What came first? Web site or the campaign idea?

Not a trick question - the campaign idea, right? Well, so you would think but in the 14 years I have been involved in developing web sites, I have continually come up against people seem to think it perfectly normal to build your site before your campaign idea, even your brand, service or product, is fully realised.

I can understand why people crack on with their web site before anything is agreed. Enthusiasm. Excitement. The wish to get something into the public domain quick (because the web is about speed). The ability to get something into the public domain quick (because the web is speedy.)

Fortune might favour the brave but because of impatience, according to W. H. Auden “we are driven out of paradise.” In other words, if you rush it, you are most likely going to end up with something that is way short of the web site you could have had.

My advice to anyone starting up a web site to support a new business, a new offering, a new or reworked brand is to STOP, take a step back and THINK about everything else that supports your business and brand.

Your web site does not work in isolation and will be stronger for building on a cohesive marketing strategy.

Ask yourself these questions. If you can answer them, you’re about ready to start developing your site;

1) Is your ‘brand bible’ complete and embraced by all the key players in the company; logo, colour palette, fonts, sample image library?

2) Have you recognised your bulls eye target audience?

3) Is your product/service fully realised?

4) Have you visualised your campaign for the next 12 months and recognised how this will be rolled out above and below the line?

5) Have you appointed the relevant agencies to push your advertising indirectly, directly and handle customer enquiries.

6) Have you set your business tangible targets around a timetable; both of a financial and distribution nature?

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 9:47 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.