Comments on: Thoughts on branding

By: Miguel Escobedo

Miguel Escobedo — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:02:00 +0000

“…the website was so cool and fun, that they’ve had tons of people visiting.”

This is where many clients (and designers) go wrong. Attracting visitors only solves HALF of the problem. Sadly, tons of hits does not always translate into tons of sales, which is the other half of the reason for having a site is all about (at least for Nike)

“Cool” sites may only attract people looking for design inspiration, not the intentded core user/consumer base.

I’m with Matt on this one. Build the brand… and they will come (back).

By: Jon Pietz

Jon Pietz — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:34:13 +0000

* I build web sites.
* I build clean web sites.
* I build clean and functional web sites.
* I build clean and functional web sites using web standards.

That’s good reductive logic, except it describes hundreds, or even thousands of companies. Perhaps defining your brand by the desires of your customers rather than what you care about would differentiate you better. Your brand description assumes that those qualities are an end in themselves, but clients don’t really care about clean, functional, standards, etc. They care about engaging visitors, building brands, improving sales and increasing market share.

By: Matt Downey

Matt Downey — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:19:36 +0000

@Joram -
I think you hit the nail right on the head when you say that people will be drawn in by a great looking site but will only stay if there is quality content. These days the need for accessible and relevant content are at a premium and people won’t stick around for long if they can’t find what they’re looking for and in a timely manner.

@paul -
A clear message is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Concise and to the point, there is absolutely no question about what services you offer. As for the web standards bit I agree with you. The blank stares that follow “I build with web standards” takes some getting used to. However, I enjoy educating potential clients on their benefits and usually get a good response after I tell them more.

By: paul

paul — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 11:35:18 +0000

that’s how i got our tagline.

“we build websites”
to
“we build intelligent websites”
(which was lame, since intelligent means nothing)
to
“we design websites, applications & identities”

i only left out the standards aspect of it since 70-80% of my clients don’t know what that means and the confusion was putting potentials off, since a lot of new leads come from people that don’t know about standards (but get schooled if they work with twothirty).

the first tagline got a LOT of traffic from google tho, and still keeps my site pretty high up in page rank.

By: Joram Oudenaarde

Joram Oudenaarde — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 01:32:48 +0000

:-) Cool websites usually attract visitors, which then only come to the website because of its looks, and not its content.
But I have to say; it usually works too. I saw a website from Icetea, which had absolutely nothing to do with Icetea itself. But the website was so cool and fun, that they’ve had tons of people visiting. I think if a website is thÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡t good, it doesn’t really need to be related to the product. Advertising can be done in many ways. If a website is cool enough, it can make people feel that the brand behind it is cool too.

By: Matt Downey

Matt Downey — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:01:53 +0000

You’re right Joram, it’s got a great look but the content is lacking. Sure, you can have some hot shot designer throw a cool flash site together, but does it help the brand? Everything that is designed should be a reflection of the brand’s core, not the other way around. It seems that they have put the cart before the horse and hope that their users can pick up the slack.

By: Joram Oudenaarde

Joram Oudenaarde — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 05:41:59 +0000

That site gives me the feeling of a computergame of some sort… something like Medal of Honor or Call of Duty or something. It’s goodlooking in my opinion, but doesn’t make any sense in addressing the people who supposed to be attracted to it.

By: Matt Downey

Matt Downey — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 22:38:54 +0000

I agree. The message seems to be lost in the hype. Yes the artwork is great, yes they are able to make a pretty nice flash web site. But if you are trying to establish a brand with a true message, there needs to be substance behind it. The substance and feeling is definitely lacking with their online presence.

By: dotone

dotone — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 12:44:31 +0000

Very honest and to the point. I witnessed this kind of design where technology meets users and not users never meet the brand. I still am amazed of how Nike would fall for some draggable elements in favor of the new branding strategy for new products!

Action, Sneakers, Jumping and Mud and then comes an envelope with files to drag?????? where’s the message? where’s the theme? how coherent is all that? I probably should ask Nike that.