcribe ……
• E-mails must be permission based. Users have to
agree to receive messages; that is, e-mail marketing must
consist of permission-based Marketing
• E-mails should provide links for consumers to
unsubscribe.
• Use the e-mail to communicate the cyberbrand message.
• The e-mail message should remind recipients that they chose to
hear from the cyberbrand. The body of the e-mail should
include the name of the company, logo, tag lines, and any
visual representation of the company (if the e-mail is in an
HTML format with graphics).
• The e-mail should also contain a hyperlink to the brand’s site.
Even a newsletter in plain text should contain the name of the
company
• in the subject line and a hyperlink
•
Personalized messages make a difference
•
Users opt to receive the e-mail, but pay more attention to the message
when it is personalized and targeted. Stating the customer’s name in a
greeting
•
Making it easier for the consumer to opt out may just be the difference
between a successful and an unsuccessful program.
•
message and forwarding relevant information is more meaningful. In
addition, messages should be timely.
•
If a consumer purchases a product from a Web site, waiting approximately
one month to forward an e-mail message for a special offer on a related
product is effective (e.g., after the purchase of a television set, a special
offer on a VCR is appropriate 30 days later).
•
Use results to guide the marketing campaign.
Tracking e-mail marketing results is a must. Regina Brady, vice
president of strategy and partnerships, FloNetwork, believes that
analyzing this information will assist the company in customizing
future marketing efforts.
In addition, understanding sales volume and total purchases will
also guide the company with its strategic planning, allowing the
company to budget properly for programs that were successful and
to observe any breakdowns or failures of previous e-mail efforts
d. Exhibit sensitivity to online audiences and
privacy issues
• Optimizing audience response through cybermarketing
strategies is only as good as the audience that allows the
program to be successful.
• As companies strive to create these programs, it is
imperative to consider how consumers view and value
privacy on the Internet, and have the power to eliminate,
from their cyber regimen, any brand that infringes on
their Internet privacy rights.
• In other words, the cybermarketing program is in the
hands of its audience
• . . . cyberbrands need to grasp the urgency of
utilizing offline marketing strategies to increase
brand awareness and drive traffic to a Web site.
(2001:257)
Social media and/or
other mobile media
persuasion
• Persuasion is persuasion is persuasion is persuasion.
• The effects of persuasion depend upon the
audience’s reaction to the medium that
communicates the persuasion.
. . . persuasion is only as effective as the channel that
communicates it, the amount of trust consumers place
in that communication channel, the clarity of the
message and the number of times the persuasive
message is communicated.
Endorsers and cyber branding
• Famous personalities, or agents on their behalf, are
actively seeking opportunities to assist companies to
promote their brands for the sake of constant interaction
and exposure by employing persuasive celebrity appeal.
• The mixing together of Internet reach, constant
interaction and exposure to the consumer, and celebrity
charm is known as the convergence of high technology
and celebrity culture, with a branding potential that is
tremendous for all parties involved
• The Internet takes celebrity appeal to a new level of
interaction for the consumer and a new level of
exposure for the celebrity.
• Persuasion on the Internet will be an ongoing effort
for the cyberbrand.
• The brand has the opportunity to continuously reach
customers, on a 24/7 basis, with persuasive
messages that cause them to respond to the brand
with one or more of the following reactions:
Association, Familiarity, Credibilty, Notoriety
SOURCE
• Deirdre Breakenridge. 2001. Cyberbranding : brand
building in the digital economy. PrenticeHall