Internet Brand Development
Kellogg’s strategy was to produce a web site
provided specific product line
and brand information to interested consumers.
The page displays particular
product descriptions, nutrition information, and
recipes. Provided as well are
company contacts allowing direct consumer
response. Corporation facts and
financial statements are also available. The
overall goal of these sites are to
reinforce the brand images portrayed by
the companies’ other advertisements,
such as, television commercials, radio
spots and print advertisement.
Kellogg’s does this by posting additional
information about its products. New
products are promoted in this site to
entice those familiar with the Kellogg’s
name into trying new line
extensions. Parents, those with illnesses or
allergies, and exercise
enthusiasts will find nutritional information about
their favorite products.
The site is easy to navigate through and does not
bombard the consumer with
overwhelming amounts of information in a cluttered
manner. The site is
concise and allows the company’s messages to be readily
absorbed. General
Mills produced a web site that has an abundance of company
information and
hyperlinks to individual product and service pages. Its many
product
categories, line extensions and brand names allow the company to post
diverse
information in accordance with the different product positions. It also
uses
this web site to promote new products. The General Mills web site itself
only
posts company information, line extensions, news, and online
shopping
opportunities. The sight’s links give access to a variety of
information.
Parents have the option to explore the Cheerios parent page
and educators might
be interested in the Box Tops for education program
General Mills sponsors.
Health conscious consumers would be attracted to
Cheerios heart healthy news and
kids may check out the "you rule your school"
page. The information
provided by this site is varying and a dispersed widely
over many different web
pages. This may be problematic for consumers who are
not too familiar with
surfing the net. Its broad layout may lead to confusion
in finding or difficulty
in discovering specific product information. Post
Cereal’s web site displays
health related question and answer forums, product
line information, recipes and
snack ideas for their cereals. Those looking
for new and alternative uses for
pre-existing brands. Parents and house-wives
may be those specifically targeted.
It also attempts to enhance the image
of the Post brand overall by providing
historical information. This is in an
attempt to distinguish the company as on
that has established itself and also
provides quality products. Those who
produced this page may not have taken
into consideration the possibility that
loyal Post Purchasers may not know
that Kraft is Post’s parent company and
must go through Kraft’s web sight to
access Post’s page. Breakfast cereal is
a product that requires little
involvement on behalf of the consumer. The
customer knows likes and needs and
bases his purchasing decisions of them. One
consumer may like cereals with a
lot of sugar while others may look for those
high in fiber. Once a consumer
finds a cereal that he/she likes they tend
habitually purchase it. Most
cereal purchasers have a select few cereals they
are partial to and routinely
buy them. (Speaking from personal experience) The
Web can be used to
establish familiarity and allow consumers access to updated
product
information. Those navigating these product sites are most likely loyal
brand
buyers and are in search for more information. They are more willing and
open
to the messages and advertisements displayed by the manufacturers.
Loyal
customers also are exposed to the company’s Web address because it
is
generally printed on the product labels. This almost forces the habitual
buyer
to memorize it. The enormity of the Web may lead consumers to become
lost or may
make finding the site itself difficult. Also not all buyers have
access to
computers or may be computer illiterate. The Web is a useful tool
for keeping
old consumers loyal and up to date in regards to their favorite
brands. Web
pages provide a cost effective means to distribute additional
product
information. Consumers go to the web site seeking the company’s
message. It
offers a means of direct consumer feedback by encouraging buyers
to e-mail their
opinion of the brands. It can also be used as a research tool
by counting the
number of "hits" there are for a particular products web
page. This
recording my reflect consumer interest in the product. Web masters
may find
difficulty in making accessibility and navigation simple enough for
all users.
Exactly what message and information should be posted and
consumer awareness of
the web site itself may also prove to be obstacles to
be overcome by sight
producers.
Bibliography
Report based on
information found at the following web sites: Kelloggs.com
Kraft.com
Generalmills.com