MEDIA-I: China sites fail Tribal branding test
<p>BEIJING: Amid the proliferation of websites in China, a study has
</p><p>found that the majority of corporate websites, including international
</p><p>brands such as Nokia, Compaq, Sony and Dell are failing the branding
</p><p>test.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>The Tribal DDB study found most websites were guilty of inconsistent
</p><p>branding, with images on the site being weaker than the corresponding
</p><p>corporate image. Among the companies cited for failing to align online
</p><p>sites with the corporate branding were Samsung, Epson, Ford, IBM and
</p><p>Hewlett-Packard.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>Jimmy Poon, regional director of Tribal DDB Greater China, said: "Site
</p><p>imagery is an important element of the corporate image. More time and
</p><p>effort should be spent on this matter. Raising the standard of site
</p><p>imagery by a more effective digital strategy can improve the site's
</p><p>user-friendliness and usability. This would then optimise brand
</p><p>value."
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>With more than 60 per cent of the 240,000 websites in China set up in
</p><p>the past 18 months, the number of corporate sites in the country is
</p><p>increasing at a dramatic rate.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>Almost 78 per cent of sites in China are business sites, with only 5.4
</p><p>per cent devoted to ecommerce, but traffic to these sites was 10 times
</p><p>higher than on business sites, according to China's news agency
</p><p>Xinhua.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>It added that there were now about 1.5 million Chinese domain names, and
</p><p>80 per cent of these ended in .com or .com.cn.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>Most of the websites surveyed also failed the functionality test, with
</p><p>confusing site maps and disorganised information topping the complaint
</p><p>list. "And it could not be stressed enough that the lower the
</p><p>functionality of the site, the lower the traffic," the report added. An
</p><p>example of this was Sony's site, which was found to be weak in customer
</p><p>service and product information. Another example was Dell. Although
</p><p>famous for its direct sales operation, it scored low ratings for its
</p><p>online service in China.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p><p>The study also found that in online branding, international brands were
</p><p>"superior" to local brands, including well-known local labels such as
</p><p>Founder, Konka, Chang Hong and TCL, which were found to be particularly
</p><p>weak.
</p><p><BR><BR>
</p>
by
|
10/12/2001
BEIJING: Amid the proliferation of websites in China, a study has
found that the majority of corporate websites, including international
brands such as Nokia, Compaq, Sony and Dell are failing the branding
test.
The Tribal DDB study found most websites were guilty of inconsistent
branding, with images on the site being weaker than the corresponding
corporate image. Among the companies cited for failing to align online
sites with the corporate branding were Samsung, Epson, Ford, IBM and
Hewlett-Packard.
Jimmy Poon, regional director of Tribal DDB Greater China, said: "Site
imagery is an important element of the corporate image. More time and
effort should be spent on this matter. Raising the standard of site
imagery by a more effective digital strategy can improve the site's
user-friendliness and usability. This would then optimise brand
value."
With more than 60 per cent of the 240,000 websites in China set up in
the past 18 months, the number of corporate sites in the country is
increasing at a dramatic rate.
Almost 78 per cent of sites in China are business sites, with only 5.4
per cent devoted to ecommerce, but traffic to these sites was 10 times
higher than on business sites, according to China's news agency
Xinhua.
It added that there were now about 1.5 million Chinese domain names, and
80 per cent of these ended in .com or .com.cn.
Most of the websites surveyed also failed the functionality test, with
confusing site maps and disorganised information topping the complaint
list. "And it could not be stressed enough that the lower the
functionality of the site, the lower the traffic," the report added. An
example of this was Sony's site, which was found to be weak in customer
service and product information. Another example was Dell. Although
famous for its direct sales operation, it scored low ratings for its
online service in China.
The study also found that in online branding, international brands were
"superior" to local brands, including well-known local labels such as
Founder, Konka, Chang Hong and TCL, which were found to be particularly
weak.
