Brand Building - Marketing Brand-name Products On The Internet

MARKETING BRAND-NAME PRODUCTS ON THE INTERNET

The Internet has opened new possibilities for traditional advertisers of established brand-name products. The Web has given marketers new ways to communicate with their customers and to establish deeper relationships with them. General Mills, for example, brought Betty Crocker to the Web in 1997, well after competitors like Kraft, Nabisco, and Pillsbury had their Web sites up and running. General Mills entered into a multiyear alliance with America Online to produce online and offline marketing programs, including contests. The alliance with AOL enabled General Mills to reach a key audience segment: women at home with children. Another Web-based initiative for General Mills involved creating a Web site where consumers could create their own cereals. The company also planned to improve the Betty Crocker Web site by adding more interactivity and thus build stronger relationships with its customers.

Companies with strong brands are using the Web to acquire new customers. Consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble created a new beauty products company, Reflect.com, to market on the Web. The concept behind Reflect.com, which launched in September 1999, was to provide customized beauty products for women, based on answers they provided to a list of questions. To be a successful brand, Reflect.com had to provide a good Web site experience for women and a high level of service. Emphasizing personalization and customization, Reflect.com soon distinguished itself from typical e-commerce sites that sold off-the-shelf beauty products.