INTERACTIVE BRAND COMMUNICATION Class 7 Creative Issues II: Creating Effective Online Advertising

Topics  How to build and maintain an effective corporate site  How to create an effective banner Creating Effective Internet Advertising

Website Tactics  General Tips  Content & Design Tips How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

General 1. Define and understand your goals clearly  The objectives of the site are your guide  Do not pay more attention to the design of the site than the reason you had for building the site How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

General 2. Be a Site Visitor  Visit the sites of your competitors and learn from the strengths and weaknesses  Put yourself in the shoes of your target site visitor  Submit your site address to an appropriate newsgroup for a critical peer review How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

General How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site 3. Be Consistent  Keep the same “look and feel” across all of your pages  Use consistent navigation site-wide

4. Content is the key  Provide the content relevant, valuable, entertaining to the visitor  Customize the content to the visitor whenever possible  Design elements should enhance the content, not replace  Use technology as a friend, not a distracter General How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

5. Test to build and modify  Test pages with as many browsers and platforms as possible  Test with different design techniques  Test to learn about areas of problems and opportunities General How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

6. Don’t forget the need for updating the site and the budget for it  A major redesign is needed on a regular basis (typically once in a year)  The annual maintenance budget for a site is at least 50% of the initial cost of building the site General How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

1. Write your pages for multiple types of Web browsers to provide trouble-free access to the widest possible audience Consider Netscape, Explore, Lynx, Opera, Web TV, Wireless Cell phones, PDAs or palmtops  What you see is not what others get on the Web Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

2. Navigational Aids Provide well-defined categories by which users can navigate Include a search feature in the home page Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

2. Navigational Aids Provide well-defined categories by which users can navigate Include a search feature in the home page Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

3. Text Condense textual content to fit the time and attention constraints of today’s busy Web users Don’t’ use too many fonts. Times & Arial are the safe choices Don’t use blinking text Spell check and proof-read Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

4. Images and Graphics Don’t use too many or too big graphics or animations. When using graphics, provide textual alternatives and allow the non-graphic part to load first Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

5. Use of Color Don’t use too many colors. Three or four would suffice in most cases Don’t use dark background Consider the inherent effects of color Use consistent color scheme for links (blue for the non-clicked and red or magenta for the clicked) Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

6. Use of Links Don’t add links that cause a new browser window to open Establish a routine for locating and fixing broken Web site links Organize links by topic and alphabetically Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

7. Make your point in the top of the pages, the “front screen.” If you don’t, you will lose good prospects Give every page a relevant page title = URL for the page = wording of the link Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

8. Offer ways to communicate directly with the customer; use interactivity Include contact information (name, , phone, fax, etc.) A feedback form in a separate page helps in a lot of ways A FAQs page is a good idea Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

9. Use of Music or Audio Files Opt out of music files. Audio files slow your page loads and may irritate many visitors If necessary to enhance your content, provide it as an option not a requirement Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

10. Include a copyright notice and a privacy statement at the bottom of each page 11.Include “printer-friendly pages” 12.Include archives of the dated information Design & Content How to Build and Maintain an Effective Corporate Site

Banner Tips  Keep it simple  Grab attention via proper animation, color, and size  Include a call to action, if direct response is the goal  Provide incentives  Pose a question How to Create an Effective Banner

Banner Tips  Create a sense of urgency  Keep the message close to the page content  Incorporate interactivity  Test, Test, Test How to Create an Effective Banner