¶ … Club / Amazon.com
Finding the Book of the Month Club at the URL given for this assignment was not possible. For some reason, accessing www.bookofthemonthclub.com, leads to something called BuyDomains.com. Indeed, BuyDomains.com appears to be attempting to sell the site visitor the URL to Book of the Month Club - "Domains for sale," yells the header. Is this some kind of Internet skullduggery? However, by going to Yahoo! And searching for Book of the Month Club, one discovers that the URL is www.bomc.com.And meantime, as to which company (amazon.com or bomc.com) has the better site and marketing mix - it seems very clear that Amazon.com is far out in front in the sheer volume of offerings for the Web consumer. If shoppers just want books or movies, then bomc.com is an easy site to navigate. But when looking for clothing, electronics, toys, software, and the kitchen sink, amazon.com is the shopper's better choice. Does amazon.com try to sell too much? Not if the patron wishes to buy fancy underwear for dad for Christmas at the same time she is buying books and movies for her young niece.
Adweek
Former Grey Graphic Executive Indicted in Ongoing Print Scandal Case" is the header of an article written by David Kaplan in Adweek.com (dated Dec. 12, 2002). The man charged by a grand jury in New York is John Steinmetz, former VP and associate director of graphic services at Grey Worldwide. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is charging Steinmetz with conspiring to "rig bids" and "evade taxes." What Steinmetz was allegedly doing was rigging bids and allocating contracts for retouching and separation services purchased by Grey. If found guilty of conspiracy and bid rigging, Steinmetz could face up to eight years in prison and fines of $600,000. Meantime, Grey Worldwide's Web site offers no mention of the charges against their former VP.
Philip Morris
Highlighting the "Litigation/Regulation" menu button on the home page of philipmorris.com results in a pop-up photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building, but clicking the link brings this message: "This page cannot be displayed...[it] has been changed or no longer exists." Meanwhile, the visitor is encouraged to use a link leading to the "Site Map" - where a plethora of impressive-sounding links are offered. A few of the links: "Philanthropy," "AIDS," "Humanitarian Aid," "Environmental Diversity," "Hunger" and "Domestic Violence." As to whether or not a "Litigation/Regulation" section is good or bad PR for this company: in this current climate of widespread corporate corruption, it would seem that candor and forthrightness are excellent ways to win back some public trust. That should be particularly true for a company like Philip Morris, which has been forced to pay out billions in cancer-related lawsuits.
Etrade, Datek, HarrisDirect
In an economy where giant airline companies like United are going bankrupt, the Dow Jones is unstable, corporate corruption is rampant, and the jobless rate skyrockets, marketing strategies must be ever more creative. That would seem to be particularly true when it comes to companies trying to lure consumers into investing in a shaky stock market. Of the three Web sites assigned, Etrade is the most attractive and interesting. Etrade is currently using a clever little scheme using the number "9" - customers are offered a low $9.99 per trade, a $99.00 initial sign-up fee, and a guarantee that each trade will be processed in 9 seconds or less. (Of course, that deal's catch is that customers must make at least 9 trades a month!) But using "a cat has 9 lives" kind of imagery seems to be far more eye-catching than what Datek and HarrisDirect are offering. The Datek Web site is a beautiful blue (they just merged with Ameritrade), with clean graphics, but otherwise, it's nothing special. HarrisDirect's site is a bit cluttered, and does not have that rich, silky appeal of Etrade.
A www.candystand.com
Kraft Foods has put together a Web site with a number of things that very young children love: electronic games, puzzles, trivia, contests, arcade-like images, and lots of flashing ads and come-ons. There is a link called "Feeding Young Children" in which Kraft warns parents that children up to four years of age can choke on certain foods. Right there is the key to understanding this site - they are marketing to very young kids, as well as pre-teen and even early teenage consumers. This is a smart marketing idea, which gets Kraft's brands (Planters Peanuts, Nabisco, LifeSavers, etc.) in the eyes and minds of younger people; they can purchase CDs, clothing, computers and software.
Sony Playstation2 and Microsoft...
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