Online Branding

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Record:1
Title:Study Shows Online Branding Works.
Source:Fund Marketing Alert; 12/21/98, Vol. 3 Issue 51, p4, 1/6p
Document Type:Article
Subject Terms:ONLINE Branding (Survey)
Company/Entity:CYBER Dialogue Inc. DUNS Number: 806786729
Abstract:Describes the findings of the survey conducted by Cyber
Dialogue titled `Online Branding: The Internet's Impact on
Branding.' Comments from Stuart Gibbel, director of marketing at
Cyber Dialogue; Profile of an Internet user that will likely to
respond to branding.
Accession Number:1450399
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Cut and Paste:<A
href="http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=14503
99">Study
Shows Online Branding Works.</A>
Database: Business Source Premier
Record:2
Title:I-Biz 100. (cover story)
Authors:Hogan, Mike
Source:PC Computing; Jul99, Vol. 12 Issue 7, p145, 13p, 10 charts,
11 graphs
Subject Terms:*BUSINESS enterprises
*COMMERCE
*ELECTRONIC commerce
*INTERNET industry
PC Computing (Periodical)
NAICS/Industry Codes4541 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Abstract:Mentions numerous companies which made `PC Computing's'
list of the top 100 Internet business and the secrets of their
success as of July 1, 1999. Top ten categories in overall revenue
and retail revenue, overall traffic, brand recognition,
business-to-business, auctions, booksellers, product sites;
investing, travel; Criteria evaluations were based upon; Tripling of
revenues for Amazon.com in the last quarter of 1998; Brand power of
Dell Computer; Intel Web sales in 1998.
Full Text Word Count:5339
ISSN:0899-1847
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=1917202
Cut and Paste:<A
href="http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=19172
02">I-Biz
100.</A>
Database: Academic Search Elite
Section: INTERNET BUSINESS

PC Computing
I-BIZ 100
The first-ever comprehensive report on the top 100 e-commerce

business and the secrets of their success.
You know it's a crazy world when 23-year-olds with nose rings and
purple hair are worth more money than established corporations.
Welcome to the Internet economy.
Last year's online holiday shopping spree convinced everyone who
still needed convincing: E-commerce is not a fad. Even the most
conservative estimates peg online retail sales at $41 billion in
just two years. High-end projections spike to $108 billion by 2003.
That same year, Web commerce between businesses is expected to reach
$1.3 trillion.
But it's not easy to get a handle on the real numbers. Revenue
information for private Web companies isn't always available. So who
are the big winners, and how are they getting ahead? And how can you
cash in on the e-commerce boom?
We've got the answers. For our first annual special report on
e-commerce, the Internet Business 100 (1-Biz 100), PC Computing
editors consulted hundreds of companies and analysts, combed through
annual reports, talked to customers, and pored over the numbers. The
result? The first-ever comprehensive ranking of the top 10
e-commerce players in each of the top 10 growth areas. We also
interviewed breakthrough players to find out the secrets of their
success--and what you can learn from their mistakes.
You have to spend money to make it --even on the Web. IDC predicts
that businesses will sink more and more cash into building their
Internet and e-commerce sites. Spending should grow from $11.8
billion this year to $43.6 billion by 2002.
"We want to integrate the Internet into every single thing we do.
--Richard Owen
DELL ONLINE WORLDWIDE
Being big helps boost sales--even on the Internet. Companies like
Intel and Cisco Systems--which according to research aggregator
eMarketer stand to make at least $10 billion and $6 billion on the
Web this year, respectively--enjoy the same advantages online that
they do in the real world: instant name recognition, many
person-years of business acumen, and lots of money to throw at
advertising.
Not surprisingly, the top seven e-commerce revenue generators are
all technology companies. The PC and networking business is booming
in traditional markets too, but today's leaders recognized the
promise of the Net years ago and didn't hesitate. Intel, Cisco,
Dell, 3Com, and IBM lead the pack, according to data from eMarketer
and PC Computing's own research.
The Net can save companies money too. Networking giant 3Com, which
plans to conduct 80 percent of its business-to-business transactions
over the Web by December, figures it will save $100 million a year
by moving most internal operations online as well, says Tom Thomas,
senior vice president and CIO of 3Com.
Other e-commerce winners like Amazon.com and MSN Expedia Travel are
true Net babies. And they share another characteristic: annual sales
in the $1 billion range and still no posted profits. Industry
analysts agree that books, music, and travel are among the hottest
e-commerce categories, after computer products.
But businesses that sell to other businesses are making the most
green on the Web. That's how it'll stay for the next few years, says
Geoffrey Ramsey, eMarketer statsmaster. (See "Business to Business,"
page 153.) The classic example is Dell, which dipped a toe into
e-commerce in 1997 and fell in. Deep. At last count, Dell was
selling $14 million a day in PCs off its Web site. The company
expects half its revenue--which was $18.2 billion in the 1998 fiscal
year--to come from the Net by the end of 2000.
Sixty-eight percent of U.S. Web users shop online.
Nearly 28 percent actually buy stuff too, according to IntelliQuest.
The most popular Web purchase is books, followed by software and
music.
"People just seem to buy more online."
--Erich Eyler, CAMPMOR
Take a quick tally of what you buy on the Net. If you're like most
people, your list will include computer hardware and software,
books, music CDs, event tickets, plane tickets, vacations, and even
cars. eMarketer predicts the Internet retail market will balloon
from $4.5 billion to $35.3 billion between now and 2002. Forrester's
forecast is even more aggressive: $108 billion by 2003--or 6 percent
of the total retail market.
The companies on our top 10 list for e-commerce retail
revenue--which we compiled based on info from ActivMedia, eMarketer,
and our own research--aren't casually riding the crest of these
popular e-shopping categories. They provide customers with
purchasing insight and convenience in ways that aren't possible in
retail stores.
Where else but on the Web could a one-store sporting-goods outfit
rank among the highest-grossing e-tailers? Although slightly bigger
guns pushed Campmor off our top 10 list, the Saddle River, New
Jersey, company sold millions of dollars worth of tents, mess kits,
and thermal underwear on the Web last year.
Campmor started with a catalog business--a natural jumping-off spot
for many Web stores. You can sell just about anything online, as
Netmarket discount warehouse and auction sites prove. Computer
hardware and peripherals are naturals, as our top three Web
retailers show. Books and travel aren't far behind. In fact,
Forrester Research predicts that by 2003, travel will be the No. I
retail category online, with $29.4 billion in sales.
Still, despite the successes, the majority of Web visits are
window-shopping excursions. To truly maximize sales, says
eMarketer's Geoffrey Ramsey, e-tailers need to focus on building
strong customer relationships with customer profiling and e-mail
outreach--activities that sites like Amazon.com, MSN Expedia Travel,
and Preview Travel are getting good at.
Most of the e-tailing story has yet to be written. Last year's total
online consumer revenues of $4.5 billion equal only half the sales
of Best Buy--the 10th largest retailer in the United States. But
it's a start.
Of the 78 million Americans on the Net between January and June of
1998, 48 million did some Web window-shopping, says Nielsen Media
Research and CommerceNet.
"On the Internet, if a customer is happy with you, he can tell 6,000
friends, And if you make him unhappy, he can tell 6,000 friends."
--Jeff Bezos
AMAZON.COM
Where did you go on the Web today? Among e-shopping sites,
Amazon.com got the most visitors, according to NetRatings, which
tracks Web traffic and supplied our top 10 list. A favorite of
Net-savvy early adopters, Amazon.com is still king of the hill
thanks to its ad outreach and zealous relationship building, says
Allen Weiner, vice president of services at NetRatings. Yet it still
can't compete traffic-wise with Yahoo, which gets more hits monthly
than all the shopping sites on our list combined.
But people who are new to the Net are more likely to go first to
names they know, like Barnes & Noble, says Karlan Witt, vice
president of brand research at IntelliQuest. Barnesandnoble.com--No.
5 on our list for page views--is still several steps behind
Amazon.com in traffic, revenue, and brand recognition, however. And
before it succumbs to any competitive threat, Amazon.com will
continue to expand its product offerings beyond books and music CDs.
Auction sites get lots of clicks too. eBay is one of the stickiest
on the Web--that is, customers keep coming back. "People check back
on their eBay flash bids every 5 minutes, to the point that the
average time spent on its site and its average number of page views
is among the highest on the Web," Weiner says.
Other heavily trafficked sites cover hot Internet categories like
music (CDnow), travel (Travelocity), and entertainment (Disney).
A lot of you do Yahoo. Yahoo.com's traffic dwarfs that of even the
top e-commerce sites. More than 29.5 million people visited it in
January, says Media Metrix.
"It's always cheaper to keep a customer than to acquire a new one."
Karlan Witt, INTELLIQUEST
What's in a name? Money--if people know who you are. Branding is an
ephemeral concept. But if it weren't effective, there wouldn't be so
many of us reaching for Tide and Coke. Branding is even more
important on the Net, where word of mouth can build you up or tear
you down fast, says IntelliQuest's Karlan Witt. IntelliQuest
supplied our top 10 e-commerce brand list from its most recent
Ebranding survey.
It's all about instant name recognition and consumer trust. Of the
56.4 million people who shopped online in the first quarter of 1999,
only 23.5 million purchased something, according to eMarketer.
Branding gives the nudge needed to turn a shopper into a buyer.
IntelliQuest surveyed 10,000 Internet users and found that the most
recognized technology companies--Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and
Hewlett-Packard--have the same high level of brand recognition on
the Internet. Meanwhile, successful Web-only merchants like
Amazon.com and CDnow have worked hard to get name recognition
through ad blitzes and PR.
On the other hand, name recognition flows both ways. JCPenney is one
of the most widely recognized names on the Internet--ranking just
above Compaq and Gateway, which tied for the No. 10 spot. And recent
entry barnesandnoble.com is drawing on the brand equity of its
bookstore chain to try to overtake Amazon.com, Witt says.
Few companies have been more deliberate about building a brand than
Microsoft. It has a finger in every Internet honey pot: personal
finance, travel, autos, home sales, entertainment guides, and
Web-based e-mail. CarPoint, Expedia Travel, Hotmail, MoneyCentral,
MSN.com, and Sidewalk all flash the MSN logo on every page.
Ultimately, branding pays off not only in cross-selling but also in
low customer acquisition costs. It's one of the advantages Gateway
enjoys in its competition with smaller online PC sellers. "We are
already talking to hundreds of thousands of people a day, and our
incremental customer acquisition costs are minuscule--less than 1
percent of what our competitors are paying," says Dan Pittard,
Gateway senior vice president of strategy and new ventures. "We are
in pennies and they are in dollars."
The Web influences opinions of one or more brands for 36 percent of
U.S. Internet users, according to Cyber Dialogue.
"Every person who checks in with us online is someone who doesn't
cell us on the phone."
--Richard Owen
Consumer e-commerce sites get a lot of attention, but the real money
to be made on the Web is in selling to other businesses. Forrester
Research predicts that U.S. business-to-business e-commerce will
jump from $43 billion in 1998 to $1.3 trillion by 2003. Geoffrey
Ramsey of eMarketer estimates that Web commerce between businesses
accounts for 74 percent of the total e-commerce pie worldwide.
The top 10 business-to-business players also claim many of the slots
in our top 10 list for overall revenue. We compiled our
business-to-business top 10 using data from ActivMedia, eMarketer,
the Yankee Group, and our own research.
The most successful companies already have the back-office
technology necessary to automate the entire chain, from acquisition
to fulfillment. For example, fast-moving Dell--80 percent of whose
sales come from business-to-business e-commerce--has set up 12,500
customized Web sites, or extranets. There, corporate customers log
paperless purchase orders or check in with help desks whose service
and support options are tailored to the customers' systems.
Many sales stem from a long-standing trend of large companies
outsourcing to small ones that then use technology to increase their
efficiency and reach beyond their size--a job the Web seems made
for. The result is a vibrant market for computer products and other
office necessities on the Internet. In fact, business-to-business
e-commerce even accounts for the lion's share of new online auction
sales, which we usually associate with consumers. For every Beanie
Baby or Furby doll traded on eBay, thousands of dollars in used
office equipment go out through wholesalers like VerticalNet.
IBM expects that selling over the Web will reduce its costs by $340
million this year. The company figures an online transaction costs
70 to 90 percent less than one involving a human.
"A lot of what has made eBay successful is the buzz on the Web about
it."
--Allen Weiner, NETRATINGS
Web auctions are not a passing fad. Even Amazon.com is jumping on
board, not only auctioning off rare books and such but also letting
customers sell anything under the sun to other Amazon.com shoppers.
Having plenty of participants--which Amazon.com can surely guarantee
(see "Top 10 by Traffic," page 150)--is key to the auction game. So
is being first to the table.
"eBay was early to market and attracted a huge number of loyal users
who generally haven't come across a reason to go somewhere else,"
notes NetRatings' Allen Weiner. That's reflected in our top 10 list,
supplied by Web21, which monitors site traffic.
Traffic is just part of the Web auction story, of course. The No. 2
and No. 3 sites on our list--uBid Online Auction and Onsale--both
had higher revenues than eBay, which posted $47.4 million last year,
according to Hoover's Company Capsules database. In Onsale's case it
was considerably more: $207.8 million. But many factors--including
the fact that Onsale sells more big-ticket items like computer and
electronics equipment--contribute to revenue. Actual sales between
users on eBay for fourth quarter 1998 alone were $306.6 million.
But the auctions doing the most e-commerce fall in the
business-to-business category, according to eMarketer's Geoffrey
Ramsey. Sites like VerticalNet provide a liquidation marketplace for
businesses that need to keep their inventory moving. Still, Weiner
says, consumer-oriented auction sites will continue to grow,
siphoning an ever increasing share of classified ad dollars from
local newspapers.
If you owned 10,000 shires of eBay when the company went public on
September 24, 1998, at $18 per share, you would have become a
millionaire less than six months later.
"I ask other companies who they model themselves after, and they all
point to Amazon.com."
Allen Weiner, NETRATINGS
The big winner in the book category is the one that invented
it--Amazon.com. Even the profitable brick-and-mortar book chains
Barnes & Noble and Borders are slightly behind in terms of
e-commerce revenues and use of Web sales technologies.
Amazon.com pioneered not just selling books on the Web but also
business methods that apply to a lot of e-shopping categories.
Amazon.com hits the airwaves hard thanks to marketing dollars that
don't seem to quit. Just as important, it uses technology to offer
shoppers convenience and build customer loyalty, says Krista Pappas,
senior analyst at Gomez Advisors. Gomez, which ranks sites based on
usability, features, and customer service, provided our top 10 list.
The prize is an online book business expected to grow exponentially

every year and to launch related soft-goods businesses--music,
gifts, and more, Pappas says. But not all analysts agree:
Forrester's projections for the Web book business barely hit $3
billion by 2003. For now, profits are a mirage for all online
players--even Amazon.com, whose revenues were up nearly 300 percent
last year. And with so few obstacles to market entry, a gazillion
other sites selling books, music, flowers, and gifts are following
in its wake.
Amazon.com's first-player advantage and heavy marketing model are
hard to duplicate today. "You have about a thousand times more sites
all vying for attention," says Karlan Witt of IntelliQuest. Anyone
can start a Web business, but it costs a ton to get your name heard
above the noise.
What's an online seller to do? Cut out a niche, Pappas says.
And it helps if you offer rock-bottom prices. Take Lyle Bowlin. He
started Positively-You.com in a spare bedroom of his Cedar Falls,
Iowa, home after he found he only needed to buy five books from a
distributor to get the same discounts that Amazon.com enjoys. With
no marketing, Bowlin's site rakes in $2,000 a day in sales by
undercutting Amazon.com's prices. With operating costs of just $450
a month, Bowlin's laughing all the way to the bank.
In just five years, online book sales will grow 2,400 percent,
according to Jupiter Communications. Web book sales will reach $3.7
billion by the end of 2002.
"We want to make sure people have their PCs up and running in 15
minutes after they receive the box, and that they're on the "Web in
5 minutes after that."
--Richard Owen
Once you've bought a PC by dialing a toll-free number, it's a small
step to buy your next PC from that same vendor's Web page. The most
successful players in computer product sales are those that sell
their own brand: Dell, Gateway, HP, and others. But the backbone of
the PC mail-order business--long before Michael Dell mythologized
it--has always been third parties that mix PC and peripheral sales
with software sales to find new customers for a variety of
manufacturers at the same time.
These resellers have existed on razor-thin margins and quick wits
for decades. When the Web came along, outfits like MicroWarehouse
and the Outpost.com recognized the opportunity before their
suppliers did. Often they mainly sell peripherals, software, and
accessories that go with a desktop PC, says Dataquest e-commerce
analyst Erina DuBois, but that still makes for a pretty efficient
distribution channel.
What margin these companies lose by offering low prices, they often
make up for in cost savings thanks to Web-based service, support,
and product updates. The most expensive part of any mail-order
business is those 10-minute phone conversations each customer has
with a live person, and the toughest part of acquiring a repeat
mail-order customer is clinching that first sale.
When it put up its Web site for customer service and information,
Dell didn't expect online computer sales of $14 million per day--a
quarter of its overall revenues. Now Dell's goal is to push Web
transactions to 50 percent of all sales by the end of 2000 and to
eventually go for 100 percent.
"We want to integrate the Internet into every single thing we
do--all parts of the supply chain, the sale process, the support
process, and into the products themselves," says Richard Owen, vice
president of Dell Online Worldwide.
By 2003, people in the United States will buy $18.2 billion in PC
products online, says Forrester Research. That will account for 39
percent of the market.
"The Internet appeals most to people interested in fast, cheap,
self-directed trades."
--Kenneth Clemmer
FORRESTER RESEARCH
Personal finance is the second most popular business on the Web,
after pornography. Certainly the surge in the number of online
brokerage houses which doubled over the past year to 110--has been
one of the Internet's great success stories.
More than 3 million Web brokerage accounts were opened in 1998. That
helped drive online trades to an estimated 30 percent of all daily
trading volume, notes Frank Lallos, a senior analyst for Gomez
Advisors. We used Gomez's rankings plus our own research to come up
with our top 10 list.
It isn't all good news. The 28 million U.S. households with
brokerage accounts--online and otherwise--is anything but a
monolithic demographic with common goals, Lallos says. Hyperactive
day traders recognized the Web's potential first. They are typically
young, risk-tolerant, and techno-savvy, according to Forrester
Research. They are upwardly mobile, but many still have limited
finances. Online brokers have yet to prove that they also can
attract retirement-oriented investors--not just retirees, but
younger and middle-aged professionals.
But Web investing is booming for now. Online traders like the
convenience of Internet investing and the array of free quotes,
research, and advice that would have cost thousands of dollars a
year or two ago. Who wouldn't rather pay $8 to $20 in commissions
per online trade instead of the $200 some full-service brokers ask?
Datek Online and Suretrade.com fare well with the fast movers. But
Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments seem to be doing the best at
swimming upstream and wooing the retirement planners away from
traditional brokers--the key to sustaining a future, according to
Forrester. Schwab and Fidelity control more than half of all
e-broker accounts. And Schwab is doing it with $30 base online
commissions--a steep price from the company that got its start by
inventing discount brokering. But as many online merchants are
finding out, a different medium sometimes demands a different
business model.
By 2003, U.S. online broker accounts will represent more than $3
trillion--about 19 percent--of total retail investment, Forrester
predicts.
"A lot of offline travel agents are feeling very uptight right now"
--Krista Pappas
GOMEZ ADVISORS
It's no surprise that travel sites generate the most in Web retail
sales. The basic commodity is information--nothing to ship or store.
But it's a business in which consumers are price-sensitive,
suppliers are stingy, and margins are slim.
Few e-commerce categories have made as much of new technology as Web
travel sites. Historically the lack of a good market-clearing
mechanism left many a plane seat and hotel room empty. Travel sites
match inventory to buyers, delivering bargains to consumers and more
revenue to travel providers.
Beyond that, travel sites keep customers coming back by making it a
no-brainer to book trips and get detailed information. The top five
on our list based on Gomez Advisors' rankings and our own
research--pull in the most cash. These sites let users store
frequent-flier miles and travel preferences for quicker booking.
Some do more: Biztravel.com, for instance, offers one-click seat
upgrades and sends flight info to your pager.
One of the most lucrative opportunities in online travel today is
offering services people can't get from the big players. Take
VacationSpot.com. This vacation rental specialist processes about
1,000 booking requests worth $160,000 per day, according to
president and CEO Steve Murch. And partnerships with MSN Expedia
Travel and Travelocity ensure wider exposure.
Internet sales still account for only about 10 percent of travel
bookings, says Krista Pappas of Gomez. But offline agents, watch
out.
Online travel will account for 25 percent of the $8 billion in total
online shopping revenues this year, according to Jupiter
Communications. Travelers like the convenience, speed, and savings
of booking online.
Top 10 by Overall Revenue
Small surprise that the top 5 Web moneymakers are also
technology companies. But upstarts like Amazon are
starting to crack the top 10 too.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Intel
Saw the Web's potential early and had the
muscle to take advantage of it.
2 Cisco Systems
Sell networking hardware on the Net? Sure,
that'll work.
3 Dell Computer
Online PC sales are $15 million a day--and
counting.
4 3Com
Uses the Web to make money and save money
too.
5 IBM
Big Blue's catchy e-business commercials are
working.
6 Gateway 2000
Sells low-cost PCs to consumers and businesses.
7 Hewlett-Packard
Its Shopping Village puts big money in its
coffers--and corporate sales add even more.
8 Amazon.com
Recipe for success: Get there first, go public,
and don't forget to advertise.
9 Sabre Group
Supplies the backbone booking system to many
Internet travel sites.
10 MSN Expedia Travel
Marry the Microsoft brand to a hot 3-commerce
and you have a winner.
Top 10 by Retail Revenue
Addicted to online shopping? Chances are you've made--or
at least researched--a purchase at one of these sites.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Hewlett-Packard
Its Shopping Village site sells PCs like
gangbusters.
2 Gateway
Folksy charm plus value.
3 Dell Computer
Top-notch customer service.
4 Amazon.com
Nearly tripled revenues and bagged 1.7 million
customers in the last quarter of 1998.
One area where MSN spells c-a-s-h.
6 Preview Travel
Fast booking day or night.
7 Ticketmaster Multimedia
Gets you off the phone and onto the Web.
8 1travel.com
A big hotel database and deep discounts bring
travelers in droves.
9 Netmarket
Hawk it all and money's bound to come in.
10 Autoweb.com
Pioneering a big-ticket e-commerce category
is good for your bottom line.
Top 10 by Traffic
Five of the top page-turning sites sell books, music, or
both. The rest span all the top e-commerce categories.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Amazon.com
This books and music supersite's click-through
banners, TV ads, and radio ads are everywhere.
2 eBay
Word's out: It's the place to make a deal on much
more than Furby dolls and Beanie Babies.
3 Disney.com
Who can't find a reason to visit the Magic Kingdom
at one time or another?
4 Cdnow
Largest music-only retailer got there by getting
personal. I want my CDnow.
5 barnesandnoble.com
Playing catch-up is never fun, but this site has
the marketing dollars and customer base to try.
6 Netmarket
Sells everything under the sun. Even lets customers
bid on items in the Haggle Zone.
7 Spree.com
Fast, friendly, and fun works on the Web.
8 Travelocity
This Sabre Group subsidiary focuses on fast site
performance.
9 Columbia House Online
The Web is a better way to fish for music-club
members than pullout ads in Rolling Stone.
10 Music Boulevard
Gives people what they want: music downloads.
Top 10 by Brand Recognition
It helps to be first on the Web--and well known in the
real world. People familiar with your retail
store will visit you online.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Amazon.com
Represents the new Web economy. And hey, it's
got great prices on books.
Real-world track moves nicely online.
3 Microsoft Network
Is there any category MSN doesn't cover?
4 Cdnow
Buying music online is a no-brainer.
5 The Gap
As many ways to gather customer info as there
are shades of khaki.
6 Columbia House Online
Fifteen million members is a lot of exposure.
7 Dell Computer
Brand power among businesses pays.
8 Hewlett-Packard
The first name in printers--and now PCs.
9 JCPenney
If you like its catalog, you'll like its Web
site.
10 Compaq Computer
Being the No. 1 PC maker doesn't hurt
(tie) Gateway 2000
Compaq's online branding. Gateway beams its
cowhide pattern onto TV screens everywhere.
Top 10 Business-to-Business Companies
The top online business-to-business players bring in much more
money than consumer-focused e-tailers. Both segments will grow,
but business will stay on top.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Intel
Sold about $12 billion in chips and processors
on the Web last year.
2 Cisco Systems
A parts list only an IS director could love.
But Cisco has money to burn.
3 Dell Computer
In the business of bringing technology to
your business.
4 3Com
Expects 80 percent of its business to be
conducted over the Net by year's end.
5 IBM
No one ever got fired for buying IBM hardware
and software over the Net.
6 Gateway 2000
A lot of small businesses are run from
American homes.
7 Boise Cascade Office Products
E-commerce pioneer and office-products
supplier to the Fortune 500.
8 W.W. Grainger
Seventy-year-old distributor of corporate
maintenance and operating supplies.
9 Sabre Group
The original online reservation clearinghouse
is a backbone for many travel sites.
10 Office Depot
America's largest office-products supplier
has a location near you--the Web.
Top 10 Auctions
Auctions aren't just for rich collectors anymore. Millions
of dollars change hands at Web auctions every day.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 eBay
Gets the most unique visitors--plus return visitors
who constantly check the status of their bids.
2 uBid Online Auction
More than a million visitors a month and complete
clearing services for small vendors.
3 Onsale
Appeals to business owners and consumers.
4 Yahoo Auctions
Ideal combination: a traffic-sensitive business and
a top Web directory.
5 Surplus Auction
Wide computer-product selection from big names.
6 First Auction
Thirty-minute Flash Auctions offer the best deals.
7 Collecting Nation
Collectors have money to burn.
8 Auction Sales
Everything from PCs to crab dinners on an
easy-to-navigate site.
9 Haggle Online
Computers at rock-bottom prices.
10 BidOnline.com
Plain-Jane bid site for PC hardware.
Top 10 Booksellers
"Never pay full price for books again." Crown Books' 1980s
slogan has worked like a charm for booksellers on the Web.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Amazon.com
No. 1 for customer care and Web site
personalization.
2 Borders.com
The best place to find obscure titles.
Reward programs and e-mail outreach
keep you coming back.
4 BookBuyers Outlet
Specializes in award-winning titles.
5 Books.com
Hefty discounts attract bibliophiles
to the site.
6 Words Worth
There's plenty of room for independents
online.
7 Shopping.com
Offers to beat any competitor's price.
8 Buy Books.com
Low shipping costs and good customer
service.
9 Hastings Entertainment
Weekly specials on books, music,
videos, and more.
10 Varsity Books.com
Attention, starving students: Get all
your textbooks at 40 percent off.
Top 10 PC Product Sites
Soon you'll be more likely to buy a PC, a peripheral, or
software on the Web than over the phone or at a retail store.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Dell Computer
Expects half of all sales to be closed
online in 2000.
2 Gateway 2000
Web site preceded its PC showrooms.
3 Hewlett-Packard
Shopping Village site aims to offer a
customized interface for every visitor.
4 Compaq Computer
Built-in advantage: AltaVista and Shopping.com
preprogrammed into its PC keyboards.
5 IBM
Total online sales are $1 billion per month.
6 Apple Computer
Successfully hawks iMacs and Power Book
G3s online.
7 Beyond.com
Apps R Us--rich in product selection and
info.
8 Outpost.com
Low shipping costs and true overnight
delivery.
9 MicroWarehouse
Sells every kind of PC hardware and software
imaginable.
10 Insight Enterprises
Mail-order seller turned e-tailer.
Top 10 Online Brokers
Depending on your online broker, trading on the Web can
save you time and money. Our top e-brokers charge just
$8 to $25 per trade.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
1 Charles Schwab
Charges comparatively higher fees online, but
all the extras appeal to monied customers.
2 Fidelity Investments
Somewhat steep prices but incredible advice,
customer service, and planning tools.
3 E*Trade
Service outages don't deter loyal customers.
4 Discover Brokerage
Sharp features, including real-time updates.
5 Datek Online
Cheap trades and a fast-moving site.
6 Suretrade.com
Rock-bottom commissions and a fast site.
7 DLIdirect
Simple design and solid tools, but needs to
automate account updates.
8 A.B. Watley
A day trader's delight thanks to its Ultimate
Trader software and top-notch market data.
9 Waterhouse Securities
Good prices suggest a long-term winner.
10 Quick & Reilly
Tops in customer confidence.
Top 10 Travel Sites
Today, online travel sales are comparable to online PC hardware
sales. By 2002, though, Internet travel sales will be double that
of PCs, according to Jupiter Communications.
Legend for Chart:
A - RANK
B - Company
C - Buzz
A B
C
Vacation packages galore; flights displayed with
prices.
2 Preview Travel
Twenty-four-hour support, solid destination
guides, and extensive customer profiling.
3 1travel.com
It wheels, deals, and passes the discounts on
to you.
4 Travelocity
A speedy site means the fewest mouse clicks to
takeoff.
5 Biztravel.com
Seat upgrades and e-mailed itineraries hold
special appeal for road warriors.
6 TheTrip.com
Good-looking site with a nice search engine wants
a relationship with you.
7 Atevo
Get destination and hotel tips from fellow
travelers before booking your trip.
8 Uniglobe Travel Online
Other travel sites use its fulfillment services.
9 TravelResDirect
A great place to preview vacation destinations.
10 Internet Travel Network
Travel profiling saves steps for frequent fliers.
Also provides the backbone for other sites.
GRAPH: E-Shop Till You Drop (in billions of dollars worldwide) Big
Money The amount of cash spent on the Web worldwide will ore than
double between 2000 and 2002, reaching $35.3 billion.
GRAPH: Online Retail Transactions (percentage of transactions by
price) More Is More If you want to turn a profit, dont
underprice--or overprice--your wares. Most Web sales are between $10
and $499.
GRAPH: Traffic Report (in millions of unique monthly visitors) Well
Connected Links on just about every site on the Web helped
Amazon.com get to the top of the traffic charts.
GRAPH: Web Branding (percentage who identify a brand with the Net)
Big Name Sites like Microsoft, Netscape, and Yahoo still have a way
to go before people identify them ahead of America Online.
GRAPH: Brisk Business (U.S. sales in billions of dollars) Boom Time
Business-to-business e-commerce will grow at an average annual rate
of 82 percent--reaching $1.3 trillion by 2003.
GRAPH: Auction Madness (in millions of U.S. buyers) Sold! By 2002,
6.5 million Americans will spend $7.1 billion at auctions like
Onsale.com. That's not even counting sales on person-to-person
sites.
GRAPH: Online Favorites (in millions of purchase) Buy the Book Books
were the most popular item bough online last year. Customers logged
almost 6 million book orders on the Web.
GRAPH: Online PC Sales (U.S. sales in billions of dollars) Fire Sale
Computers and electronic sell like hotcakes to Web shoppers.
Consumer hardware sales are expected to reach $10 billion by 2000.
GRAPH: Net Trading Boom (in millions of North American households)
Steady Climb The number of households that invest online stands to
double from last year to next. Low commissions draw Net traders.
~~~~~~~~
By Mike Hogan
Copyright of PC Computing is the property of ZDNet and its

content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or
posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express
written permission. However, users may print, download, or
email articles for individual use.
Top of Page
Record:3
Title:Interactive electronic marketing and brand management.
Authors:Uncles, Mark
Source:Journal of Brand Management; May2001, Vol. 8 Issue 4/5, p245,
10p
Document Type:Editorial
Subject Terms:*INTERNET
*INTERNET marketing
*PRODUCT management
Abstract:Editorial. Focuses on the impact of the development of the
Internet on marketing and brand management. Discussion on the
creation and use of Web sites by marketers; Important considerations
in the advocacy of the technology; Introduction of papers on
empirical studies of brand management.
ISSN:1350-231X
Cut and Paste:<A
77">Interactive
electronic marketing and brand management.</A>
Record:4
Title:Tech Techniques.
Authors:Clark, Philip B.
Source:B to B; 03/05/2001, Vol. 86 Issue 5, p20, 2p, 2 charts
Subject Terms:*HIGH technology industries
*INDUSTRIAL procurement
*MARKETING
Abstract:Discusses business-to-business (B2B) marketing strategies
of companies in the high technology sector. Inclusion of Cisco
Systems Inc.'s focus on online marketing; How Hewlett-Packard Co.
does not introduce a campaign unless its message can be understood
globally; BroadVision Inc.'s view that advertising is effective only
if it is integrated into salespeople's efforts. INSET: KEY
STRATEGIES OF TOP TECH MARKETERS.
ISSN:1530-2369
Cut and Paste:<A
55">Tech
Techniques.</A>
Section: Special Report: Software, Hardware & Services Marketing

TECH TECHNIQUES
Companies in the high-tech sector have earned a reputation for

making bold and brash marketing moves in the b-to-b space. Their
approaches provide valuable lessons for marketers in all industries.
It might seem strange for a mailing equipment manufacturer such as

Pitney Bowes Inc. to craft its Web marketing strategy after that of
a computer hardware company or an e-business network developer.
After all, it's selling very different products, targeting very
different kinds of business buyers.
But, when VP-corporate marketing Meredith Fischer recently oversaw
the launch of Pitney Bowes new b-to-b marketing site, the strategies
she most wanted to emulate came from the high-tech sector. "We
looked at companies like Dell; we looked at Cisco," Fischer said.
"We looked for examples of [companies] who were very clearly tied to
the end-user."
Indeed, many Fortune 500 companies, regardless of product or
service, are now looking to the vertical industry of software,
hardware and tech services for lessons in how to successfully market
their b-to-b wares online. With their products and services so
inherently intertwined with the Web, many companies in this vertical
were, logically, pioneers of online marketing, registering successes
and failures on the Internet long before most considered it a viable
marketing venue.
And while the clients of, say, Merrill Lynch & Co., have strikingly
different needs from those of a Hewlett-Packard Co., they are
becoming equally bullish on online marketing. Increasingly, b-to-b
buyers of everything from stocks to farming supplies are going
online not only to research but also to buy. To get their business,
the Fortune 500s are learning what the high-tech companies have
known for a few years: Online marketing has to be the heart of any
integrated sales plan.
In this special report, BtoB talked to top marketers at Cisco
Systems Inc., Hewlett-Packard and BroadVision Inc. to get an inside
view on their online marketing strategies. As leading developers of
b-to-b infrastructure, hardware or software, their case studies are
useful to virtually any company looking to market products and
services on the Web.
Marketer: Cisco Systems Inc.
Lesson: Online marketing first
Cisco Systems' top executives ascribe their company's status as the
world's leading supplier of Internet network routers and switches to
exhaustive research and development. But routers and switches are
commodities that several other companies build equally well. What
separates Cisco-and makes its brand the Coca-Cola of b-to-b-are its
ubiquitous online marketing programs. At the center of these
programs is its Web site.
Cisco is the biggest Internet vendor in the world. A staggering 94%
of its transactions go through its Web site. It is a telling
statistic and indicative of the importance the San Jose,
Calif.-based company places on Internet marketing as a way to drive
online sales. "The importance of online marketing increases with
your ability to use it as an online sales channel," said Peter
Stanger, VP of The Boston Consulting Group Inc. "What Cisco's been
able to do is successfully provide a proposition to their customers
that is better than the traditional interface."
Indeed, for an E*Trade Group Inc. or an Amazon.com Inc. to claim
that 94% of its sales happen online is, of course, unremarkable. In
fact, both companies' percentages are higher than that. Both,
however, have wee sales forces and their customers are PC-bound
consumers.
Luddites 'R' Us
Cisco, on the other hand, has one of the largest technology sales
forces in the world. Plus, it has heaps of Luddite clients such as
Chevron Corp. and Volkswagen of America Inc. that are known for
preferring to deal off-line. Convincing these clients to do their
buying online comes from Cisco placing more emphasis on online
marketing than on any other medium. It's a top-down edict, said
Keith Fox, Cisco's VP-corporate marketing.
"We want our partners, customers and employees to experience Cisco
online even better than if they were meeting [President-CEO] John
Chambers or myself offline," Fox said. Twice annually, Cisco's top
executives-from marketers to sales managers to financiers-sit down
with Chambers and tell him how they intend to be their industry's
leader on the Internet. Chambers' tack, Fox said, is one that
Fortune 500 CEOs should take. "It absolutely has to be driven from
the top, the CEO," he said. "From there, every executive has to be
held accountable."
This only happens when paycheck size is tied to online marketing
success, Fox said. "You have to match compensation to results," he
said. "And those results have to be monitored and measured."
Knowing that your wealth is fixed to how successfully you move your
clients to the Internet is a powerful incentive. So to get customers
online, Cisco's executives aggressively pursue them offline.
The company holds CEO, CIO and CMO client summits where Cisco
executives try to convince them to go online. Each Cisco leader
focuses on his area of expertise. "I do keynotes on marketing to
chief marketing officers, and [Senior VP-CFO] Larry Carter does
keynotes on the role of the Internet and financial applications, and
how speed and agility can help you in closing the books," Fox said.
Web appeal
The most important part of convincing clients that Cisco's Web site
is an appealing first destination, Fox said, is making it easy to
use. This might seem elementary. But many b-to-b companies have
sites that Amerigo Vespucci would have trouble navigating. Cisco's
site is straightforward, despite its large amount of content. And
for users who do not want to hunt around manually, the company's
search engine is dead-on accurate.
A Web site-centric online marketing program such as Cisco's, it
should be noted, doesn't come cheap. The company's content-on-demand
servers alone could fill a Boeing 747. Cisco has some 175 of them
for employees, partners and customers to get at Webcasts after they
are broadcast. "It's our killer app," Fox said. "We build networks
for people."
Marketer: Hewlett-Packard Co.
Lesson: Global Savvy
When asked about the how they handle global online advertising, many
technology executives speak in solemn tones about how their
companies allow for lots of local autonomy. Marketers in Tokyo or
Paris or Istanbul, they say, understand the local b-to-b audience
better than anyone in headquarters. But in reality, nearly all the
budgeting and planning that really matters happens in Silicon
Valley. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard is unique in that
its top online brand advertising executive lives and works outside
the U.S.
Julia Mee, Hewlett-Packard's Geneva-based brand advertising manager,
said the company does not introduce a campaign unless its message
can be understood globally. The company does plan general global
themes, but it allows local offices almost total leeway in adapting
them. "Each campaign is a worldwide campaign," Mee said. "But we
allow each country to take a campaign and change it. Sometimes,
we're told that although a campaign might seem persuasive, that it
won't work in, for example, Japan."
International target
Hewlett-Packard's is an apt message. At a time when most b-to-b
marketers are forecasting flat U.S. growth, targeted online
international advertising is more important than ever. This is
especially so for Asia, which has shrugged off the hangover of its
circa-1997 economic downturn and is expanding quicker than Europe.
The most important thing for U.S.-based online marketers to remember
is that technological adaptation is slower in Europe and Asia than

it is stateside, Mee said. Hewlett-Packard keeps the technological
bar low when creating its online advertising so as not to aggravate
potential clients, she said.
This is especially so in markets such as the U.K., where ISP service
is pay-as-you go and a long download means a bigger bill at the end
of the month. Or in China, where telecommunication glitches make
getting booted off the Internet common. Or worse yet, in France,
where many b-to-b clients have Trumpian (as in The Donald) budgets
but Archie Bunker's patience for Internet ads meant to get them to
spend. "We don't push online advertising beyond people's
technological abilities," Mee said. "This can lead to a frustrating
experience, but not a rewarding one."
Still, Hewlett-Packard uses bandwidth-hungry rich media in most of
its online advertising. It is simply careful to make sure such ads
are easy to interact with. After all, for a technology company to
forsake progressive online advertising for Jurassic-era banners
could hurt its credibility, whether in the U.S., Europe or Asia. "It
would be the antithesis of our branding efforts to run a traditional
banner ad," Mee said.
Marketer: BroadVision Inc.
Lesson: Sales integration
For BroadVision, a leading developer of e-business software, online
advertising is only effective if it is integrated into salespeople's
efforts. As with Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, the Redwood Shores,
Calif.-based company encourages prospective clients to contact it
over its Web site. But more so than those companies, BroadVision is
keen on making sure its sales force is the recipient of those leads.
"When someone sends in a query from our Web site, it is

automatically stored into our own sales-force automation system,"
said Gabriella Martino, director of online communications. "A
salesperson is automatically told that a potential lead is there."
Simplicity is key
As with Hewlett-Packard, BroadVision uses advanced technologies in
its online ads but is careful to keep the end product simple.
"Technology for the sake of technology doesn't work," said Rick Van
Velden, online marketing programs manager. Accordingly,
BroadVision's online marketing program is not only integrated but
also highly specific.
Specifically, BroadVision's online marketing program is client- and
demographic-oriented. Many existing and prospective clients, as well
as business partners, are given dedicated intranets. "BroadVision
sees online marketing in a very audience-specific way," Martino
said.
Certainly this is because the company, which is much smaller than
Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, simply doesn't have the budget for online
marketing programs that blanket the globe. It is a strategy that
midsize companies would do well to follow.
BroadVision is also intent on making sure that its business
partners-which include PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. and Intel
Corp.-are privy to all its online marketing programs. The idea,
Martino said, is to make sure partners have enough information so
that they devise their online advertising with a similar message.
"We give partners online demo sheets, presentations, anything that
we develop," Martino said. In an age when technology and
manufacturing companies alike are striking marketing partnerships at
a furious clip, the strategy makes a good deal of sense.
BY THE NUMBERS
TOP COMPUTER HARDWARE E-BRANDS
A recent study by Liward Brown IntelliQuest, an Austin-based
Internet research company, shows which computer hardware e-brands
have the greatest awareness among business purchase influencers. In
a survey of approximately 1,000 people involved in the purchase of
computer hardware products for business use, the technology research
company asked which sites came to mind when they thought about
making an online computer hardware purchase. The results speak
volumes about the companies' success marketing to b-to-b
customers--both online and offline-- as well as their sites' design
and performance.
Legend for Chart:
A - E-brand
B - Top of mind[*]
C - Total unaided awareness[*]
A B C
Manufacturers
Dell.com 30% 55%
Gateway.com 9 31
Compaq.com 8 30
HP.com 4 24
IBM.com 3 17
Apple.com 3 7
Micron.com 1 5
Resellers
CDW.com 7% 22%
Insight.com 3 9
Buy.com 1 4
CompUSA.com 1 3
* Top of mind indicates which brand/site was mentioned first. **
Total unaided awareness indicates all brands/sites mentioned by a
respondent.
Source: Millward Brown IntelliQuest, "eBranding
Business-to-Business," 2001
TECH INDUSTRY'S TOP B-TO-B ONLINE ADVERTISERS IN 2000
Computer software, hardware and infrastructure companies were among
the leaders in b-to-b online advertising last year. Not
surprisingly, Microsoft Corp. ranked first overall in the category,
with nearly 1.5 billion impressions using banners, buttons, and
other shapes and sizes of online ads, spending more than $43 million
to reach those eyeballs.
Legend for Chart:
A - Company
B - Total impressions[*]
C - Rate card spending[*]
A B C
Microsoft Corp. 1,487.9 $43.2
Sun Microsystems Inc. 1,306.6 22.7
Oracle Corp. 348.9 10.2
IBM Corp. 278.3 11.7
Novell Inc. 257.9 3.1
Hewlett-Packard Co. 149.5 4.3
Compaq Computer Corp. 139.4 3.3
Dell Computer Corp. 95.2 3.8
Nortel Networks Corp. 72.5 2.5
SAP AG 65.1 2.2
* In millions
Source: AdRelevance
~~~~~~~~
By Philip B. Clark Matthew Schwartz
KEY STRATEGIES OF TOP TECH MARKETERS
"We want our partners, customers and employees to experience Cisco
online even better than if they were meeting [president-CEO] John
Chambers or myself offline."
KEITH FOX, VP-CORPORATE MARKETING, CISCO SYSTEMS INC.
"We allow each country to take a campaign and change it. Sometimes,
we're told that although a campaign might seem persuasive, that it
won't work in, for example, Japan."
JULIA MEE, BRAND ADVERTISING MANAGER, HEWLETT-PACKARD CO.
"When someone sends in a query from our Web site, it is
automatically stored into ouro wn sales force automation system. A
salesperson is automatically told that a potential lead is there."
GABRIELLA MARTINO, DIRECTOR OF ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS, BROADVISION
INC.
Copyright of B to B is the property of Crain Communications

Inc. (MI). Copyright of PUBLICATION is the property of
PUBLISHER. The copyright in an individual article may be
maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv
without the copyright holder's express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
Source: B to B, 03/05/2001, Vol. 86 Issue 5, p20, 2p
Item: 4304755
Top of Page
Record:5
Title:When Dot-com Becomes Dot-yawn.
Authors:Demers, Marie Eve
Source:Electronic News (North America); 01/29/2001, Vol. 47 Issue 5,
p40, 1/3p
Subject Terms:*BUSINESS names
*INTERNET industry
*INTERNET domain names
Abstract:Reports that the dot-com domain names used for company
names have become an outmoded liability. Trend that should be
followed by Internet-related companies; Reasons for the problem in
using domain names in naming a company.
ISSN:1061-6624
Cut and Paste:<A
50">When
Dot-com Becomes Dot-yawn.</A>
Section: DISTRIBUTION WHEN DOT-COM BECOMES DOT-YAWN
If your company's name ends with a dot and a com, you might find
yourself in trouble a few years from now. The problem isn't market
consolidation, bankruptcy or cheesecloth business plans--not in this
case, anyway. Simply put, your company's once-hip name might become
an outmoded liability. What was fresh in the 1990s could well become
as dated as an avocado-colored kitchen appliance this decade.
Anthony Shore is executive director of verbal branding and naming at
Landor Associates, a San Francisco firm that has worked with
companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Alcatel, Philips Electronics and
Sun Microsystems. He believes that the new trend for
Internet-related companies is to move away from the dot-com
approach.
Since last April, when many Internet companies started to face
financial trouble, having an obviously Internet-related name became
tarnishing to a company's image. "Companies realized that putting
all their eggs in the dot-com basket was putting them at risk,"
Shore explained.
Technology evolves at such a quick pace that it might not be a
stretch to say that, next year, a company name ending with the
dot-com suffix will sound passe. Just think about some midcentury
companies that chose a then-popular technical expression, o-matic,
as an ending to their name. What would you think about a company
today named Chip-o-Matic?
Executives may be tempted to heave a sigh of relief if their company
name doesn't have those three letters glued to its extremity.
However, other fading naming trends include the preface i
(Internet), e (electronic) and the emerging m for mobile. Many
iCompanies believe that their eBranding strategy is clever, but
Shore begs to differ.
"Names that include Internet-related letters, numbers and
terms--such as i, e, 2, or net--will prove to be of a short-term
vision," Shore said. "The Internet merely is a medium of
communication; it shouldn't be a foundation for a name." Just as
Interscope and Lookout no longer advertise that a CD has stereo
sound, companies will eventually cease to advertise the fact that
they are online.
The same could be said for numbers. There has been a proliferation
on the Internet of company names with the number 2 or 4, that, Shore
predicts, will eventually seem cliche.
Companies will not be the only ones to adapt to the Internet
evolution. Terms such as B2B, I2I, P2P, e-commerce and m-commerce
are also expected to slowly fade from the media's list of trendy
words as e-commerce becomes an integral part of regular business.
Granted, it is very difficult to find a good name that is also an
available URL; consequently, companies must think of creative ways
to tweak a name in order to find a memorable Web address.
When the domain-name craze first started, people rushed to grab
single-word URLs before somebody else did. Words like insurance or
computer were worth gold, some believed. However, naming a company
according to what it does is not a sure bet, Shore said. First, a
descriptive name is not a guarantee of success. In order for a name
to sink into people's minds, it has to stand apart from the horde.
Sites like Pets.com, Garden.com or Furniture.com--all bankrupt in
recent months--lack interest or personality.
However, the biggest problem with these types of names is that they
are descriptive, and therefore limiting. "A company needs to keep
its options open, in case it wants to reposition itself," Shore
cautioned.
Company names unrelated to the company's business worked well for
Amazon.com and Yahoo!, which allowed both companies to evolve and
add services in new spaces and markets. Jeffrey Bezos, founder,
president, and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, a company that
recently added electronics, toys and DVDs to its list of product
offerings, is probably glad he didn't name his business Books.com.
~~~~~~~~
By Marie Eve Demers ONIC BUSINESS ASIA
© 2001, Electronic News (North America), Reed Business

Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. Copyright of Electronic News (North America) is the
property of Reed Business Information and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv
individual use.
Top of Page
Record:6
Title:Are ad-supported product giveaways a good idea?
Source:Internet World; 12/15/2000, Vol. 6 Issue 24, p20, 1/3p, 2bw
Subject Terms:*PLANNING
ADVERTISING specialties
FREE material
Abstract:Presents remarks by two marketers on the use of
advertising-supported give-aways. People's rejection of intrusive
advertising; Effectiveness of appealing give-aways.
ISSN:1097-8291
Cut and Paste:<A
49">Are
ad-supported product giveaways a good idea?</A>
Section: Fast Forward
Of two minds
ARE AD-SUPPORTED PRODUCT GIVEAWAYS A GOOD IDEA?
No
I don't think any product-based advertising vehicle is going to be
successful. People don't like intrusive ads. For branding, it's a
good idea. Take the example of a mousepad: People look at their
desks 20 times a day. But how do they get it on people's desks in
the first place? Mostly, it is a great deal for consumers but not a
great deal for advertisers.
DAN JANAL
AUTHOR OF DAN JANAL'S GUIDE TO MARKETING ON THE INTERNET
Yes
In the world of marketing, there are no bad ideas. There are,
however, bad executions. Ad-supported giveaways are a terrific idea
if well executed with a well-chosen consumer target; for the target,
an appealing giveaway is exchanged for exposure to an appealing,
relevant advertiser.
STEPHEN F. DULL
PARTNER, ANDERSEN CONSULTING'S EBRANDING PRACTICE
PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): DAN JANAL
PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): STEPHEN F. DULL
Copyright of Internet World is the property of Penton

Publishing. Copyright of PUBLICATION is the property of
individual use.
Source: Internet World, 12/15/2000, Vol. 6 Issue 24, p20, 1p
Item: 3911549
Top of Page
Record:7
Title:Leverage Trust Through Aggressive Branding, Report Advises.
Source:Bank Advertising News; 08/07/2000, Vol. 24 Issue 16, p12, 3p,
1 chart
*FINANCIAL services industry
*INTERNET
Geographic Terms:UNITED States
NAICS/Industry Codes52222 Sales Financing
Abstract:Focuses on the importance of effective branding in the
financial services industry in the United States. Provision of a
valuable competitive edge for institutions in differentiating
products and services in the marketplace; Impact of effective brands
on stock performance; Role of the Internet in creating opportunity
for financial institutions to benefit from experience branding.
ISSN:0274-7111
Cut and Paste:<A
01">Leverage
Trust Through Aggressive Branding, Report Advises.</A>
Section: Guest Article LEVERAGE TRUST THROUGH AGGRESSIVE

BRANDING, REPORT ADVISES
Developing a well known, well-liked brand is a key component in

building customer trust. Furthermore, an analysis of top brands in
financial services suggests that building trust is the most
important success factor in financial services branding.
Effective branding also can provide a valuable competitive edge for
institutions as they strive to differentiate their products and
services in a consolidating marketplace where commoditization is
placing increased pressure on prices and margins.
To date, financial institutions have demonstrated a basic lack of
ability to differentiate through brand power. Traditionally, brand
has not been that important in the financial services marketplace --
cost has been the main driver behind most financial services
purchases.
However, increased competition is supporting a "winner take all"
environment in financial services, with the lowest-cost,
best-service providers leveraging scale and breadth of service to
capture greater market share. At the same time, pricing pressures
are driving out higher-cost, lower-service institutions.
In today's financial services environment, leading companies are
using branding to attract and retain clients to expand market share.
Reflecting this trend, financial institutions invested $5 billion on
branding and advertising in 1999, a 51% increase from 1995.
Despite this upsurge in marketing, spending on advertising and
branding in financial services does lag behind comparable spending
in other industries, including the automotive, retail, and film and
media sectors. What's more, a listing of the Top 100 Global
Marketers for 1999 by Advertising Age International includes but one
financial services company. In U.S. markets, however, there is
clearly a stronger emphasis on branding. Advertising Age's listing
of the Top 100 Megabrands in the United States includes nine from
financial services. This statistic reflects that many U.S.-based
financial services companies have increased their spending on
branding and advertising, some by as much as 600% from 1998 to 1999.
Yet branding in financial services admittedly has not been

approached with the same focus and commitment as is demonstrated by
top consumer products companies. For example, COCA-COLA'S brand
value alone is estimated to approximate $85 billion, or roughly half
of its total market value.
To achieve such a high level of focus and commitment to branding,
financial institutions need to fulfill their brand potential in
every customer interaction. (They can help do so by employing the
methods listed in the accompanying chart, titled "Recommendations.")
Branding Strengthens Stock Performance

Effective brands have the power to positively affect stock
performance, and a multitude of factors -- many of which are not
financially oriented -- can drive stock price and market valuation.
On average, we estimate that brand power can be responsible for
5%-7% of the change in a stock's price.
Yet financial institutions cannot merely spend their way to
increased brand awareness. Strong execution and follow-through are
essential to counter margin pressures stemming from e-commerce and
consolidation.
Due largely to the impact of the Internet, consumers now control
more of their own investments and have access to better information.
No longer can financial services institutions simply sell their
brands via advertisements that tout product quality.
Today's financial services customers are more informed, and have a
wealth of access to independent sources of information. They want
substance over style and place a higher value on their actual
experiences with a given financial services provider than with the
image the provider's brand is attempting to convey. This factor
suggests that investing in advertising and marketing without
appropriate follow-through can be counter-productive.
In financial services branding, success stems from the ability to
execute on the brand image. Successful branders in the financial
services marketplace know their customers. They study customer
behavior patterns and constantly monitor changes in customer
perceptions of the brand. They prioritize and foster relationships
with the emerging affluent as well as high-net-worth individuals.
Successful branders have a clear understanding of their desired
brand identity and how to promote it. They convey their brands with
consistent, memorable messages in ways that differentiate their
products and services.
Consumers also perceive successful branders to be the #1 providers
in their particular industry segments. AMERICAN EXPRESS, MERRILL
LYNCH, CHARLES SCHWAB, CITIGROUP and WELLS FARGO are typically cited
by industry observers as the top branders in financial services.
However, in a consumer research project conducted by INTERBRAND
CORP. in mid-1999, American Express and Citigroup were the only
financial services firms that made its list of the "world's 60
best-known brands." In its study, Interbrand placed a value of $12.5
billion on the American Express brand and $9.5 billion on the brand
for Citigroup.
The Benefits of "Experience Branding"
One area in which financial services firms need to become adept is
"experience branding." As its name suggests, "experience branding"
focuses on building a brand around the ease and usefulness of the
customer buying experience.
In financial services, given that many institutions have established
themselves as trusted financial advisers, they are in a particularly
good position to utilize "experience branding."
As a trusted financial adviser, an institution can:
Emphasize the quality of longstanding, overall customer
interactions.
Address customers' desires for control and security in an
unfamiliar environment (i.e., online).
Tap into its vast quantities of information about customers'
habits and preferences.
Touch customers in many ways (i.e., insurance, banking, mortgage
financing, retirement planning, etc.), and through various
channels (i.e., branch, online, direct mail, telephone, etc.).
By successfully implementing "experience branding," financial
services firms can greatly improve their ability to retain
customers, target key customer segments, and enhance network
profitability. "Experience branding" can provide these benefits by
facilitating an institution's ability to:
Focus on a customer's entire interaction with products and
services.
Portray itself as a customer partner.
Display its understanding of individual customer needs.
Provide all-inclusive products and services. (For example,
REALESTATE.COM offers home search capabilities, mortgage payment
projections, real estate services, mortgage auctioning, and
property analysis.)
Help customers use their time and money effectively by providing
all relevant information on one site.
Integrate all customer contact points to communicate a single
message
The Role of the Internet
Converging Internet trends are creating an even better opportunity
for financial institutions to benefit from "experience branding."
Brand spending on the Internet is expected to soar, and the
opportunity for enhancing customer experiences is driving this
escalated spending.
As the number of online consumers explodes, "experience branding"
will become exponentially more important because online consumers
tend to choose trusted brands rather than shop for the lowest cost
provider. Thus, to surpass competition and protect against constant
customer switching, financial institutions need to aggressively
leverage their online brands through fast and proactive branding
efforts.
To build a successful online brand, a financial institution
generally can pursue three possible routes:
• USE YOUR EXISTING BRAND, a method that enables you to:
-- Achieve depth and breadth of product offering and branding, which
creates the potential for a vertical portal.
-- Expand existing brand power through more direct interactions and
service quality.
-- Strengthen your existing brand in previously hard-to-reach market
segments.
• EMPLOY A SUB-BRAND. This tactic allows you to:
-- Improve customer segmentation to avoid channel conflict with
existing brand operations.
-- Leverage existing brand power.
-- Expand off-line product offerings.
-- Create additional opportunities to integrate customer contact
points.
• CREATE A NEW BRAND. With this method, you can:
-- Venture into high-risk businessess without damaging existing
brand power.
-- Pre-empt competition with existing products.
-- Gain the potential to serve as an aggregator.
-- Reach faster decisions on branding, partnership ventures and
product offerings.
In general, using an existing brand helps enable a company to expand
its existing brand power on the Internet while also building its
current brand strength. In the virtual world, brand recognition is
even more important than in the physical world, and financial
services companies should consider leveraging and building brand
awareness both offline and online.
This is an excerpt from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's special report
for Financial Services CEOs, titled "Moving Mountains in the New
Economy: The Quest for Shareholder Value Is On."
Recommendations
Increase spending on advertising and corporate communications.
Build brand value through consistent, quality customer treatment.
Link branding efforts to overall business strategy.
Increase Internet brand exposure through alliances and portal
partnerships.
When determining an Internet branding strategy, weigh the risk
adversity of a given brand against the opportunity to leverage
existing brand power effectively.
Source: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
Speed and Proactivity Are Important in Online Branding
OWN BRAND
Wells Fargo
Focuses on multi-channel integration as opposed to
Internet-only model
Offers customers access to multiple channels (Internet,
branches, supermarkets, call centers, ATMs)
First bank to reach 1 million Internet customers
Adding about 100,000 new accounts per month
Expects to have 2.5 million accounts by 2002
Plans to ultimately become a portal-type destination,
satisfying all customer needs and leveraging existing
brand
SUB-BRAND
DLJdirect
Online brokerage division named #1 online broker by
Barron's 1999 annual survey, #2 in 2000 survey:
After IPO, it grew its customer base to over 300,000;
market cap of about $1.3B as of 4/00, with over $14B in
assets
Revenues grew at a CAGR of 55.6% for the last 3 years
Focus on high-net-worth individuals (assets per account
were $67,700 as of Q1 2000 -- one of the highest figures
in industry)
NEW BRAND
WingspanBank.com
Bank One's online-only bank aimed at more price-conscious
customers who prefer Internet-only access:
Competes with Bank One's existing online and offline
division
Increased account base from 10,000 at mid-year to 100,000
as of year-end 1999
Sells products from other financial institutions
Partnerships with successful online financial
institutions and nonfinanciail institutions (InsWeb,
Lycos)
Source: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
Copyright of Bank Advertising News is the property of

SourceMedia. Copyright of PUBLICATION is the property of
individual use.
Source: Bank Advertising News, 08/07/2000, Vol. 24 Issue 16,
p12, 3p
Item: 3479101
Top of Page
Record:8
Title:A Matter of Style.
Authors:Dawson, Chester
Source:Far Eastern Economic Review; 05/25/2000, Vol. 163 Issue 21,
p65, 1p, 1c
*ELECTRONIC industries
*INTERNET marketing
Geographic Terms:JAPAN
Company/Entity:SONY Corp.
Abstract:Focuses on Japan-based electronics firm Sony's Internet
branding strategy as of May 25, 2000. Background on the company's
Internet business operations.
ISSN:0014-7591
Cut and Paste:<A
19">A
Matter of Style.</A>
Record:9
Title:BULLETIN BOARD.
Source:Advertising Age; 02/21/2000, Vol. 71 Issue 8, p51-51, 2/5p
Subject Terms:*ADVERTISING
*INTERNET advertising
*INTERNET industry
*ELECTRONIC commerce
*MARKETING
NAICS/Industry Codes5418 Advertising and Related Services
4541 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Abstract:Offers Internet industry and advertising news briefs.
TBWA/Chiat/Day to handle advertising for MuseumNetwork.com;
Sephora.com's chose of Lloyd & Co. as agency of record; General
Motors Corp.'s selection of Modem Media-Poppe Tyson to help build
and implement an Internet strategy for e-GM, a business unit;
Netcentives to buy e-mail marketer Post Communications; Others.
ISSN:0001-8899
Cut and Paste:<A
95">BULLETIN
BOARD.</A>
Section: Interactive BULLETIN BOARD
TBWA/Chiat/Day wins MuseumNetwork account

MuseumNetwork.com, Philadelphia, tapped TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, as
first agency of record to handle its advertising and marketing
efforts. Spending is estimated at $75 million through 2001. The
agency will work with sibling TBWA GGT Simons Palmer, London, on the
account. The MuseumNetwork portal provides access to museum
information from more than 30,000 cultural institutions worldwide.
Sephora.com takes $25 mil to Lloyd & Co.
Online beauty site Sephora.com chose Lloyd & Co., New York, as
agency of record to handle its $25 million campaign. DDB Worldwide,
New York, previously handled the account. Lloyd's first work for
Sephora, which is owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, will be ads
running in May issues of women's and fashion magazines including
Vanity Fair and Vogue.
GM's Internet unit taps Modem Media for strategy
General Motors Corp. selected Web shop Modem Media-Poppe Tyson,
Norwalk, Conn., to help build and implement an Internet strategy for
e-GM, GM's e-commerce business unit. The account win is expected to
generate $30 million for Modem Media during the next three years. It
will include support of Internet branding strategies, particularly
for GM BuyPower, an online vehicle shopping and buying service.
Netcentives to buy e-mail marketer for $333 million
Netcentives said it will buy e-mail marketer Post Communications in
a $333 million deal. The e-marketing and online loyalty program
company plans to make Post Communications' customer relationship
e-mail services available to its customers immediately. Post
Communications manages consumer e-mail campaigns for clients that
include Intimate Brands' Victoria's Secret, Office Max and
Petopia.com.
Be Free buys ad-tracking company
Be Free, which provides Web affiliate marketing services to online
merchants, agreed to buy TriVida Corp. for $185.9 million in stock.
TriVida tracks consumers' preferences based on ad-tracking and
real-time click-through behavior.
Chat. . . DrDrew.com breaks its first TV spots on MTV Feb. 28 --
after some heavy editing. The four major networks nixed the teen
sex-and-relationship site's two TV spots, one of which playfully
discusses a threesome. DrDrew and shop Tool of North America, Santa
Monica, Calif., toned down the spots for MTV, dropping the phrase,
"I bump nasties with three different girls a week." Senior VP Heidi
Sinclair says DrDrew is there to help young people, complaining,
"It's major censorship going on here." DrDrew scrapped a planned
radio spot pitching a condom giveaway with the line, "Everyone with
a penis or vagina is welcome at DrDrew.com.". . . A Yahoo!
spokeswoman last week confirmed that no banner ads were served
during the hacker attack two weeks ago that caused the servers of
Yahoo! and, subsequently, Buy.com, Amazon.com, eBay and others to
crash. The flood of false requests for information from Yahoo!
overwhelmed the site's server, which shut down during the so-called
denial-of-service attack, she said. The crash, which caused a busy
signal much like that caused when phone lines are jammed, prevented
any information -- including ads -- from being served. . . . Wieden
& Kennedy's Dan Wieden, announcing the win of the $25 million
800.com biz, noted the Oregon electronics e-tailer has "enough money
to do some work that can be seen" and praised its "deep
understanding of customer service." The Portland agency chief added:
"It didn't hurt that they were right down the street." Did Wieden
tell 800.com he'll personally be involved on the account? "Yes," he
says. "I just didn't tell them how long.". . . Zap is back: Remember
Zapata Corp.? It's the former fish oil manufacturer that gained
notoriety a few years ago when it tried to roll up a number of Web
sites, including a $1.7 billion bid for Excite that was turned down.
Well, it's now Zap.com and this week it's officially promoting
ZapBox, a screen through which users can view personalized content
from the Zap Network, a portal that pulls sports, weather, news and
other content from affiliates and Zap-owned sites, including zines
Charged and Word. Extra credit: Who founded Zapata in 1953? Answer:
George W. Bush's father. . . . . ConsumerReview's SailingReview.com
will provide shoppers on West Marine's site with product reviews
from boat enthusiasts. SailingReview.com, a boating information and
products review site, is one of several sites owned by
ConsumerReview.com. Terms were not disclosed.
Copyright of Advertising Age is the property of Crain

Communications Inc. (MI). Copyright of PUBLICATION is the
property of PUBLISHER. The copyright in an individual article
may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may
not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a
listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.
Source: Advertising Age, 02/21/2000, Vol. 71 Issue 8, p51, 1p
Item: 2813895
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