We were recently asked what we thought makes successful on-line branding. So we had a quick chat and here's what we came up with...
1. Experience is everything. How your website works, and what it's like to use, says more about your brand than how you look. Ocado (which also looks great) is a dream to use. It makes internet shopping easy and is joined up brilliantly with the off-line side of things.
2. Of course, how you look is important too. In more ways than one. On-line has come off PCs… what do you look like on an iPhone or a Blackberry? Or on the telly in the lounge? And do you need to look like a website? iTunes doesn't. There's another thought…
3. In the dawning new era of cloud computing, perhaps seamlessly blending with people's stuff that lives on their hard drives, or elsewhere on the web, is the way forward. The iTunes interface allows you to access its vast online store in the same window pane as your own libraries of music and movies, and those of others on your network. Where stuff is doesn't matter. iTunes brings it all together.
4. Strong brands are about personality, attitude and good behaviour. Online offers more opportunity to get across what sets you apart and what you stand for - to bring your values to life. IKEA does this, with its no-frills approach to selling you its many and various wares, services and ethos. Ocado offers 'green' delivery slots timed to coincide with others in your neighbourhood, reducing emissions.
5. Networking. Use the great big global network that is the web in the way you'd use social or professional networking. Recommendations and friendships work both ways. Everyone else is just one click away. The other brands you introduce your customers to say as much about you as they do about them.
6. Be personal. This works in so many ways. Brands used to be about shouting "me, me, me". Now - largely thanks to the web - the best brands engage, converse and exchange. Invite participation, let your customers get involved. Remember things about them - their details but also the things they like and who else they know - they'll like you more and visit you more often (but be a trusted friend by keeping their personal details secret). Introduce your customers to new things that you think they might like. iTunes (again!) knows what else you bought, and uses its Genius to make suggestions. Make it easy for people to like you by (like the BBC) putting them in control of how they interact with you.
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