| Web site review
Real examples of web sites will make the total picture of online branding more clear and reveal the pitfalls a company meets when going online. Especially with the Internet, how to handle this new medium properly seems often lost.
Brand consistency online
Approaching a brand as a whole and therefore keep loyal to its brand image and personality on the Internet will strengthen the brand.Below we present a short brand analysis based on brand personality.
Example of lacking online brand management and strategy
Implementing
>> a brand online loyal to its brand image is even for successful enterprises very difficult.
We will take a look at Vodafone. First reason it is a perfect demonstration of lacking proper
>> brand management and states the enterprise does not have a basic rule of how the brand is to be presented. Viewing the brand presentation online we just accessed randomly 4 web sites of this company that promises to be the communication leader.
It is true that we have to consider and follow up demographic preferences but the examples below show what can happen, when this is exercised to a degree that a brand is scattered in a many pieces.
This review is NOT a judgment of the design.
The only thing in common of the 4 screens is the corporate logo but branding is about the brand personality - reducing it to a logo is just poor branding.
You may click on the images to view a larger screen shot.
Vodafone.com .
The dot com has no focus on telecom but is presenting the core company identifying itself as the Vodafone Group promising to conquer the global telecom markets.
The brand personality can be defined as a bit unorganized very occupied to find an own identity but trying too hard to be original.
The scattered screen is quickly connected to the brand management itself. This is reflected in the screens below. Leadership to keep the brand image as one identity presented, clear and unspoiled are having a hard time to acknowledge and to communicate who they truly are. Very much like a person having an identity crisis.
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Vodafone in Spain: vodafone.es
Presenting itself very modest and humble. More traditional splitting the users into two groups business and private.
The favicon.ico in the browser address bar has more relationship with Netscape than Vodafone. There are no guidelines using the favicon.icon as the 4 web sites use all different images.
Comparing the dot com with the Spanish site makes us realize that the difference is amazing. Who would guess if the logo would not be there that this web site belongs to the same corporate? And if these two screens were persons, we would deal with a rebellious teenager and a very shy and humble person, being even rigid and uninspiring to a certain degree.
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Vodafone in Germany: vodafone.de
Outgoing personality but with the tendency to be also egocentric. Here we have an overload of sales. Covering the needs of existing users is always connected to selling an additional item. This personality is attractive, but loud, very self-confident and too much self-centered ...a kind of overbearing leaving too little space to breath.
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Vodafone Netherlands: vodafone.nl
Young but not crazy with a lot of common sense can the personality of the Dutch Vodafone web site be defined. Organized, taking care of its clients. The sale is in harmonious relationship and touching the client on an emotional level, because it generates trust. Very good brand image, because it vibrates reliability and focuses on service, which is most valued by clients buying services from a service provider..
But again it is different than brand personality of web site 1 - 2 - 3 .
This site could however serve as the proto-type for all vodafone web sites and this approach would be by far more successful speaking with 1 voice than present it's brand like throwing 10 different orchestras together, each playing a different tune.
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Branding online
There is an unbelievable amount of the category "poor" to "really bad" web sites of even multinationals online, jeopardizing their own brand image. It is obviously not a budget question to have a consistent brand management and strategy going, actively guarding the brand personality.
