Next time you're gauging what's happening online and want to know which corporate sites are worth logging onto, PR NEWS offers this PAG top-10 list along with our quick review of what corporations are doing in the era of global branding:
AT&T: http://www.att.com: The company doesn't bury its global face. Users can link to an international area from its home page that details everywhere in the world it has connections.
Chrysler: http://www.chrysler.com: Visitors encounter a "Global Gateway" icon as soon as they are connected to this URL. From there, they can select various countries or languages. Thai and Portuguese are among the languages available.
DuPont: http://www.dupont.com: This site is a virtual cornucopia of globally-slanted information. Last week, we happened upon a DuPont Magazine Online story about a Catalonian designer and producer of lamps who uses the DuPont product Nomex. Available in French, German, Italian and Spanish, this article typifies what PR is all about - profiling how products and services affect lives and businesses.
Gateway: http://www.gateway.com: Now, this is going global. Want contact information on Gateway's operations in Uzbekistan? Users will find it here. This site's also rich with information, such as problems with e-filing for banks and tax preparers, that extends beyond hype.
IBM: http://www.ibm.com: Expect deep-pocketed companies like IBM to be politically correct with online icons like this: "IBM Planetwide." Another spin? It's "So, You're On a Tech Trek" which allows you to find out what IBM job opportunities exist worldwide.
Lucent: http://www.lucent.com: Call it overkill, but that global voice is everywhere, including statistics that the company employs 130,000 employees worldwide, and that in fiscal year 1997, about 25 percent of its revenue came from international businesses.
Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com: It merits a stop to this site to see how the company's global identity is being promoted through partnerships. Its Japan-U.S. Telecommunications Research Institute is worth emulating.
Reuters: http://www.reuters.com: It's a conservative site - no bells and whistles, but it is effective in communicating its global persona. Few sites would profile a Picture Gallery with photos of violence on the West Bank and the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Roche: http://www.roche.com: This was one of our favorite global sites because of the humanitarian way this company presents itself. With philanthropy and community relations all the rage, the URL details a cache of global information, including its Sight and Life Task Force, which provides free vitamin A, and funds studies, to fight deficiencies in developing countries.
Texas Instruments: http://www.texasinstruments.com: This site's all about global prowess, but one of our favorite features was on a much lighter side. Customers can submit anecdotes about how TI technology has impacted their lives. Its "True Stories" Web area includes a real tale from a farmer in West Texas who uses cellular phones to help him manage his farms.