will influence which proposition is possible. They then suggest sub-processes of first setting
objectives for market share, volume or value by each segment and then defining the value to
be delivered to the customer in terms of the marketing mix. They suggest starting with defin-
ing the price and value proposition using the 4 Cs and then defining marketing strategies
using the 4 Ps (see Chapter 5).
Having a clear online value proposition has several benefits:
it helps distinguish an e-commerce site from its competitors (this should be a web site
design objective);
it helps provide a focus to marketing efforts so that company staff are clear about the
purpose of the site;
if the proposition is clear it can be used for PR, and word-of-mouth recommendations
may be made about the company. For example, the clear proposition of Amazon on
its site is that prices are reduced by up to 40% and that a wide range of 3 million titles
are available;
it can be linked to the normal product propositions of a company or its product.We look further into options for varying the proposition and marketing mix in Chapter 5.CHAPTER 4· INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGY
Activity 4.4 Online value proposition
Visit the web sites of the following companies and, in one or two sentences each,
summarise their Internet value proposition. You should also explain how they use
the content of the web site to indicate their value proposition to customers.
1 Tektronix (www.tektronix.com).
2 Handbag.com (www.handbag.com).
3 Harrods (www.harrods.com).
4 Guinness (www.guinness.com).
visit the
w.w.w.British Airways is leading the way in innovating technology to simplify our customer’s journey through
the airport. The role of this campaign was to give a strong message about what is now available online,
over and above booking tickets.
The aim was to develop a campaign that educated and changed the way in which BA’s customers
behave before, during and after their travel. The campaign focused on the key benefits of the new online
services – speed, ease and convenience – and promoted the ability to check in online and print out a
boarding pass. The two main target audiences were quite different, early-adopters and those who use
the web occasionally but don’t rely on it. Early-adopters were targeted on sites such as T3.co.uk,
Newscientist.com and DigitalHomeMag.com. Occasional users were reached through ads on sites such
as JazzFM.com, Vogue.com and Menshealth.com.
Traditional media used to deliver the ‘Have you clicked yet?’ message included print, TV and outdoor
media. The print ad copy, which details the OVP was:
Your computer is now the airport. Check in online, print your own boarding pass, choose your seat,
change your booking card and even find hire cars and hotels. Simple.
A range of digital media were used, including ATMs, outdoor LCD transvision screens such as those in
London rail stations which included Blue-casting where commuters could receive a video on their Bluetooth
enabled mobile phone, digital escalator panels. More than 650,000 consumers interacted with the ATM
screen creative. Online ads included overlays and skyscrapers which showed a consumer at his computer,
printing out a ticket and walking across the screen to the airport. Such rich-media campaigns generated 17
per cent clickthrough and 15% interaction. The web site used in the campaign is shown in Figure 4.18.
Source: Revolution(2005b)