Kellogg’s strategy was to produce a web site provided specific product lineand brand information to interested consumers. The page displays particularproduct descriptions, nutrition information, and recipes. Provided as well arecompany contacts allowing direct consumer response. Corporation facts andfinancial statements are also available. The overall goal of these sites are toreinforce the brand images portrayed by the companies’ other advertisements,such as, television commercials, radio spots and print advertisement.
Kellogg’s does this by posting additional information about its products. Newproducts are promoted in this site to entice those familiar with the Kellogg’sname into trying new line extensions. Parents, those with illnesses orallergies, and exercise enthusiasts will find nutritional information abouttheir favorite products. The site is easy to navigate through and does notbombard the consumer with overwhelming amounts of information in a clutteredmanner. The site is concise and allows the company’s messages to be readilyabsorbed.
General Mills produced a web site that has an abundance of companyinformation and hyperlinks to individual product and service pages. Its manyproduct categories, line extensions and brand names allow the company to postdiverse information in accordance with the different product positions. It alsouses this web site to promote new products. The General Mills web site itselfonly posts company information, line extensions, news, and online shoppingopportunities. The sight’s links give access to a variety of information.Parents have the option to explore the Cheerios parent page and educators mightbe interested in the Box Tops for education program General Mills sponsors.
Health conscious consumers would be attracted to Cheerios heart healthy news andkids may check out the "you rule your school" page. The informationprovided by this site is varying and a dispersed widely over many different webpages. This may be problematic for consumers who are not too familiar withsurfing the net. Its broad layout may lead to confusion in finding or difficultyin discovering specific product information. Post Cereal’s web site displayshealth related question and answer forums, product line information, recipes andsnack ideas for their cereals.
Those looking for new and alternative uses forpre-existing brands. Parents and house-wives may be those specifically targeted.It also attempts to enhance the image of the Post brand overall by providinghistorical information. This is in an attempt to distinguish the company as onthat has established itself and also provides quality products.
Those whoproduced this page may not have taken into consideration the possibility thatloyal Post Purchasers may not know that Kraft is Post’s parent company andmust go through Kraft’s web sight to access Post’s page. Breakfast cereal isa product that requires little involvement on behalf of the consumer. Thecustomer knows likes and needs and bases his purchasing decisions of them. Oneconsumer may like cereals with a lot of sugar while others may look for thosehigh in fiber. Once a consumer finds a cereal that he/she likes they tendhabitually purchase it.
Most cereal purchasers have a select few cereals theyare partial to and routinely buy them. (Speaking from personal experience) TheWeb can be used to establish familiarity and allow consumers access to updatedproduct information. Those navigating these product sites are most likely loyalbrand buyers and are in search for more information. They are more willing andopen to the messages and advertisements displayed by the manufacturers. Loyalcustomers also are exposed to the company’s Web address because it isgenerally printed on the product labels. This almost forces the habitual buyerto memorize it.
The enormity of the Web may lead consumers to become lost or maymake finding the site itself difficult. Also not all buyers have access tocomputers or may be computer illiterate. The Web is a useful tool for keepingold consumers loyal and up to date in regards to their favorite brands. Webpages provide a cost effective means to distribute additional productinformation. Consumers go to the web site seeking the company’s message. Itoffers a means of direct consumer feedback by encouraging buyers to e-mail theiropinion of the brands.
It can also be used as a research tool by counting thenumber of "hits" there are for a particular products web page. Thisrecording my reflect consumer interest in the product. Web masters may finddifficulty in making accessibility and navigation simple enough for all users.Exactly what message and information should be posted and consumer awareness ofthe web site itself may also prove to be obstacles to be overcome by sightproducers.BibliographyReport based on information found at the following web sites: Kelloggs.comKraft.com Generalmills.com
