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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
15. The Internet and
Interactive Media
Disseminate Information One of the primary objectives
for using the Web is to provide in-depth information about a
company’s products and services. In business-to-business markets,
having a website has become a necessity, as more and more
buyers expect that a company will have a site providing them
with detailed information about its offerings. In the government
sector, contracts are often put out to bid on the Internet. Information
regarding requirements, specifications, submission dates,
and so on, is disseminated much quicker, to more potential candidates,
and at a much lower cost via the Net than it is through other
media. For many consumer companies, their websites serve as a
means of communicating more information about their products
and services. The Huggies site discussed earlier shows how a
website can facilitate this objective, while the Cheerios box
shown in Exhibit 15-4 demonstrates how General Mills uses its
package to refer users to its site for additional information.
Create an Image Many websites are designed to reflect
the image a company wants to portray (Exhibit 15-5). For example,
when you have a few minutes to spare, check out the consumer
sites at www.fubu.com and www.akademiks.com or the
business-to-business site at www.sharp.com (Exhibit 15-6). All
of these are excellent examples of websites used for image
building. Interestingly, one of the difficulties traditional marketers
have experienced is that of creating a brand image on the
Internet. While some of these companies have been successful,
others have not fared as well and have come to realize that branding and image-creating
strategies must be specifically adapted to this medium.
Create a Strong Brand As David Aaker pointed out in the introduction to this
chapter, the Internet—as part of an integrated marketing communications program—
can be a useful tool for branding. Unfortunately, many companies have not yet figured
out how to successfully brand through the Internet. A review of the literature over the
past five years will lead to a number of articles discussing this very topic and the difficulties
in achieving this objective. While space does not permit an in-depth review,
let’s discuss just a few of the many reasons why companies attempting to create branding
through the Internet may not be achieving their goals.
Branding Is a Complicated Process While creating a strong brand is not easy in
any communications effort, some marketers feel that it may be even more difficult
to do on the Internet. As noted by Karen Benezra, editor of Brandweek magazine,
Exhibit 15-5 Sean John uses the Web to establish an
image
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Exhibit 15-4 Cheerios
uses its package to send
users to its homepage
Exhibit 15-6 Sharp uses the Web to enhance its
image
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Chapter Fifteen The Internet and Interactive Media