op4.com case study
Post on 26-May-2015
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OP4.com: Our Place 4 EverythingEric Niemiller & Zach Evans
OP4.com – The Beginning
• Co-founders started the site to have a positive web community and portal for kids
• The site would allow teenagers to:– Congregate– Discuss topics in chat rooms– E-mail– Submitting articles
OP4.com – The Mission
• To create and position a web site as premier youth-oriented site, with proprietary content as a cornerstone
OP4.com – The Method
• The site was to rely on a unique user aggregation model– One of the founders owned a motivational
speaking company that had a reported reach of 10 million North American high school students
– They intended to stand out from the crowd with grassroots, viral marketing
OP4.com – The Challenges
• Co-founders understood there were several challenges to overcome in designing a web site:– Page size– Features– Attention span of browsers
OP4.com – The Advantages
• They also understood that a web site offered several advantages:– Content could be dynamic– Technically an infinite space– Accessible worldwide– Ability to conduct business
Development Research
• OP4.com had researched anticipated costs of designing the site:– Sophisticated e-commerce sites could easily
exceed Cdn$200,000 (US$150,000)– Typical costs were Cdn$300-500 (US$225-375)
per page– Cdn$50-150 (US$35-115) per graphic– Cdn$2,500-5,000+ (US$1,875-3,750+) for
database functionality• Increases significantly with the number of products
sold
Types of Web Sites
Brochure Site
• Purpose:– Potential customers from around the world
can learn about a company.
• Typical Features:– Some graphics– Description of the company– E-mail link or guest book form
E-Commerce Site
• Purpose:– Customers from around the world can purchase
your products or services via the Internet.
• Typical Features:– Features of a brochure site plus:– Customer shopping site– Credit card processing– Customer security functions
Marketing Site
• Purpose:– You can increase consumer awareness of
your company or your brand or services by strategically linking and affiliating your site with related sites.
• Typical Features:– Features of a brochure site plus:– Advertising (e.g., banner ad exchange)– Marketing (e.g., affiliate program)
Community Site
• Purpose:– A portal site, you can create an attractive
audience to sponsors by driving people from your disparate sites to your central community site.
• Typical Features:– Features of a brochure site plus:– Advertising (banners)– Sponsor site integration– Features to support community (email, chat,
message boards)
Database-driven Site
• Purpose:– You can allow your customers to access their
account data, search for documents that support your product, or learn more about products or services you sell offline.
• Typical Features:– Features of a brochure site plus:– Custom database design– Search tools
Extranet Site
• Purpose:– You can use your web site to share sensitive
or confidential information with your customers or suppliers in a secure fashion.
• Typical Features:– Similar to a database-driven site plus:– Password-protected access– Data security functions
A Tale of Two Design Firms
MillenPro Mock-Up
• Built a landing page
• Developed a logo for OP4.com
• Incorporated a short questionnaire for collecting pre-launch registration data
• Total Cost: Cdn$34,000 (US$25,500)
MillenPro Problems
• Not sure that they understood their youth-focus
• Disagreement arose over data
• Requests for changes took a couple of days before responses were given
• Management had to go over new requirements an average of three times before project manager got it
BaseSync Profile
• Considered a Vancouver ‘hot shop’ for innovation
• Swamped with projects– Had to be convinced to provide a business
requirement document– Cost: Cdn$25,000 (US$18,750)
• Estimated cost site at Cdn$450,000 (US$337,750)– Future changes estimated to cost Cdn$35,000
(US$26,275)
BaseSync Problems
• Proposed site price range very high
• Were extremely busy and often turned down projects
OP4.com – The Choice
• Needed to make a decision fast:– Competitors were already launched and
acquiring thousands of new users on a weekly basis
– Competitors were gaining huge exposure in the business and popular press
• Had to chose which design firm to go with
OP4.com Competitors
Bolt.com
“…a leading web and wireless platform for 15 to 24 years olds that provides cutting-edge communications tools that enable young adults to interact in a relevant, member-created environment.”
“…the premier direct marketer to this demographic group” (teenage girls and young women).
iTurf.com
“…media, direct marketing and marketing services company targeting Generation Y, the more than 60 million boys and girls in the United States between the ages of 10 and 24.”
Alloy.com
“…the Internet’s leading information and entertainment destination for teen and young adult gamers.”
Snowball.com
OP4.com SWOT Analysis
OP4.com Strengths
• Co-founders understood the need to outsource web site development
Project Definitions
• Successful Projects – The project iscompleted on time and on budget, with all features and functions as originally specified.
• Challenged Projects – The project is completed and operational, but over-budget, over the time estimate and with fewer features and functions than initially specified.
• Failed Projects – The project is cancelled before completion.
Project Resolution History
16%
27%
26%
28%
31%
40%
28%
23%
53%
33%
46%
49%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
1994
1996
1998
2000
SucceededFailedChallenged
Overruns and Deficiencies
Company Size Cost Overruns Time OverrunsContent
Deficiencies
Large 178% 230% 58%
Medium 182% 202% 35%
Small 214% 239% 26%
Success by Project Size
55%
33%
25%
15%
8%
0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Less than $750K
$750K to $1.5M
$1.5M to $3M
$3M to $6M
$6M to $10M
Over $10M
OP4.com Strengths
• Co-founders understood the need to outsource web site development
• User aggregation model
• Only teenage-focused site with a mission to promote a positive self-perception and outlook
OP4.com Weaknesses
• COPPA - Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
COPPA 1998
• Requires web sites directed at childrenunder the age of 13 to obtain ‘verifiable parental consent’ before collecting personal information online
• Requires these web sites to disclose in a notice:– Its online information collection and use practices with
respect to children– Provide parents with the opportunity to review the
personal information collected online from their children
OP4.com Weaknesses
• COPPA - Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
• Already behind several competitors
• Advertising-based revenue model
• Lack of e-commerce capabilities
OP4.com Opportunities
• Take even more advantage of rapid adoption of Internet by teenagers
• Addition of e-commerce capabilities
• Partner with other online content publishers and/or content consumers to share content for a fee
OP4.com Threats
• Teenagers view of what they like andwhat is hot changes rapidly
• Better funded American-based companies
• Coming-of-age of IM technologies
• Advertising-based revenues could falter
OP4.com – The Update
OP4.com – The Article
• OP4.com web site was launched on October 18, 2000 in Toronto– Launch party was attended by about 150
teens– Co-founders, in typical Internet-hyped fashion,
rode into the film studio riding retro scooters
OP4.com – The Picture
Picture caption: “A launch party for OP4.com—a hot new web portal for teens. It went out of business a few weeks later.”
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