Consumer Website Analysis - Essay Example

number Consumer Website Analysis and Evaluation Project Establishing brand image The Inferno Fan page sets Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace as a brand meant for a specific community. It belongs to a specific group of people who would find fun in burning their toys and achieving emotional satisfaction. One of the advertising lines reads, “so snuggle up warm - it's cold outside!”. From this line, it gives the consumer an idea of when one can use the product (Inferno Fans Page). “A brand is a promise that holds a distinctive position in the mind of a prospecting and existing consumers based on their experiences and expectations” (Leake,Vaccarello & Ginty 18). The distinctive position created by the website is that of belonging. The website is an Inferno fans page. It is meant to provide Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace fans with a place to share their experiences and develop more fun. It gives an image of trust, fun, belongingness, identity, and unique community. The name of the website suggests its relationship to the product, but does not sell the idea to those consumers who know nothing about the product. The website is an appreciation society which shows the level of trust the company assumes to have with its consumers, and belongingness it gives its consumers in relation to the product. There is also the link of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace fans page to Goofans page indicating some identity, and uniqueness, that is, in ‘Tomorrow Corporation’, there is a corporate portfolio; a common practice of developing an appreciation society for their consumers (Inferno Fans Page). The brand image has also been established using the name of the product, the use of a celebrity’s name, and its target market. The name of the product, ‘Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace’, has been used to create the fan page, that is, ‘Inferno fans’. It gives an idea of who they are, and what brings them together; the game. The welcome note indicates that, the community website is developed by the same people who developed GooFans. This relationship markets Inferno Fan as that with the same principle, and expected achievement as that of GooFan. The target market is limited to those who have bought the product or have a similar experience from Tomorrow Corporation entertainment products (Inferno Fans Page). Little inferno is an indie game and has several competitors including other forms of video games. Examples include; auditorium duet, journey, Alpha trailer, Kentucky Route Zero, Cart Life, Faster Than Light, Zineth, and Hotline Miami (UBM Tech). Little inferno is however, different from other video games based on its principle, and what it is meant to achieve. The developers thought that the pattern of recognition found in most indie games was terrible, and thought of a different idea, where a genuinely great game and a terrifying plot would be underneath the interactive screensavers. It is from this that the virtual fire place was developed. The game was intended to give consumers some heart-warming experience. It is also different because of its simplicity. Other game mechanics are complex and considered terrible (Tach). Leake, Vaccarello and Ginty, note that the most important functions of a brand are to increase information efficiency, create value added benefits, and reduce risks (18). The brand image created by the website communicates only to the fans of the product, but not to any new consumer who may be interested. There are symbols of fun showing its intent, but there are no welcome images communicated to other people who may wish to join the community or experience what the game offers. Content How the company updates its marketing mix: There is no evidence of any updates on marketing mix, but features show a customizable update system. The website is designed with a ‘News’ section which is used to inform the products consumers of new programs, new applications, new developments, and any changes related to the product. The forum section also serves as a source of information for updates (Inferno Fan Page). Creativity/Design The website is well organized into six sections through which the brand community can get the right information easily. These are; the home, catalog, news, combos, forum, and ‘get the game’ sections. These provide easy access to information, for example, it is assumed that the target customers have the game already. It is highly likely that one would want to share his or her experiences of the game. The forum section provides this to the consumers. There is however no retail store. The ‘Get The Game’ section is a link to the main company’s page, which describes the product, its reviews, and at the end gives two options of purchase; through Paypal and Amazon payments. There should be other options, or an explanation to those that are unable to buy through these two options. A demonstration of how the game is operated and a description of the game’s achievements, that is, nominations and awards won; give the consumer confidence, and adds value to the product. A video demonstration communicates the expected warmth from the game. It communicates the values of identity; the simple process attributed to the game, and added advantage of experience for those who would want to buy the product. The video plays a very important role in influencing the consumer’s decision making on whether or not, to purchase the product. It also affirms the brands qualities and helps achieve its objectives. This is because, through viewing, the values communicated will reach its targets and will be confirmed as real. Links are very important in web pages. Like in the Inferno Fan page, a whole company website page is linked to a small page on the ‘get it, section. This whole page would cause information congestion and discourage reading from the consumer. If there were several of those in the other different sections, there would be information clutter (Salvendy 1339). How They Use E-Commerce E-Commerce has been used a secondary objective coordinated with brick-and-mortar. This is because the main purpose of the site is to bring together the fans of the Inferno game. It may target other consumers, but this is not clearly communicated. The site has been used for carrying out transactions, sales, advertisement, customer care, and for market research. The forum provides information about consumer preferences, tastes, and experiences, which are important for future product development and improvement. It also provides a place for interaction with the consumer; hence provision of customer care services. The product can be bought online, therefore sales and transactions carried out. There is no clear policy on cognitive dissonance. Since this is a characteristic of the product; the unpleasant state one experiences when the product does not meet expected imagined outcomes. There should be a policy on cognitive dissonance (Cooper 2). Developing Relationship with the Customer There is integration of social media. The site has a link to Facebook, Twitter, and Rss. There are several social media groups such as Linkedin, Google+, Yahoo, Pinterest and several others that the company can use. How They Data Mine Outside of Purchase The site does not have sales promotion activities, direct mail, ‘Tell a Friend’ program, or personal sales activities that enable data mining outside purchase. There is just a forum where they receive feedback, complains, and suggestions about the product. It serves as a data mining source for outside purchase purposes (Inferno Fans Page). Public Relations There is a link to the company’s public relations team which is only accessed after a link to the main company’s website. One has to go through the process of clicking ‘get the game’, then, ‘about’ the company to know of such an effort. In the main Inferno Fan page, there is no direct link to public relation representatives. It is important to provide contact information as a separate link (Inferno Fans Page). How They Use Other IMC element There is evident use of other media, such as the Polygon, which is a branch of Vox media that deals with games only. The Polygon was used to give more information about the creation of the game (Tach). There is also the involvement of the game in competitions that rank it, such as the enrollment in independent games festival (UBM Tech). These create awareness to gamers about the existence of the game and its features. Works Cited Cooper, Joel. Cognitive Dissonance: 50 Years of a Classic Theory. London: SAGE, 2007. Inferno Fan Page. 2013. on 12th November 2013 from: http://infernofans.com/ Leake, William., Vaccarello, Lauren., and Ginty, Maura. Complete B2B Online Marketing. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.Print. Salvendy, Gavriel. Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print. UBM Tech. Independent Game Festival: 2013 Independent Games Festival Winners. 2013. Retrieved on 12th November 2013 from: http://www.igf.com/02finalists.html Tach, Dave. Playing With Fire: How Tomorrow Corporation's IGF-Nominated Little Inferno Came To Be. March 20, 2013. Retrieved on 12th November 2013 from: http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/20/4118614/little-inferno-igf-2013-tomorrow-corporation Read More