CHAPTER

Making the Transition to the Internet

18

Objective

A quick tour for marketers to consider a few key

complexities of making the transition to the Internet,

including:

■ A transition that supports the brand

■ Ongoing battles over Internet commitment

■ Growing statistics that reinforce the commitment

■ Devoting dollars to the Internet

■ Industries taking the plunge

■ Internet issues that turn into opportunities

■ The smooth transition of the brand

CHAPTER

2

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19

A TRANSITION TO SUPPORT THE BRAND

Timing is a key consideration for every marketer. Amazon had

impeccable timing. The site launched when the idea of a virtual

bookstore intrigued and thrilled audiences who flocked to the site,

first for curiosity, and then for sheer convenience. Amazon was also

quick to consider the benefits of selling through personalization

(without ever infringing upon the rights of the user to the extent of

feeling pestered). Like the very best bookstores, it swiftly learned

shoppers’ preferences and made relational sale recommendations.

As a result, the visitor instantly felt “involved” with the site. Amazon

asks every visitor his or her opinion with respect to product reviews,

and always has something new and fresh to stimulate its audiences.

The rate of change on

the Amazon site excels at

a pace that would crush

the brick-and-mortar es-

tablishment. And to ad-

dress the privacy and credit card issues that concern so many

Internet users, Amazon’s emphasis on safety parallels Volvo’s efforts

to make a vehicle that is safe for highway driving. The list of consid-

erations continued, with Amazon immediately taking heed of stud-

ies of how many words the normal attention span of readers can

bear. With text that is minimal (a body of words never over 150)

and visual face-out covers, the site is appealing to the everyday user.

In terms of marketing, not a stone left unturned. It’s a challenge to

get a consumer to break away from an existing brand preference to

try a product from a newly created company. Amazon’s clever mar-

keting strategies proved to be a key component in driving traffic to

the site, retaining an audience and enticing them to make purchases.

Amazon was also quick to consider thebenefits of selling through personalization(without ever infringing upon the rights ofthe user to the extent of feeling pestered).

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In 1999, during the holiday season, Amazon used something as sim-ple as a minipostcard (gift certificate) in the form of a direct mailpiece to online consumers. The card was so appealing it was enoughto make a one-time purchaser into a frequent buyer. This $10.00-offgift certificate was delivered via snail mail to Amazon customers inmemorable, sheer holiday red-and-green envelopes. The card,which immediately caught your eye with its unique use of color(very bright blue and yellow), had an easy-to-read saying: “Allaboard Amazon.com Toys.” An interesting piece, it was “eyecandy,” on the one hand, and true to its word, on the other, with afabulous discount (not requiring the online consumer to make anyminimum purchase, such as spend $50.00 and get $10.00 off). Withthis type of bargain, online shoppers were searching for the Amazontoy gift cards. It was considerations such as this that put Amazon onthe cybermap. However, the million-dollar question still remains.Despite all of the branding success, the company has yet to make aprofit. Nonetheless, Amazon continues to motivate other companiesto develop their Internet presences and to brand online.

Then there’s Barnes & Noble at the other end of the spectrum.What a great place to read your favorite book, enjoy a cup of coffee,and attend an author’s book signing and discussion. Barnes & Nobledid not pay careful attention to the needs of its consumers and lostout on a wonderful opportunity to be the first brick-and-mortarwith a virtual bookstore. Out of nowhere came Amazon and cap-tured a sizable Internet market. When Barnes & Noble tried to playcatchup, the damage was done. Visitors on the Barnes & Noble sitewho had previously visited Amazon.com felt that many book entrieswere similar, and the impression, real or imagined, was that the in-formation may have been borrowed. At the least, the content was,for a while, not substantially different enough from Amazon.com,although prices were often lower. The Internet traveling public wassavvy to the situation and felt disrespect for the Barnes & Noblebrand. Although Barnes & Noble is making Internet headway, inmost cases, damage to the brand is irreversible.

Opinion Research Corporation International includes Ama-zon.com among the top five net names. In addition, when In-telliquest in a survey asked approximately 10,000 Web surfers toname brands in association with a product, for books Amazon waschosen 56% of the time. Not bad at all for the new kid on the block.1

20 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

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Amazon makes the complexities of Internet branding look easy. Butthe truth is that marketers are struggling over how to handle cyber-brands. New dot-com companies can look forward to a laundry listof considerations with respect to site functionality, content, design,ease of navigation, customer service, or privacy, and the list goes on.But even before any of these issues are taken into consideration, youwould think the first obvious question would be whether or not thebrand has permission from its audience to be in cyberspace. For ex-ample, will consumers stop going to auctions and go to eBay in-stead? The same consideration holds true for the brick-and-mortar.Take the case of a well-known not-for-profit organization, Light-house International (an organization for the vision-impaired): has a visually im-paired audiencethat may notchoose the Internet as its medium of choice given this organizationpermission to be online? The only way to find out whether con-sumers will go to online auctions and bid for items and whether thevision-impaired will log on to a Web site that would enable them tobe a part of an Internet community (one designed for specializedneeds) is to conduct market research. Without a research campaignprior to launch and subsequent postlaunch research to guide aserious effort, companies take an incredible risk. It’s a myth thateven the marketer of a traditional brand can throw the brandonline and keep loyal followers happy with just a presence. Onthe contrary, having an established offline brand means there’smore at risk in taking that brand to a new level. After the permissionrule is satisfied, considerations filter all the way down to putting thebest foot forward to execute the same efficient customer service andproviding an online experience that is just as pleasurable as the off-line encounter (if not more so). That’s why there was no excuse forwhat Toys “ ” Us went through in the 1999 holiday season. Brandfollowers were not forgiving when Toys “ ” Us had significantproblems fulfilling orders for catalog items and shipping thoseitems. These are again considerations that cannot be taken forgranted.

It’s a difficult plunge to take that giant Internet step, and it bearsclose consideration. Once permission to be in cyberspace is granted,then companies will get there quicker by addressing organizational

RR

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 21

. . . the truth is that marketers are struggling over how tohandle cyberbrands.

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challenges first: human resource availability, or finding the rightpeople with the right skill set; cost and budget issues; evaluation ofrelationships with third-party suppliers; defining roles and responsi-

bilities of employees;defining an onlineand offline market-ing effort; providingcustomer service foronline retail; and—

most of all—upper management support every step of the way!2

Some companies, however, try to slowly get their feet wet—as evi-denced in a certain brochurelike presence—in implementing their

22 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

It’s a difficult plunge to take that giant Internet step,and it bears close consideration. Once permission tobe in cyberspace is granted, then companies will getthere quicker by addressing organizational challengesfirst:

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conversion from traditional marketer to cyberbrander and do notcarefully plan the transition between the existing business modeland the e-business model. One possible explanation for the slowstart is that the Internet does not have enough history under its beltto allow companies to analyze historical benefits. In most cases, thepast dictates the future: People are driven by their successes andavoid repeating past mistakes at all costs. Without not enough his-tory behind the Internet, and stock prices that reflect a lot of priceand no earnings, some companies are leery of diving into Internetwaters headfirst. But that is not to say that traditional marketershaven’t come a long way. In May 2000, an article appeared in theNew York Timeson the Web enti-tled “Many Tra-ditional Marketers Are Becoming Devotees of Cyberspace.” Thearticle stresses how traditional marketers have lagged behind in the transition to the Internet but are now making up for lost time. A new study, “Web Site Management and Internet AdvertisingTrends,” published by the Association of National Advertisers, sup-ports the traditional marketers’ Internet leap. The study concludesthat advertisers are turning to the Internet for its ability to reachconsumers, the benefits of two-way communication, and the highpotential of Internet branding.

THE ONGOING BATTLE OVER INTERNET COMMITMENT

Top management of brick-and-mortar businesses knows the value ofonline branding and how the reach of the Internet is beneficial to thebrand. To date,companies havebeen making thetransition, but their commitment is weaker than it should be. Maybea motivation to reach a stronger commitment would be to considerthe Barnes & Noble scenario, a slow start and then a fight to regainbrand allegiance. Whether small or large, a company needs to make afirm commitment as quickly as possible with respect to the Internet.The Internet, like any other communication channel, will be a suc-cessful and profitable medium if researched, understood, and usedcorrectly to communicate a brand message. If a firm commitment is

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 23

. . . marketers have lagged behind in the transition to theInternet but are now making up for lost time.

To date, companies have been making the transition, buttheir commitment is weaker than it should be.

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made, then itshould be under-stood that theproper amountof thought, ef-

fort, and resources must be allocated toward Internet branding strate-gies. The Internet is here to stay, and unfortunately, too manycompanies are missing out on a tremendous communication tool.From the brick-and-mortar companies that utilize regional portals,

i.e., NJ.com, withdirectory listingsto drive traffic, to

the giants on the Internet—Yahoo!, MSN, NBC Internet, and TimeWarner Online, with the millions of dollars they have spent to estab-lish a well-known presence—Internet branding is quickly catching onand providing fruitful new opportunities to companies in cyberspace.

GROWING STATISTICS REINFORCE THE COMMITMENT

At a San Francisco conference held by the International Quality andProductivity Center in December 1999, the president of the BrandConsultancy presented a workshop entitled “Turning Your Brandinto a Cyber Brand.” Back in 1999, companies were only just turn-ing their brands into cyberbrands. The discussion focused on how in1999 there were 92 million adult Internet users (that’s approxi-mately 40% of the U.S. population). Further statistics project thatWeb growth will continue at a torrid pace with 60+ percent of U.S.households online by the year 2003. The number of women Websurfers continues to increase steadily, and senior citizens, proving tobe more active and vibrant than ever, are taking advantage of theInternet.3

The steady growth of online consumer purchasing in mostproduct categories is a driving force that convinces businesses theyshould make a firm commitment to Internet branding. Consumersare online doing everything from checking e-mails and bookmark-ing Web sites, to buying homes and making bank transactions. Evenvacations can be planned online with e-tickets and an agenda toboot. And it does not stop here: Consumers are chatting more, get-ting financial information, and satisfying entertainment needs with

24 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

The Internet, like any other communication channel, will bea successful and profitable medium if researched, under-stood, and used correctly to communicate a brandmessage.

Internet branding is quickly catching on and providingfruitful new opportunities to companies in cyberspace.

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audio and video clips.4 It is interesting to note the most commonlypurchased items and requests for information relate to travel, PChardware, books,apparel and acces-sories, and PC soft-ware. E-commerceretail sales have skyrocketed, with over $30 billion in the year 2000.5

This figure alone gives us every indication that the Internet is at-tracting consumers who are becoming Web-savvy, spending moretime online and ultimately sinking larger dollar amounts into prod-uct purchases that at one time would never have been considered an“Internet purchase.” We see the change in the last five years of con-sumer behavior online as people have put more trust into the Inter-net to satisfy their needs for shopping, banking, stock trading, andentertainment. There is a direct correlation between the amount ofinformation that is available online and the amount of time peopleare spending online. The global Internet numbers are growing too.According to an article entitled “Now for the Really WorldwideWeb…” in SiliconAlley Report, becauseof the adoption ofthe Internet in other countries around the globe, a dot-com mustthink globally as well.6 The Internet is not sleeping in other coun-tries. In fact, it is emerging in more places every year. Although theUnited States is approximately two years ahead of foreign nations,the numbers are steadily increasing. For instance, there were ap-proximately 5.4 million Internet users in Russia in January 2000, adramatic increase over an estimated 1.2 million at the end of 1998.In addition, the expansion of the Internet into Latin America is dri-ven by the rapid increase of users in this region. The numbers inLatin America are projected to grow from 9 million in 1999 to ap-proximately 38 million by 2003.7 Japan is also considered among theregions with high Internet penetration, with approximately 15million Internet users.8 This is a wake-up call for global brands onthe Internet. The Internet will open doors to new markets, and,therefore, must focus on global needs. As a matter of fact, the mostfrequently visited Web sites, according to Nielsen Net Ratings Japan,are Yahoo!, NEC, MSN, Sony Online, and GeoCities.9 Currently,U.S. retailers expanding into these foreign markets are addressingmultiple currency and multiple language issues on their sites.

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 25

There is a direct correlation between the amount of in-formation that is available online and the amount oftime people are spending online.

The Internet will open doors to new markets, and,therefore, must focus on global needs.

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DEVOTING DOLLARS TO THE INTERNET

With all of the statistics on consumer behavior on the Internet, a siz-able increase of e-commerce, and overall growth in Web usage

among varyingaudiences, a nag-ging question

still remains for business owners: How much of the advertising bud-get should be devoted to online branding? It certainly seems toprove that the Internet is a powerful tool. However, making thetransition does not mean diving into the Internet and abandoningmainstream media. That’s been done too many times with little suc-cess. The advertising market, with Internet advertising to reach ap-proximately $7.36 billion by 2005 (with room to grow), is stilldominated by other communication channels that are receivinglarger ad dollar amounts. In 1999, the total advertising market wasapproximately $117 billion in the United States. Of that $117 bil-lion, close to $45 billion was spent on television commercials, about$41 billion went into newspaper ads, and another $26 billion wassplit between radio and magazine ads. Internet advertising is a muchsmaller portion of the total advertising market. Although Internetadvertising will have a bright future, it should never be considered a“be all and end all” strategy when it comes to branding. Effectivebranding results from finding a happy medium between online andoffline marketing strategies.

Then there’s the extreme opposite case, the business that has allof the offline advertising (direct mail, billboards, bus advertising,newspaper ads, etc.) and makes no attempt at cyberbranding. Takea hypothetical example of a Pontiac/GMC car dealer who puts up aWeb site and wants to sell cars by driving traffic to his brick-and-mortar dealership. Thousands of dollars will have been spentwithin the first six months to develop a Web site and the ownerof the dealership will not have seen any results or profits. Hewonders why his peers down the highway have sold more carswithin the previous few months than he has sold in a year. By mak-ing the Internet transition and not allocating the proper resourcesto cyberbranding, with a plan that drives traffic to the Web site, thedealer allows an investment to go down the drain. You have heardthis before: The Internet is more than just developing an aestheticsite; it’s all about driving traffic to that site and utilizing offline and

26 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

. . . making the transition does not mean diving into the In-ternet and abandoning mainstream media.

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online efforts in conjunction with the brand. It’s imperative toutilize the Internet effectively by integrating online and offlinebranding. Aside from placing the car dealer’s URL on every pieceof collateral material and traditional ad, the dealer should havebecome familiar with what the regional portals (a site that providesspecific regional information) had to offer with respect to directorylistings and banner advertisements. Or, perhaps, as a first cyber-branding effort, enlisting in the regional search engine would havebeen helpful, or sponsoring an e-mail program to the subscribers ofa regional online publication for increased exposure. With moreconsumers making major purchases online, being found on the In-ternet is a priority. In this extreme case, cyberbranding would havemade a difference. On a national scope, when Half.com launched itsbranding campaign, it included advertising online as well as cable,radio, and print (and don’t forget the guerilla marketing promo-tional stunt to have a town named on its behalf). The company tar-geted print ads to appear in the New Yorker and the New YorkTimes, not to mention a host of commercials on cable channels in-cluding MSNBC and ESPN. Then, for a well-rounded campaign,Half.com aired radio spots on national live talk radio.10 If you thinkabout it, how many dot-com ads do you hear on the radio in themorning or driving home from work? How many dot-com televi-sion commercials appeared during the Super Bowl? The market es-timate is that only 1 out of every 12 companies advertising duringthe Super Bowl will survive post-commercial. There’s a great deal toconsider when it comes to advertising dollars. With noisy markets,companies need to employ online and offline strategies to reachfragmented audiences and drive traffic to a cyberbrand.

THE INTERNET IS A POWERFUL PIECE OF THE BRANDING CAMPAIGN

The Internet, like any other communication channel, is not a totaland complete branding strategy. First, think of your audiences. Howdo they break down on the Web? Sure, there are the audiences thatspend more time on the Internet choosing online media and inter-action rather than the traditional media. But there will always be au-diences that split Internet time with traditional media. And let’s notforget the Internet disbelievers who don’t spend any time surfing the

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 27

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Web—are there any that still exist? In an interview with Eric Straus,president of Straus Media Group of Poughkeepsie, New York, theissue of offline and online branding surfaced (see the Straus MediaGroup mini-case study at the conclusion of Chapter 2). Strausbought his first radio station from his father in 1989 and since thenhas acquired nine more stations to assemble the largest media net-work in the Hudson Valley. When discussing brands and cyber-brands, Straus stated, “Mainstream media will always be a key tobranding success. Banner ads will only get you so far. Take radio, forexample. It did well in 1999 because of the dot-com business.”However, an article on branding appearing in CEO Conference mag-azine in February 2000 mentioned how many of the dot-com start-ups were not making savvy decisions on television advertising andwere spending money foolishly. The article, entitled, “Branding on

the Internet,” goesas far as saying, “Re-serving dollars toimprove site func-tionality may be

more important in the long run than pouring money into advertis-ing.” This statement touches upon issues and certainly raises signifi-cant questions. However, both achieving the balance between offlineand online advertising and site functionality are key factors to thesuccess of the online effort.

INDUSTRIES TAKING THE PLUNGE

As traditional companies continue to make the transition, redevelop-ing their business models as e-business models, we still see our shareof industries proceeding at a pace we’d have to call much less thanwarp speed. An interview with Sheila Cohen, vice president of mar-keting, Lawyers Homepage Network, details the progress of variousindustries in their attempts to move online (See “Industries MovingOnline” interview).

Traditional companies are facing their fair share of challengeswhen journeyinginto cyberterri-tory. They haveexisting cus-

28 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

Sure, there are the audiences that spend more time on theInternet choosing online media and interaction rather thanthe traditional media. But there will always be audiencesthat split Internet time with traditional media.

It’s a matter of stepping up to a challenge the Internetposes. Larger challenges mean larger rewards. The biggerthe obstacle, the larger are the profits if it is tackled suc-cessfully.

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tomer relationships and business paradigms to suit traditionalneeds. It’s a matter of stepping up to a challenge the Internet poses.Larger challenges mean larger rewards. The bigger the obstacle, thelarger are the profits if it is tackled successfully.

INTERNET ISSUES TURN INTO INTERNETOPPORTUNITIES

What are marketers finding to be the most common issues whenmaking the transition to the Internet?

1. Understanding new audiences and meeting their needs

2. Making the transition from communicating as a mass-market company to the individual online consumer (and in-stant two-way communication)

3. Acknowledging new competition that was not a considera-tion pre-Internet

Opportunity number 1: New relationships are formed with new audi-ences as traditional businesses go online. So, for example, in the caseof the Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E), its Biography.com Web site invites younger groups to partake in the site with a search-able database of 25,000 interesting biographies. Because of youngeraudiences, A&E must gear its site to this group in a manner that youngaudiences will find attractive, interactive, and appealing.

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 29

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30 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

Inte

rvie

w

INDUSTRIES MOVING ONLINE

Sheila Cohen is vice president ofmarketing for Lawyers HomepageNetwork, a virtual law office for at-torneys. Cohen has been marketingand branding products for over 22years. In a discussion of how vari-ous industries are making the on-line transition, she gave herviewpoint on three industries andwhat seems to be a rocky road forthem.

Supermarket Industry

Although many supermarkets havebuilt their Web sites, few are mak-ing the transition to e-businesssmoothly. Then along comes Price-line.com, spending enormousamounts of money on star powerendorsement (William Shatnersinging its praises), and tries to“raise the bar.” ThroughPriceline.com, supermarkets andconsumers were able to get a goodtaste of how to buy groceries on-line. Priceline in all of its efforts at-tempted to pave the way forgrocery stores. In addition, you alsohave companies like Peapod andNet Grocer that create a network ofWeb-based shopping using the su-permarket as a distribution chan-nel. Who is going to win? Will it be

the Internet supermarket, where anonline consumer buys and pays forgroceries and then physically goesto the supermarket to pick up theirprepaid items, or a full service mar-ket where groceries will be deliv-ered to you at work or at home? Itall depends on which way themarket swings. This is another in-dustry slow out of the gate—andthe race continues.

Retail Industry

About a year ago, it was obviousthat many retail chains were sadlybehind the technology revolution,including household names likeBarnes & Noble and Macy’s thathave spent years and billionsbranding offline. However, they didnot seem to fully understand e-commerce and the needs of aWeb-based shopper. And, in termsof fulfillment, they must have for-gotten that delivering a promise isa key to customer satisfaction andretention. The retail industry hasbeen slow to embrace brand equityand transfer it online. Frankly, aweb shopper’s expectation is thesame as what he or she would ex-pect from a brick-and-mortar loca-tion. Consumers want the same

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CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 31

selection and variety that theywould see in a physical store set-ting. But when Macy’s Web site didnot live up to its catalog selection acouple of years ago, consumerswere disappointed with slim onlinepickings. So, what happens? Con-sumers go to shop at e-toys orAmazon.com if they can’t find that“cute something special” from theMacy’s online catalog. Macy’s thenhas to scramble to get the customerback.

The Legal Industry

The legal industry is long knownfor its paperwork court filings andlong briefs. It’s ironic that an indus-try bogged down with paper is soslow to make the transition to theInternet. Lawyers, for the most part,

are not tech savvy, making thetransition even more sluggish. But,finally we are seeing lawyers whoare in fact catching on—a good example is Lawyers Home PageNetwork (www.lawyershomepa-genetwork.com), and its consumersite CaseMatch (www.casematch.com), founded by David Rizzo, anattorney himself. On this Web sitewe see lawyers utilizing the powerof the Internet and conductingmany functions of their daily busi-ness online. The LHN site allowsmember lawyers to take advantageof this virtual law office with every-thing from research tools to casemanagement to marketing theirfirm and finding new clients. It tooksome time, but the legal industry isdefinitely catching on!

Opportunity number 2: Web sites provide one-on-one interac-tion and two-way communication. Companies that have tradition-ally engaged in mass marketing are used to reaching groups ofpeople and must alter their methods. Mass marketers will quicklyfind that a Web site is all about the individual consumer and sat-isfying individ-ual needs. This is a new bond that has to be devel-oped through interaction and strategies to keep a visitor comingback to a site for more information and activity. The Internet pro-vides this opportunity (as well as this challenge) of being able to per-sonalize and sensitize communication. Better yet, the Internet also

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allows immediate two-way communication. So, if you continue to“mass-market” to individual consumers, they will let you know ex-actly how they feel or they will not be back to your site. The brandwill benefit from the ability to have two-way communication andimplement feedback for further customer satisfaction. Otherwise,with so many choices on the Net, a consumer is just a click awayfrom the next best thing!

Opportunity number 3: On the Internet, the whole scope ofcompetition changes. So, for example, if A&E’s major offline com-

petitor is theDiscovery Chan-nel, that does

not mean that in cyberspace Discovery Online poses the same kindof threat. As a matter of fact, A&E has more to worry about withAmazon when it comes to biographies. This forces A&E to think dif-ferently and evaluate competition in a whole new light. The Internetevokes creative thinking that is “out of the box,” because audiencesand competitors don’t necessarily follow those traditional businessplans we are all so used to.11

THE SMOOTH TRANSITION OF THE BRAND

The nature and scope of the Internet is so vast that a traditionalcompany no longer can simply satisfy a traditional business model

and expect thebrand to flour-ish. There arenew considera-

tions for the online company. That means that not only are audi-ences changing, but their expectations are increasing as well.Companies must develop sites that are delightful and engaging orface the threat of losing customers to the closest competitor. Andwhen it comes to competition, that has all changed too. Just whenyou think you have figured out exactly who the brick-and-mortarcompetitors are, in come the new dot-com start-ups and a bunch ofonline giants that keep merging to add more products and servicesto their sites.

32 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

The Internet evokes creative thinking that is “out of the

box.”

The nature and scope of the Internet is so vast that a tradi-tional company no longer can simply satisfy a traditionalbusiness model and expect the brand to flourish.

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To recap, here’s an abridged list of considerations to keep inmind when it comes to transition and commitment in cyberspace:

■ How much do you know about the Internet and whether ornot your audience will accept your brand’s presence online?Permission, permission, permission! Ask and you shallreceive.

■ Is the online audience the same as the offline audience?What other groups should be included in your research? Thewide reach of the Internet allows new audiences to becomeinvolved with online brands. Don’t overlook these secondarygroups, as the Internet has incredible growth statistics.

■ How can we integrate all of our offline efforts to drive trafficto the online site and vice versa? By devoting time andadvertising dollars to a well-thought-out marketing plan.The plan should integrate all the branding efforts (usingconsistent brand communication) and be writtensimultaneously to fit into the e-business plan.

■ Do the competitors extend beyond brick-and-mortarcompetitors? Yes, you will see competitors triple in numbersbased upon the scope and variety the Internet has to offer.

■ What are the competitors doing with their Web sites? Makesure you know how competitors are impressing onlinevisitors. Warning—Don’t just borrow content; youraudience will know it and lose respect for the brand.

■ How do we develop a site that is gripping and engaging, farmore than just a brochure online? Interactivity andimmediate and rewarding two-way communication is morethan the brick-and-mortar will ever be able to offer prior tothe purchase of the brand.

■ What types of interaction will add a new level to the brand’spromise? Audio, video, Webcasts, and the aspect ofcommunities converging online with chat sessions, to namea few.

■ How do you meet and exceed audiences’ expectations of thebrand online? By providing a site that allows visitors tointeract with the brand online and by allowing users to findappropriate, interesting, and updated content that enhancesthe value of the brand.

CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 33

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34 CYBERBRANDING chapter 2

Min

i-C

ase

Stud

y RADIO GOING ONLINE: REGIONALHELPWANTED.COM

Eric Straus is president of StrausMedia Group in Poughkeepsie, NewYork. For the past 10 years, he hasgrown his business 20-fold. StrausMedia Group is the largest medianetwork in the Hudson Valley—a $5billion market. Straus has radio sta-tions in Poughkeepsie, Ellenville,Kingston, Catskill, and Hudson, aswell as offices in various cities. Hisradio stations include program for-mats from adult contemporary tonostalgia to news talk radio.

Straus has been conducting theoperations of his radio network in a“traditional” manner. His main ob-jective is always to run the bestprogramming possible while tryingto cut costs. By hiring top-notchsales experts to increase sales, heis able to sell long-term businesson his radio stations. Straus’s suc-cess is built upon improving his ad-vertisers’ businesses, and Strausworks to find the long-term mar-keting answers for long-term cus-tomers.

Even with all of the Internethype, Straus never put muchthought into the World Wide Web.Recently, as he listened to his ad-vertisers, he found that they werealways frustrated with not being

able to find good help—their dollarswere constantly eaten up by news-paper classified advertising, withlittle or no luck with new hires. Inturn, Straus saw an opportunity tosolve his clients’ problems while atthe same time gearing radio towardthe Internet. With an idea in mindhe made a deal with a computerguy (as he puts it), a deal that hasthe computer expert building Websites and the two of them splittingthe revenues. So, where does radiofit in? Straus joins together radiogroups who are competitive in thesame markets to sponsor help-wanted dot-com sites across thecountry. These regional help-wanted sites provide a valuableand resourceful service for individ-uals in regional areas seeking em-ployment as well as for areabusiness owners who need to postavailable employment opportuni-ties. Straus’s regional help-wanteddot-com service is a completelyseparate venture from his tradi-tional radio network. It is represen-tative of how the Internet allows avast array of opportunity for differ-ent industries. Straus was able togo beyond the conventional transi-tion (putting his station and

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CYBERBRANDING Making the Transition to the Internet 35

programming online) and foster abusiness that breaks a traditionalmold.

Challenges

■ How does Straus convincegeneral managers (GMs) towork together with competitorsin their markets?

■ How do the regional help-wanted sites reach 70% of theadults in the market when 5out of 10 read the newspaper?

■ How does a regional help-wanted site compete with dailynewspapers?

Outcome

Before RegionalHelpWanted.com,no competitive radio groups in thesame market attempted to work to-gether. And although the commonresponse from GMs was that theypreferred to work alone, it’s notenough to beat out the big boys.This is a business where those bigboys, the daily newspapers withcirculations over 50,000, are mak-ing at least $5 million a year in

newspaper help-wanted classi-fieds. Straus convinces GMs that inorder to compete with the big boys,radio groups must work together inorder to reach enough people.

Straus tested his concept onlinewith his first site, HudsonValley-HelpWanted.com. With much suc-cess from this site, he took his ideaon the road to a conference in Col-orado that was hosted by the RadioAdvertising Bureau (RAB). Straus’presentation at the conferenceevoked interest among GMs acrossthe county. As of March 2000, Re-gional Help Wanted was in fourmarkets, with four markets ex-pected mid-March, and anotherfour markets by April 1, 2000. Withthis steady rate of growth, it wasexpected that Regional HelpWanted would be in 150 marketswithin 18 months. Is it any wonderthat Smith Barney analysts predictthat 70% of classified advertisingwill move online? It’s a whole newrevenue stream. Now it’s workingfor radio as well.

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