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"Making Sense of ibSynergy™"
In the rush to “get online,” many
businesses left behind many principles learned by sweat and tears
in marketing and advertising, including supporting the brand promise.
With the crushing fall of dotcoms, these principles
resurfaced to remind companies that they exist only because of
the customer. Regardless of industry type, businesses share at
least one common burden: it is the consumer who ultimately decides
whether a product or service has value.
Today, the Internet is not only a powerful
business tool it is also a meaningful communications tool. As
the first and most interactive marketing interface with prospective
clients, a company’s Web site must accurately convey the
corporate brand and messages. That first impression strongly influences
the client’s ultimate impression of the company itself.
However, the most rapidly forgotten branding
principle is that of consistency. Consistency is the key in successfully
communicating a brand. A strong brand is established only when
a set of messages have been consistently communicated to the target
audience through all communications media over time.
It is through consistent exposure that the
target audience is going to link a company to key attributes that
ultimately differentiate its services from its competition.
The absence of consistency dilutes the brand
by confusing the messages received by the audience. Imagine a
strong multimedia presentation accompanied by the distribution
of pamphlets poorly photocopied on cheap paper and filled with
spelling errors. That pamphlet takes away from the positive impression
the expensive multimedia presentation made.
In much the same way, a Web site needs to remain
consistent, not only with the company's other communications collateral,
but also within its own structure and design. Colors, logo, design,
and messages all need to be part of a coordinated effort if the
Web site is to be an effective tool in representing the corporate
brand.
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