May 2009 E-NEWS
from Steven Donaldson and Michael Zinke, the Brand Guys

Creating the Visible Brand in a multi-channel world—web, retail, print and electronic media. Radiant sends these brand "bites" monthly to give you insights and tips on building value, uniqueness and loyalty for your brand. Your brand's critical differentiation helps your customers find you, remember you and come back to you.

In this issue:

1. RadiantBrands Launches New Blog
2. Branding on the Web:Five simple strategies to build your brand.
3. Ask Jeeves is Back! The amiable butler is now your guide in the UK again.
4. Ecommerce Winners of 2008: What makes for a good online experience?

RadiantBrands Launches New Blog

See Radiant comments on branding and more in our recently re-launched blog. We will comment on a wide range of current topics including banking, orange juice packaging, technology brands and more. Also, don't hesitate to tell us what you think. Remember this is interactive.

Branding on the Web

Building a brand on the web is an ever-evolving reality. There's no one single way to build a strong brand position with customers you most want to be visible to, but here are some key strategies to differentiate your brand, create recognition and clarify brand value to those seeking a company, product or solution. Remember, when a corporate or ecommerce site is created it's out there competing with millions of other sites — how it's linked through key words, how people search and how the site uses language to position and communicate will determine the success of the brand on the web. One misrepresented phrase or link, too much similarity to other sites or lack of visible value that's relevant to the viewer will leave a website lost in the gray zone of undifferentiated URLs.

What are the fundamentals for a basic approach targeting a core audience of customers for products or brands? Here are some basics.

The Right Domain — Protect your identity and assets

All branding efforts are about being unique and relevant to the customer. Online, where over 394,000 new URLs appeared last year alone, it's definitely a challenge to stand out. This is why really "owning" your domain is critical. A name that connects the URL to the company needs to be simple, short, directly related to your brand and most of all — memorable. Buy and secure all the URLs around your name — get the most common ones to control the online space around your name and your brands. Avoid confusion with competitors or squatters, apply for a trademark and protect your brand.

Brand Image — Be visual, be memorable, be immersive

Simplicity and focus are the keys to brand recognition. Remember, you have only 60 mili-seconds to capture someone's attention on a home page or landing page. This means a clear use of your logo to create visibility and recognition on your site. Make it a place customers feel at home at through site structure, brand image and language. Make sure a favicon — the little graphic image of your logo — shows up in the browser address bar next to the URL. Use one or two dominant brand colors that become synonymous with your brand. Create at-a-glance recognition of what your company does. A few key words, a phrase or tagline like "Your source for...". It's important to be aware of how your competitors look and to consciously position in relation to them. And, avoid lengthy flash animation on landing pages — no one has time for that now.

Why SEO, SEM are critical to building your brand online

Search engine optimization (SEO) leverages your visibility in the search for what your company does. Use the right words in site content, in the meta tags and behind images. Use well-thought-out content that reflects what potential customers are actually looking for. It will build traffic to your site if it's legitimately relevant. Search engine marketing (SEM) involves paid search ads (like those that show up in the tinted area at the top of Google search results), buying Google AdWords and other strategies that can build visible position around particular search words. In combination with organic search results this can push your brand position relative to competitors. This requires measurement and analysis of data from Google Analytics and others to see where you are and what, if anything, is moving you up or down in search results and paid ad clicks.

Differentiate — Stand out from competitors

Be aware you exist in a world only one click away from competitors or alternatives to your brand. It's critical to be clear why you are different, distinct and valued by your core customers. Speak to this on your site, use your differences and strengths to make your products stand out and your solutions unique.

Leverage online media — Use directories, RSS feeds and social networking

Given the changing nature of the web, brands can gain a unique position using directories and social networks, along with search engine optimization and search marketing. The value of social networking through channels like Facebook pages, Twitter, RSS feeds, and Digg is that they are huge viral networks. It's kind of self-service, community PR. The loyalists who know your brand will spread that knowledge, sharing information with other like-minded individuals. RSS feeds increase your relevance to those who want to know the latest thing around your brand. These connections can consistently push visibility if you are clear, concise and have a focused brand.

Five simple strategies to refresh your brand on the web

1. The Right Domain: get a unique url, trademark everything.
2. Brand Image: Define a unique position that's clear and consistent
3. Visibility: Use SEO and SEM to leverage your presence
4. Differentiate: Be unique in your defined space
5. Leverage Online Connections: Directories, social networking and RSS feeds

Feel free to contact us about your website — let us give you some input on your landing page and overall positioning and how optimized you are for search.

Ask Jeeves is Back!

Ask.com in the UK has returned to its Ask Jeeves branding after a three-year hiatus. Yes, the Jeeves brand element, which we redesigned a few years ago, has returned to center stage in the UK, after being dropped shortly after Ask was acquired by IAC in 2005.

Three years after making a critical online branding mistake, Ask Jeeves in Great Britain is back. You can now go to either AskJeeves.co.uk or Ask.co.uk to check him out.

Developed in 1997, Jeeves, based on a butler in English literature, was the first real online character, and became a ubiquitous part of the brand — your guide to search on the web. RadiantBrands, had developed the branding and identity system, including the red "ASK" button, in 1999. When Barry Diller, president of InterActiveCorp, purchased the Ask.com search business, he decided to dump Jeeves. At the time the thinking was: become the best technology for search and move beyond the anachronistic image of a British servant. Ever since, Ask.com has continually struggled to differentiate itself from other search online.

It appears, though, in Great Britain folks have been pining for Jeeves. According to a YouGov poll of UK adults 18 and up it was found that 83% of respondents wanted the Jeeves the butler back, and that the character had higher recognition than the Ask brand.

“He's a welcome blast from the past but the tools he's using are very 2.0.”

—Nicholas Graham, VP and spokesperson for Ask.com

What the owners of Jeeves have realized is that, at least in the UK, he totally fits the world of the social net working, Web 2.0. He actually was the first personality of the web, so why not use the personality tools of the web to leverage the value of the search site? Also, it gives Ask.com the ability to have a "trusted brand character" who can stand for something more than typical search and results.

Ask has now launched Facebook and Twitter initiatives in which Jeeves will interact with consumers and post daily questions and other content such as video, pictures and comments. AskJeeves also will host "Question of the Day" events based on the top questions being asked on the site. This used to be a key part of the original Jeeves-branded site and really gave users a sense of participation.

Ask has also announced a marketing campaign which includes TV, radio, online, and PR to promote Jeeves.

Let's see what happens. I feel that bringing back Jeeves will bring back the brand as something unique and memorable, representing the personal touch of a trusted advisor on the web.

Ecommerce Winners of 2008

Success in ecommerce is not just about the brand it's about the expectations of the customer and their experience. Look who did this well.

A new study from ForeSee Results, an analytics firm that measures customer satisfaction on the Web, and FGI Research, a market research firm, rated the 40 largest e-commerce site on a 100-point scale. Those that score 80 or greater are classified as excellent. Only two e-commerce sites achieved this ranking.

Only Netflix and Amazon.com, which tied at 84, made the cut. Amazon.com recently reported its best holiday season ever during the worst holiday season for e-commerce as a whole. Close behind were QVC, the Apple Store, Barnes & Noble, L.L.Bean, Walmart.com and Newegg.com (which sells computer parts.)

Radiant has worked on both ecommerce sites and retail environments with the view that customer expectations are set by the brand through its store environment. Both Netflix and Newegg.com have very simple "get-the-customer-to-what-they-want" experiences, lots of options for seeing product, few click throughs. They have really focused on how their customers behave and how customers want to shape their own buying experience.

Brand strategy, ecommerce site and store environment created by RadiantBrands with technology partner SysIQ.

These figures say a lot about the connection between online purchasing and retail brands. They are connected, mutually reinforcing experiences — consumers should have the same "brand experience" whether online or off.

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