IF YOU CAN'T decide what kind of graphics to put on your Web site, let your target audience make up your mind for you. After nine years in the PR and marketing business, that's just what Communications/Marketing Action did when it decided to launch its Web site. The firm wanted to use a strategy that would reflect its approach in helping its clients: innovative and personalized.
New York-based CMA and O Design Group, a New York graphic design company, spent about three months designing a few ideas for CMA's Web site, but then couldn't choose between sites A and B. So it put up a few sample pages of each site, at http://www.cma-inc.com, where Web users could vote on which one they liked better. The pages included general information about CMA and its services.
CMA sent out about 100 media alerts to business and consumer press, and to other PR agencies and graphics design companies, about a week before users could begin voting, which started on Election Day, Nov. 5 and ended a week later. CMA also sent examples of each site on a color postcard to the media, to make users want to vote. New York Magazine's coverage of the Web site contest in the beginning of November didn't hurt CMA and O Design's reputation, either. CMA feels that this coverage definitely pushed users to get out there and vote.
Leslie Grossman, president of CMA, aid: "We loved both concepts, so we figured, why not let the experts tell us which one they liked better? Of course, since a lot of people are putting up sites, knowing how to make marketable ones, we wanted to make sure users felt as comfortable as possible on our site."
Naomi Cruz, new media director for CMA, added that "people enjoyed taking part in the selection. The feedback we've gotten shows that people like colorful graphics that are easy to browse. We'd love to get client feedback again, if given the chance."
Besides the feedback, CMA generated excellent PR by hyping its site and introducing itself to Web users. Although users only got a taste of the site, the CMA name is out there, and if users are interested, they'll be looking forward to the actual launch.
Orit (her full name), president of O Design, said that for PR people, "the first thing their clients usually want to know is, can I make money on the Web? The answer is, yes, eventually, not right away. But having a site is another form of PR, so for a PR person, having a site is just another form of representing yourself. It's a great direct mail vehicle without having to pay for postage."
Feedback For the Future
Also on the site during election week was a survey that provided valuable insight on what Web users want out of a site. The votes and the feedback from the election went to separate mailboxes at O Design, since some voted but didn't give feedback, and vice versa.
Site A, the winner with a close 55 percent vote, was futuristic, high-tech and full of color and animation, while Site B was black and white and more polished, with 1920s and 1930s comical animation figures. They both told of CMA's services, but displayed the information in totally different visual ways - one with a great deal of movement and interaction, the other with simpler, but more laid-back, light-hearted graphics.
Amy Lafkin, director of new technologies at O Design, said that she was surprised how many people had such a strong response, one way or the other. O Design found, by having the votes forwarded to them during election week, that people really liked the visual impact of the winning site, which Lafkin described as "a cityscape of colors, urban and funky."
People were not as concerned with the amount of time it took to download the images, which Lafkin found surprising. The losing site had quicker graphics, but wasn't as sophisticated.
When it comes to creating Web sites, Lafkin says that each team at O Design (about five people per site) will develop the content and design of the site based soley on O Design's clients' needs. The cost of an average, uncomplicated site, depending on the clients' needs is about $10,000-20,000, according to Orit.
In CMA's case, says Lafkin, the CMA wanted to portray itself as a leader in the PR field by appearing knowledgeable and serious but, most importantly, a PR firm needs to appear innovative. "Our creativity relayed their creativity," she said.
The survey asked users why it's important for a company to have a Web site, and most of them responded with comments like: "it shows that it's a technologically savvy company" and "it shows that it cares about its customers."
The CMA site is set to officially launch on Jan. 17, and since only a few pages were revealed during election week, O Design is still using its voter feedback, maintaining the site and working on the final touches. (CMA, 212/685-9333; O Design Group, 212/727-1140)