During Seasonal Holidays, New Ways to Wrap Web Sites

avatar

By 

Throughout the year UPS.com delivers packaging information to the b-to-b companies that are the shipping giant's bread-and-butter. But from November through December,
when UPS plans to ship more than 340 million packages, UPS.com adds a special seasonal site stuffed with consumer-oriented packaging tips so, as Diana Hatcher, UPS PR manager,
puts it, a grandmother in New Jersey will "know how to send a sweater for Christmas to her grandson in Florida."

The site (http://www.pressroom.ups.com/peak_season/) was launched two years ago after UPS' PR team decided it had developed
enough consumer-related holiday shipping information to warrant a new link to the UPS Pressroom home page.

The link, which carries 10 separate "fact sheets" to help reporters tie holiday shipping tips/stats into their holiday-feature stories, is stocked with plenty of B-roll, and
pictures. It also features information on driving safety tips for the holidays, tips for shipping internationally and general shipping advice for the holidays, which officially
kick in the day after Thanksgiving.

"It's the one time of the year UPS tries to use the media as a vehicle to communicate our brand to the general consumer," Hatcher says. "For most of the year, we're a
technical business that not everyone can identify with. But during the holidays, everyone can identify with packaging."

The move has certainly paid dividends for UPS. In December 2003, UPS.com was among the Internet's most visited sites and ranked third in the Special Occasion Destinations
list, according to the Center for Media Research. "For most of the year, we're not necessarily focused on telling the [shipping] stories that are most easily understood,"
Hatcher says. "But during the holidays, PR execs have to be the ones to say, 'We have an opportunity here' to go beyond our normal audience."
For most companies (and larger ones in particular), dolling up their Web sites for the holidays is another opportunity to communicate the benefits of the brand (see sidebar).
After stalling for two years following the dot-com bust, online shopping is starting to ascend. Jupiter Research predicts that online holiday shopping sales will total
$21.6 billion in November and December this year, up 19% from $18.5 billion in 2003.

But enhancing your Web site for the holidays should not be automatic. A lot depends on the product or service you're selling and which market(s) you're in. While altering
Web sites for special occasions can indeed boost online traffic, PR execs have to weigh those benefits with the cost of having the Web site appear dated, which could adversely
affect the site and the brand.

"A lot of organizations have time lags with communications" and you need to consider IT/operations executives you're working with," says Cheryl Metzger, director of
communications at White Horse, a Portland, Ore.-based interactive PR agency, whose clients include Celestial Seasonings, Cisco Systems and Microsoft
Corp.

To avoid getting tripped up by the time --and having any holiday messaging up past the first week of January--Metzger adds that PR execs must make sure to take a "consistent
approach" to altering Web sites.

"You still have all these different silos to deal with," Metzger says, referring to the various buy-ins PR execs need before changing their Web sites (for the holiday
season).

She adds: "As difficult as it may be you have to get a consensus on what the message is going to be and ask: Who is going to take responsibility for the home page and who is
going to ensure it's consistent with the other pages?"
Considering how hectic the holiday season can be for many people, PR execs can take advantage of the season by simplifying things for consumers, says Tiffany Shlain, founder of
the Webby Awards. "One unique feature is a 'Wish List,' which can create and encourage interaction with users," she says. "But it has to pertain to whatever your site is dealing
in." A bank site, for example, might communicate the Top 10 ways to donate to charity during the holidays or Top 10 ways to save money in the upcoming year.

Yet since people are increasingly bombarded with media messages you should be careful not to add too may bells and whistles to your Web site for the holidays. "People
basically want you to make their lives less stressful," Shlain says. "They want to go to a Web site that's going to simplify their lives and PR execs are in a place where they can
communicate those types of messages." PRN

CONTACTS: Diana Hatcher, 404.828.4275, [email protected]; Cheryl Metzger, 877.471.4000, [email protected]; Tiffany Shlain, 415.920.8276, [email protected]

Web Masters

Here's a select list of winners from the Eighth Annual Webby Awards (2004).

The deadline for 2005 entries is Dec. 17 (webbyawards.com).

Related

No related posts.

Recent