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Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. The Brand Original 2 Brand Sites = Brand Equity 3 The Traffic Paradox 4 The Content Blend 5 Conclusions 8 eMarketer Interviews 9 Related eMarketer Reports 10 Related Links 10 January 2013 Executive Summary: Brands are spending more time—and money—engaging with consumers outside of their brand sites on the likes of YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and many other channels. As marketing efforts move to social networks and to content sites such as BuzzFeed, what happens to the brand’s dot-com? 148674 What was once the go-to source for information about a brand is now just one of many outlets for information, messaging and, increasingly, content marketing materials. Today, a humorous campaign posted on YouTube, shared among Facebook fans and tweeted with abandon will often get more views—and media mentions—than a brand page. This report looks at how marketers are using brand sites alongside newer channels to spread the brand message. It includes a range of data suggesting that brand sites still have considerable value and offers examples of experiments and strategies for using content across multiple channels from some of the largest consumer packaged goods companies. Key Questions In an era of widespread social media, what is the purpose of the brand site? What does it do best? Should content from social sites drive traffic to the brand site? Or should brand sites drive traffic to social sites? If a brand’s social media site gets more traffic than its brand site, is it necessary to maintain a brand site? % of total Average Monthly Visitors to the Top 25* CPG Brand Websites, Feb 2011 <100,000 64% 100,000-199,000 24% 200,000-299,000 4% 300,000+ 8% Note: read as 64% of the top 25 CPG brands average less than 100,000 unique visitors monthly; *ranked by household buyer penetration Source: Accenture, comScore and dunnhumbyUSA, "Are Your CPG Brands Maximizing the Return on Your Digital Investment?" Jan 29, 2012 148674 www.eMarketer.com Patricia Orsini [email protected] Contributors Tobi Elkin, Cindy Liu What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels

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Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Brand Original 2

Brand Sites = Brand Equity 3

The Traffic Paradox 4

The Content Blend 5

Conclusions 8

eMarketer Interviews 9

Related eMarketer Reports 10

Related Links 10

January 2013

Executive Summary: Brands are spending more time—and money—engaging with consumers outside of their brand sites on the likes of YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and many other channels. As marketing efforts move to social networks and to content sites such as BuzzFeed, what happens to the brand’s dot-com?148674

What was once the go-to source for information about a brand is now just one of many outlets for information, messaging and, increasingly, content marketing materials. Today, a humorous campaign posted on YouTube, shared among Facebook fans and tweeted with abandon will often get more views—and media mentions—than a brand page.

This report looks at how marketers are using brand sites alongside newer channels to spread the brand message. It includes a range of data suggesting that brand sites still have considerable value and offers examples of experiments and strategies for using content across multiple channels from some of the largest consumer packaged goods companies.

Key Questions

■ In an era of widespread social media, what is the purpose of the brand site? What does it do best?

■ Should content from social sites drive traffic to the brand site? Or should brand sites drive traffic to social sites?

■ If a brand’s social media site gets more traffic than its brand site, is it necessary to maintain a brand site?

% of total

Average Monthly Visitors to the Top 25* CPG BrandWebsites, Feb 2011

<100,000 64%

100,000-199,000 24%

200,000-299,0004%

300,000+8%

Note: read as 64% of the top 25 CPG brands average less than 100,000unique visitors monthly; *ranked by household buyer penetrationSource: Accenture, comScore and dunnhumbyUSA, "Are Your CPG BrandsMaximizing the Return on Your Digital Investment?" Jan 29, 2012148674 www.eMarketer.com

Patricia Orsini [email protected]

Contributors Tobi Elkin, Cindy Liu

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

The Brand Original

Before Facebook (founded in 2004), before Twitter (2006), before Tumblr (2007) and Pinterest (2010), there was the brand website. It was where consumers went to learn about and interact with a brand.

Brand pages, although they are not very heavily trafficked as a rule, are still a primary resource for consumers seeking information about products and the companies that make them. Data from a June 2011 survey conducted by public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard found that more than two-thirds of the US internet users queried went to brand sites to find product or brand information. (And of the even larger percentage of users who said they used a search engine to find that information, it seems likely that a large number ended up on brand sites after their search, too.)

% of respondents

Methods Used to Find Information About Products/Brands According to Internet Users in Canada, US & Worldwide, June 2011

Use a search engine

Go to the brand or product website

Go to a product review site

Search a news site

Ask or post a question on a forum

Go to the brand or product'sFacebook page

Go to the brand or product'sTwitter feed

Search Twitter for user comments

Other

Not applicable—do not search forinformation about brands or productson the internet

Canada

93%

63%

47%

15%

12%

14%

3%

2%

7%

5%

US

90%

67%

43%

10%

8%

8%

1%

1%

4%

6%

Worldwide

89%

60%

50%

24%

24%

18%

14%

12%

5%

4%

Source: Fleishman-Hillard, "2012 Digital Influence Index: Understanding theRole of Internet in the Lives of Consumers" conducted by Harris Interactive,Jan 31, 2012137198 www.eMarketer.com

137198

Internet users interact with brands online in a number of ways—and many of them still involve brand sites in that interaction. A Forrester study conducted in the third quarter of 2011 found that 40% of US internet users had registered for a promotion or entered a sweepstakes via a brand website, 28% had downloaded coupons or product information from a brand site and 15% had posted feedback on a company’s website.

% of respondents

Select Ways that US Internet Users Have InteractedOnline with Companies/Brands, Q3 2011

Registered for a promotion or entered in a sweepstakes on acompany or brand website

40%

Read an email ad or promotional newsletter from a company orbrand

37%

Became a fan of a company or brand on a social networking site(e.g., Myspace, Facebook)

33%

Clicked on a company or brand listing on a search results page30%

Downloaded content from a company or brand website (e.g.,coupons, product information)

28%

Clicked on an ad on a website or search results page26%

Watched a video produced by a company or brand23%

Played an online game sponsored or created by a company orbrand

15%

Posted feedback on a company's website15%

Read a blog written by a company or brand11%

Note: in the past 3 monthsSource: Forrester Research "North American Technographics OnlineBenchmark Recontact Survey Q3 2011" as cited in "The New MessagingMandate," Jan 9, 2012149287 www.eMarketer.com

149287

But the study also illustrated the wide variety of other channels that consumers used to interact with brands and the kinds of interactions that are possible, whether that’s watching a video, playing a game sponsored by a brand, commenting on blog posts or following a brand on a social network.

With all the channels available and all the types of interaction a company could encourage, what’s the right approach for the brand site?

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Brand Sites = Brand Equity

All that content going out on social networks, sponsored sites and video channels means less time devoted to the brand site. But in this fragmented digital marketplace, it is important to think of the brand site as more than just a placeholder on the internet.

“For packaged-goods brands, it is still so critical that you have an environment to control the messaging,” said Sarah Hofstetter, president of digital marketing agency 360i. “The frequent conversation we were having with our clients was, ‘Maybe I don’t need a website anymore. Can we just redirect people to our Facebook page or our Twitter feed?’ But if you are renting space on someone else’s network, you only have so much control. You should have real estate that you own, to get your voice heard in a way you want to communicate it. That’s what a brand site does.”

Controlling that real estate is critical. More consumers say they trust a brand site than other types of online content when researching information about a brand.

According to an October study by nRelate, 48% of online shoppers said they trusted content from brand websites. No other content type approached the trustworthiness of corporate sites, according to this survey—not even mainstream news sites.

% of respondents

Online Content US Online Shoppers Trust WhenResearching Products to Buy, Oct 2012

Manufacturer/brand website 48%

Article I found using a search engine 34%

Expert on a topic related to that product 31%

Mainstream news site 22%

Link a friend posted to a social network12%

Blog 11%

Link found in a display ad4%

Other 11%

Don't trust content online6%

Source: nRelate, "Behavior Shift: Getting Content in Front of Consumers"conducted by Harris Interactive, Nov 15, 2012147517 www.eMarketer.com

147517

In a separate survey of internet users in the US and Canada by marketing services firm Epsilon, the percentage of respondents who named company websites as a trustworthy source of information was much lower—just 20% of US internet users and only 16% of those in Canada—but those relatively low results were still higher than those for TV, radio or email.

% of respondents

Sources of Information that Are TrustworthyAccording to Internet Users in North America, by Gender and Country, June 2012

US Canada

Friends or family

Newspaper

Brochures, flyers,direct mailCompany websitesOnline search engine(e.g.,Google)

TV

Radio

Email

Female55%

23%

19%

23%21%

18%

15%

14%

Male47%

22%

13%

18%19%

14%

14%

10%

Total51%

23%

16%

20%20%

16%

14%

12%

Female50%

22%

19%

17%16%

17%

15%

11%

Male42%

23%

16%

15%16%

16%

15%

8%

Total46%

23%

18%

16%16%

16%

15%

10%

Note: top-3 box on a 10-point scaleSource: Epsilon, "Channel Preference for both the Mobile and Non-MobileConsumer," Dec 3, 2012148543 www.eMarketer.com

148543

Whatever the threshold of trust, that trust is not something brands should squander—and it may mean limiting the use of traditional promotions on the brand site. When 360i client Oscar Mayer (a division of Kraft Foods) began an unusual campaign, “The Great American Bacon Barter,” a reality stunt in which a comedian traveled the country using nothing but Oscar Mayer bacon as currency, the campaign was purposely kept separate from the brand website.

“We didn’t want to upset the consumer experience by taking over the brand site,” said Hofstetter. “People visiting oscarmayer.com want to know where to go to buy cold cuts. We wanted to have a great hub of content for those that were following the challenge.”

So the bacon barter stunt got its own website, with a boost from social media (not to mention a significant amount of earned media along the way). “We preserved the integrity of the brand site,” said Hofstetter, “but still gave consumers an opportunity to participate via multiple social media channels.”

Not everyone agrees that a brand site is still necessary, however. James Gross, co-founder and president of Percolate, a technology company that works with brands to develop content and distribute it across multiple platforms, questions whether brand sites will continue to have value. “The future of the dot-com is definitely questionable in a world where Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, all these platforms, let you reach most of the internet audience without needing to invest in the underlying infrastructure,” he said.

But most brands are not willing give up a brand.com for a variety of reasons.

“The branded site’s objectives are to enhance loyalty and engagement and to provide product news and information,” said Maria Carolina Comings, associate marketing manager for General Mills’ Nature Valley Granola brand. One of the ways it does that? “We invite consumers to try us through offers and coupons.”

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

“The brand website defines your brand. It cultivates the consumer. And then it allows you to mine the consumer,” said Pat Gentile, recently retired general manager of Procter & Gamble Productions, a P&G business unit that provides content and other assets for the company. “You can actually close a loop if you can get them to buy your product at a retailer. [The brand site] helps to drive trial.”

“We want to own that [brand site-visiting] customer and convert them, [and] have their name in a database,” said Rachel Weiss, vice president of digital strategy and innovation at L’Oréal USA. L’Oréal’s Makeup.com is unbranded, yet mentions of various L’Oréal brands—Kiehl’s, The Body Shop, Maybelline—are studded throughout how-to articles, celebrity news and blogs on the site. Products are mentioned on Makeup.com with the intention that readers will find their way back to L’Oréal’s brand sites. “The goal is always to drive back to the brand site so we can capture our customer, whether it’s through a sale, a contest or an email address,” said Weiss.

The Traffic Paradox

How often will people type in the URL of a brand site? It depends on the brand, of course. But for most brands, traffic is unlikely to be very high.

A joint study by Accenture, dunnhumbyUSA and comScore suggested as much. It showed that 64% of the top 25 CPG brands averaged less than 100,000 unique visitors per month to their brand websites.

But ignoring this traffic could be costly. The study also found that, on average, visitors to CPG brand websites spent 37% more than non-visitors on those brands in retail stores. So even the relatively low traffic brand sites typically draw is a missed opportunity, said Mike Zeman, vice president of marketing solutions at comScore Inc.

“Brand web sites can attract and influence the behavior of the most valuable segments of any brand’s franchise,” Zeman said in a January 2012 press release.

But not all brand managers are looking at traffic when assessing the effectiveness of their brand sites.

“When we think about traffic to the [brand page], that’s not really a key performance indicator of ours,” said David Kargas, senior group manager of public relations and digital marketing at The Clorox Co., which counts Fresh Step cat litter and Hidden Valley Ranch among its brands.

“We want all of our brand sites to be a digital hub of sorts, so we try to have at least a flavor of everything that’s going on in the social space as part of that brand site. You can watch a video [on the brand site], but we also know that if you really want to engage, you’re going to drive off to YouTube. The key performance indicator for social channels is that interaction rate.”

So, then, does a successful campaign offsite mean higher traffic for the brand site? Sometimes.

Compete looked at what happened to Mondelez’s Nabisco.com brand site during one month of Oreo’s Daily Twist campaign. In September 2012, traffic coming from Facebook, where the brand posted daily renderings of Oreo cookies based on current events and holidays, increased 19.6% from August 2012. Traffic coming from YouTube increased nearly 30%.

Sometimes, though, brand site traffic doesn’t budge.

Compete also looked at how well Old Spice performed on its YouTube channel compared to its brand site during some popular ad campaigns. During the 2011 holiday season, Weiden + Kennedy created a major YouTube campaign, “MANta Claus,” followed by “Smell Is Power” in January 2012. Traffic to Old Spice’s YouTube channel surged to 264,969 unique visitors in December 2011. That same month, the Old Spice brand site’s traffic jumped to 56,525 visitors, according

Brand Sites = Brand Equity

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

to Compete. But that was a high point; most months thereafter the number of visitors to the brand site hovered in the 10,000 to 20,000 range. For the most part, no matter what the content on the YouTube channel, the brand site’s traffic remained steady.

thousands

US Unique Visitors to OldSpice.com vs. Old Spice's YouTube Channel, July 2011-Aug 2012

Nov

9,253

28,930

Dec

135,429

56,525

Jan2011 2012

264,969

21,522

Feb

262,058

24,566

Mar

36,582

15,810

Apr

29,205

14,229

May

140,546

9,776

Jun

55,100

16,876

July

29,925

9,031

Aug

56,486

9,406

Unique visitors to Old Spice's YouTube channelUnique visitors to OldSpice.com

Source: Compete, as cited in company blog, Sep 27, 2012148210 www.eMarketer.com

148210

Marketers may not agree on how important it is to drive consumers to brand sites. But, as Zeman pointed out in the Accenture/comScore/dunnhumbyUSA study, “CPG marketers currently invest millions of dollars in their brand websites, and the results of this study confirm the importance of this investment. But it’s clear that the content and utilities on these sites need to be highly engaging if they are to attract a meaningful number of visitors.”

The Content Blend

The Old Spice traffic numbers point up the underlying questions for marketers: Where to interact with consumers and how to optimize the mix.

“We’re constantly trying to figure out what is the right content for which channel,” said Amanda Mahan, Clorox’s creative director for digital and content. “With Hidden Valley Ranch, recipes are the most popular content on our website. So, naturally, we thought we’d just put them on Facebook. It turns out they are the worst performing piece of content that we do there.”

Turns out, it’s a question of context. “It’s a different mindset when [our fans] are on Facebook,” Mahan said. “When they come to social channels, they want to have fun and share. When they come to our website, they’re looking to solve a problem.”

According to the Custom Content Council and ContentWise’s 12th annual study of corporate investment in branded content, educating customers remains the primary reason for using it. And, even as increasing customer retention and brand loyalty have risen as reasons for offering branded content over the past three years, education has increased as a secondary reason as well.

% of respondents

Reasons for Using Branded Content According toMarketers in North America, 2009-2012

2009 2010 2011 2012

PrimaryEducate customers 54% 54% 49% 43%

Customer retention 25% 23% 26% 25%

Brand loyalty 10% 12% 14% 19%

To upsell customers 3% 4% 5% 6%

Other 8% 7% 6% 7%

SecondaryCustomer retention 28% 35% 35% 31%

Educate customers 24% 27% 20% 30%

Brand loyalty 23% 26% 27% 23%

To upsell customers 13% 6% 13% 10%

Other 12% 6% 5% 6%

Source: Custom Content Council and ContentWise, "A Look at HowCorporate America Invests in Branded Content," Nov 20, 2012147927 www.eMarketer.com

147927

According to General Mills’ Comings, the objective of the Nature Valley brand site is to “enhance loyalty and engagement with the brand and provide product news and information.”

But if brand sites are so good at this, what is the purpose of content channels and how do marketers choose among them? A study by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs showed the incredibly rich mix of choices marketers face.

The Traffic Paradox

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 6

% of respondents

Content Marketing Tactics Used by B2C ContentMarketers in North America, Aug 2012

Social media* 84%

Articles on your website 84%

E-newsletters 78%

Videos 70%

Blogs 69%

In-person events 63%

Articles on other websites 61%

Mobile content 43%

Mobile apps 42%

Print magazines 42%

Microsites 41%

Branded content tools 40%

Case studies 38%

Print newsletters 37%

Infographics 33%

Research reports 33%

Licensed/syndicated content 33%

Books 32%

Webinars/webcasts 32%

Digital magazines 29%

Ebooks 28%

Annual reports 28%

White papers 28%

Podcasts 26%

Virtual conferences 21%

Games/gamification 17%

Note: *excludes blogsSource: Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs, "B2CContent Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends - NorthAmerica" sponsored by Pace, Nov 14, 2012147497 www.eMarketer.com

147497

The conventional wisdom is that a brand site is the place for consumers to learn about brands and their products. But data shows that consumers frequently use social channels to learn about products. A recent Nielsen report found that 65% of social media users learned something new about brands, products or services at least once a month on social networks.

% of respondents

Select Social Media Activities of US Social MediaUsers, Aug 2012

Learn more about brands/products/services65%

Compliment brands53%

Express concerns/complaints about brands/services50%

Note: performed at least once per monthSource: Nielsen and NM Incite, "State of the Media: The Social MediaReport 2012," Dec 3, 2012148772 www.eMarketer.com

148772

The high number of users who have learned about brands via social channels in part reflects the fact that users visit social sites regularly. “People don’t start their day on [brand sites],

they start their day on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest,” said Percolate’s Gross.

But brands need to be aware of where consumers really are. A Pitney-Bowes Software survey of marketing decision-makers in Australia, France, Germany, the UK and the US that included but was not limited to CPG marketers found that internet users were not necessarily going to the same social media sites that marketers were using for content and campaigns. While Facebook and YouTube were even more popular among internet users than among marketers, other social sites were not being used as often as marketers might hope.

Tumblr, for instance, was being used as a marketing tool by 26% of marketers, while just 5% of internet users said they used the platform.

% of respondents

Social Media Sites Used by MarketingDecision-Makers and Internet Users Worldwide, Sep2012

Facebook93%

84%

YouTube53%

41%

Twitter31%

57%

Google+22%

51%

LinkedIn19%

50%

Myspace15%

25%

Tumblr5%

26%

Internet users Marketing decision-makers

Note: UK, France, Germany, Australia and the USSource: Pitney Bowes Software, Nov 20, 2012147675 www.eMarketer.com

147675

Social networking internet users don’t seem to be browsing all the platforms available to them. In fact, Facebook, overwhelmingly, is the social network preferred by users who want to connect with brands, according to research by Arbitron and Edison Research.

The Content Blend

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

% of respondents

Preferred Social Network for Connecting with BrandsAccording to US Social Network Users, Feb 2012

Facebook79%

Twitter9%

Other7%

None4% Don't know/

not applicable1%

Note: ages 12+ who have followed a company/brandSource: Arbitron and Edison Research, "The Social Habit," June 4, 2012141885 www.eMarketer.com

141885

Ben and Jerry’s, an ice cream brand owned by Unilever, places content on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest. But Mike Hayes, the brand’s assistant digital marketing manager, said Facebook was its preferred distribution channel. “It has far greater scale than the other channels,” he noted. Still, he added, that’s no reason not to use other channels. “The challenge for brands is to find out how to most effectively use each channel and figure out what their fans want from them in each channel, as well as how all the channels can work together.”

Gross agreed. “I like to say, ‘Never push someone into a cul-de-sac.’ You want to post something and link off of that.” Gross, whose company is banking on brands placing content on social media, makes the point that brands must keep the content—wherever it may be—flowing. “Content sites need to refresh constantly,” he said. “[Brand sites] aren’t flexible enough to create content on a daily basis; that’s not what was needed when brand sites were first developed.”

But that’s OK, said 360i’s Hofstetter. “For many brands, the brand site doesn’t need to be the first point of entry.” Instead, she works with brands to see which channels they should be investing in, at what levels and how they should talk to each other. “In most cases, the brand site is part of that,” Hofstetter said.

Mixing the Channels

There is no lack of experimentation when mixing together content on multiple channels, and no one right answer for what works. Consider these three companies and their approaches to engaging consumers:

New Product, New Site

When Campbell’s launched its Go Soups line, it put all the brand information for the product on social site Tumblr. The reason? The soups are aimed directly at millennial shoppers, a demographic that is more inclined than older consumers to use Tumblr.

“Tumblr is really meant to be our brand site [for Campbell’s Go],” said Nelson Warley, Campbell Soup Co.’s senior brand manager. “That’s the information hub, and you would go there to understand what this brand is.”

Consumers who start their search for Go Soups at campbellsoup.com will find a tab at the top of the page but nothing more. Clicking the tab takes viewers to Campbellsgo.com, a Tumblr site that, while it provides the same information as many basic brand sites—product descriptions, nutritional information, even coupons to download—does it with humor, engaging images and very little text.

“[Using Tumblr] felt like a natural fit for this target,” said Warley. “It was an effective way to house a lot of the key brand information in a way that was seamless to this audience.”

Remaking the Corporate Website

The Coca-Cola Co. recently overhauled its corporate website (coca-colacompany.com), re-naming it Coca-Cola Journey and replacing press releases with reported stories, opinion pieces, recipes and videos. “We believe we’re the first brand to pull down a traditional corporate website, question what the role of a company site should be and replace it with an interactive magazine focused on real content,” said Ashley Brown, Coca-Cola’s director of digital communications and social media.

While the corporate site is a halo for all the Coke brands, Brown said it’s just one element that works to engage consumers globally. “Brand sites like Journey are doors to consumer engagement,” he noted. “Our worldwide markets use brand sites for local campaigns and promotions, as hubs that aggregate links to brand content elsewhere on the web and as global sites that provide both basic product information and links to brand content.”

“It’s a risk, and we expect to make mistakes,” said Brown of Coke’s content strategy. “But I’m excited to see what the future holds and how our readers respond.”

Loads of Content, Little Product

Energy drink maker Red Bull earned massive media attention this fall when Felix Baumgartner broke the record for the highest free fall, jumping from 23 miles above the Earth. Red Bull sponsored Baumgartner’s years-long quest to break the free-fall record, documenting the effort live on YouTube, where the final, successful jump garnered 8 million concurrent views. “Red Bull has gone further than almost any other brand in demolishing the line between the company’s ‘primary’ business—making energy drinks—and the corollary business of creating content and experiences for the people that it considers its target audience for those drinks,” wrote Fast Company.

Red Bull’s brand site leans heavily on adrenaline-fueled content offerings—articles and videos focused on athletics

The Content Blend

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

and stunts—that convey the idea of the brand without actually talking about it. Product information is available but downplayed; it takes several clicks before visitors to the site learn what’s inside a can of Red Bull.

Q&A: Are you rethinking the purpose of your brand site?

Mike Hayes Assistant Digital Marketing Manager, Ben & Jerry’s

Unilever

“We haven’t re-evaluated the purpose of our brand site, but we have re-evaluated how we communicate our information. In the past we communicated with consumers on our site through design; over the last three or four years we’ve seen that transition to content, and that transition is still not done.”

Laurie Borgen Editorial Content Manager, Digital Publishing for Baking

General Mills

“Absolutely. Content marketing has enabled us to evolve our successful recipe sites into powerful food lifestyle sites. We focus on solving a multitude of consumer needs. It’s about what our consumers need first and solving that need with our content stories and with recipes using our products.”

Rachel Weiss Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation

L’Oréal USA

“We’re always looking at how content can influence strategy across the path to purchase. How a beauty customer evaluates products is important. So how can we use content to help increase those sales? It can be on the site. But it can [also] be through awareness on YouTube.”

Conclusions

Know where the message will play best. There are a lot of opportunities to engage with consumers. Marketers don’t have to take advantage of all of them—and, as a matter of fact, they shouldn’t. Not every social site works for every message. Marketers should focus their efforts on a few well-chosen sites.

Experiment. Social media is evolving at a rapid rate. While your message won’t live everywhere, it’s important to know where your audience is and where your next marketing effort should be.

Keep consumers moving. There should be no dead ends, advised Percolate’s Gross. Every site, whether it’s a social network or the brand web site, should link to one another. In most cases, consumers will pass through the brand site. But even if they don’t, there should be enough touchpoints that the brand message is reinforced.

Don’t neglect the brand site. There are a lot of interesting, engaging programs being done with social media. Those should continue. But don’t put the brand site aside to focus on the social site du jour. The brand site is where you can control the message. Keep it fresh.

The Content Blend

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

eMarketer Interviews

General Mills Creates Shareable, Cross-Channel Content for Brands

Laurie Borgen Editorial Content Manager, Digital Publishing for Baking

General Mills

Maria Carolina Comings Associate Marketing Manager, Nature Valley Granola

General Mills Interview conducted on November 29, 2012

Coke’s ‘Journey’ Takes Visitors Beyond the Brand

Ashley Brown Director, Digital Communications & Social Media

The Coca-Cola Co. Interview conducted on November 13, 2012

Ben & Jerry’s Serves an Endless Bowl of Content Marketing

Mike Hayes Assistant Digital Marketing Manager

Ben & Jerry’s (Unilever) Interview conducted on November 21, 2012

Content Marketers Beware: You Still Need a Brand Site

Sarah Hofstetter President

360i Interview conducted on November 26, 2012

Brand Sites and Social Channels Serve Different Purposes for Clorox

Amanda Mahan Creative Director, Digital and Content

The Clorox Co.

David Kargas Senior Group Manager of Public Relations and Digital Marketing

The Clorox Co. Interview conducted on November 29, 2012

Campbell’s Partners with Social Networks Sites to Drive Engagement Nelson Warley Senior Brand Manager

Campbell Soup Co. Interview conducted on November 20, 2012

Cindy Chen Director of Marketing, Oreo

Mondelez International Interview conducted on October 1, 2012

Pat Gentile General Manager (retired)

Proctor & Gamble Productions Interview conducted on November 21, 2012

David Germano Vice President, Content Marketing

Empower Media Marketing Interview conducted on November 16, 2012

James Gross Co-Founder

Percolate Interview conducted on November 19, 2012

Ayana Oliver-Green Associate Brand Manager, Huggies

Kimberly-Clark Corp. Interview conducted on December 5, 2012

Rachel Weiss Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation

L’Oréal USA Interview conducted on November 26, 2012

What’s a Brand Site For? Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Channels Copyright ©2013 eMarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

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Nicole Perrin Associate Editorial DirectorCliff Annicelli Senior Copy EditorEmily Adler Copy EditorDana Hill Director of ProductionJoanne DiCamillo Senior Production ArtistStephanie Gehrsitz Production ArtistAllie Smith Director of Charts

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