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Branding Not Just for Punks These Days

<b>AUDIO INTERVIEWS!</b> Hear what industry leaders have to say about the role of the Internet in building brand equity.

By Samantha Parent, PCWorld   

The take-home message? Despite bandwidth limitations, the Internet is becoming a major force in extending brand identity, establishing one-to-one relationships with customers, and informing consumers about the products they purchase.

Among the presenters were entrepreneurs who have launched successful new brands on the Internet, including Jerry Yang, %dquotChief Yahoo%dquot and founder of Yahoo! Inc., and Jim Bezos, founder and CEO of the Internet bookstore Amazon.com.

According to Nick Buck, director of new business development at poppe.com (the interactive arm of advertising/public-relations firm Poppe Tyson), the key to successful Internet marketing and branding is to provide customers a convenience, like Federal Expresss online tracking service or Gateways customizable PC buying guide.

%dquotThe Internet allows a company to service the needs of each customer and create a differentiating level of service based on what the consumer wants. The Federal Express site lets customers track the status of a package at any given time. Gateways site lets people choose the components they want in a computer.%dquot

Others were less sanguine about the current state of marketing on the Web.

%dquotSince only 10 to 15 percent of the nation is currently wired,%dquot said Carl Gustin, chief marketing officer of Eastman Kodak, %dquotthe Internet is a good medium for niche marketing, but it must be mixed with TV, radio and print to reach a larger customer base.%dquot

Yahoos Jerry Yang agreed with the need for using several media to increase brand awareness and take away the%dquotcomputer geekiness%dquot associated with an Internet-related product. Yahoo! and publisher Ziff-Davis recently launched a print magazine called Yahoo! Internet Life.