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Microcap & Penny Stocks : TIGI : Building Innovative Marketing Relationships -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ztect who wrote (4)	1/28/2000 2:35:00 PM
From: ztect	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 177

(def/art) "Branding" This is an old article whose premise about the necessity for establishing brand name recognition is now proving to be untrue due to the atrocious cost of branding. E-Branding is More Important Than Ecommerce. Here's Why zdnet.com Annette Hamilton, Executive Producer ZDNet AnchorDesk Let's try a little free-association. I'll say a word, and you note which company comes to mind first: Jeans. (Company:________) Overnight. (Company:_________) Clothes. (Company:________) Software. (Company:________) Your answers reveal how well-branded a consumer you are. I bet your list looks something like this: Levi's FedEx The Gap Microsoft In traditional marketing, "branding" campaigns are designed to embed a company or product name in your consumer psyche. Firms often use a combination of persuasive, emotional advertising campaigns and public relations to encourage a link between a positive "feeling" and a product. If it works, it can make you want to spend your hard-earned money as fast as possible. Online companies are putting branding to work with remarkable success. Research shows the brand names of seven Internet companies are already recognized by more than 50 million U.S. adults, giving them 'mega-brand' status. According to Opinion Research Corporation International, the following Net names are top-of-mind with Americans regardless if they have used the Internet: America Online, Yahoo!, Netscape, Amazon.com, Priceline.com, Infoseek and Excite. And when Intelliquest asked 10,000 randomly selected Internet users -- unaided by a list of possibilities -- to name brands they associate with the following products, the following Net companies sprung to mind: Books: Amazon.com (56%) Music: CDNow (24%) Computer Software: Microsoft (30%) Computer Hardware: Dell (20%) Clothing: The Gap (12%) Travel: AOL, Yahoo!, Travelocity (each 8%) Autos: Yahoo! (6%) Still, a debate rages in the business departments of many Internet companies over the importance of branding. How much effort should they spent on e-branding initiatives, that is, building up an online brand? Wouldn't those resources be better spent promoting ecommerce efforts -- which offer tangible returns? Let me lay that controversy to rest right now. In short, e-branding is more important. And it must come first. Because few people will buy your stuff -- online or off -- unless you are top-of-mind. We all know that ecommerce is taking off. But people still shop online more than they buy online. According to Intelliquest there are four times as many online shoppers as purchasers. And they are making their buying decisions. In the first quarter of '98, more than 60% of U.S. business PC buyers used the Internet in the brand selection and purchase process. So if you are in ecommerce, the challenge facing you is to build enough unaided brand awareness so customers (and prospects) have you in mind when they go online to find reviews and look at product configurations. When you think of the Web, which brand names leap to mind? Branding is about harnessing the free-association game to your advantage. Building an ecommerce powerhouse may be your company's stated objective. But it won't get far unless it puts e-branding first.