THE WEB
The World Wide Web can create brands through its own unique communication channels. In our digital age the strong brands will be those that best utilize the Web as a building tool. The growth of the Web as a brand building vehicle is on a fast track. The Web reached 50 million households in 5 years, compared with 13 years for television and 38 years for radio. Leading is China with 80 million web surfers.

The Web has the unique possibility to communicate with customers on-line. In the Web environment the role of the audience is an active one: a lean-forward attitude. The audience mostly has a functional goal in mind - looking for information, entertainment, business and transactions - and ignores anything that doesn't deliver!

A web site can be a key part of a brand-building program because it can transmit information, impart experiential associations and leverage other brand building programs. Web sites are powerful because of the site experience and the fact that its associations can be controlled and are strongly linked to the master brand. The risk of 'A great ad can't recall the brand' problem is reduced. When the web site involves e-commerce activity or frequently updated information, a superior experience is often rewarded with significant loyalty. However keep in mind that a brand should build on web sites through personality, community content, entertainment, longer visits and loyalty.

Communicating via an interactive and involving web site means that the brand has to deliver rich and detailed information to strengthen the brand-consumer relationship. Besides the fact that a web site has to be made search engine friendly and needs to be market efficiently (so-called SEO marketing), we will mention some key-note guidelines:

1. The web is about experience. Build a brand by linking the experience with the brand.

2. The web site should address the audience in their own language: be multilingual.

3. The web site should reflect and support the brand with an adequate look and feel (the customer is part of the brand's world) and a source of information even beyond the limitations of the brand. So-called authoritative information provides the brand with credibility and authenticity in a way that it would never achieve directly from its own sources. The brand might participate or interact in a person's lifestyle using a language and emotional feeling that connects. These brand-building objectives are difficult to achieve when the site feels like a sales tool.

4.  Look for synergy with other communication vehicles. Don't create isolation but find integrated communications to achieve synergy around all brand messages. Some ideas:
  1. Provide a flagship-store. A powerful concept is adding life, vitality and tangibility to the brand.
  2. Use the web as a supporting device for television, billboards, point-of-purchase displays and print advertising. The web adds flavor and content-rich info to the limited content of the advertised messages. The impact of advertising is magnified when exposures occur in multiple contexts.
  3. A web site support sponsorship by providing schedules, background info, human-interest details, news, real-time video (the strongest emotional glue) and associates persons with the brand. The site adds value and make the link between sponsorship and brand stronger and richer; in addition the master brand can count on consumer satisfaction. A creditability beyond expectations.
  4. A web site can support a master brand and promotional activities with a web quiz and publicity. One role of publicity is to create news around the brand. Because of its on-line existence a web site plays a key role. The site can reach fast, flexible a large audience.
5. Make the site a home base for loyal supporters. Nurture the persons that feel strongly related to the brand with Club facilities. Be aware that fans want to know everything about the brand! Its heritage can turn a functional relationship into a connection with depth and emotion.

6. Become a differentiated site by providing rich content that others cannot duplicate without significant costs! A silver bullet branded benefit is a powerful device to represent master brand. Undersigned knowledge about electronic marketing might be used to give answers on each and every on-line question regarding this subject. We provide a visible representation of the brand 's expertise and leadership in a rich flavored business arena. As a classic silver bullet we represent the essence of the brand. Competitors can duplicate the functional benefit but they will have a hard time to substitute her knowledge.

7. The web can benefit from web paid branded presence like banner advertisements.