This week, I have again chosen to delve into the boundless universe that is commonly known as the Internet. There is a plethora of marketing related sources out there, and it is almost impossible to explore them all. Thus, I have selected ten relevant websites to discuss and have added each of them to the Linkroll for your convenience. I will be evaluating the sites based on IMSA (for blogs) and Webby Awards (statue pictured left) standards, which include criteria such as content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience. The first two new additions to the Linkroll are both websites that contain extensive libraries of advertisements across media. Ad*Access is part of Duke University's online library and is both visually appealing and easy to navigate. Although there is a limited focus on radio, television, transportation, beauty and hygiene, and World War II, it is still a good site because users can browse ads by year, media, category, or search by keywords. AdFlip is similar in purpose but slightly more plentiful, as it claims the title of the "World's largest archive of classic print ads." The structure of this site is a bit more complex and difficult to navigate, with multiple lists of links on the homepage including "Today's 1o," publications, "My AdFlip," categories, and "What's Hot." Advertising World is the next new site, and despite its misleading name it is not a publication itself. Rather, it is the University of Texas's marketing communication directory that contains links to company websites in over one-hundred categories. The site is simple and easy to navigate but only contains organizations in each category that have submitted their URL's to the University. The first of two blogs that I have added this week, Duct Tape Marketing, is written by John Hantsh, a small business marketing expert, and was chosen as Forbes favorite for small business and marekting and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site. Although the blog is not necessarily visually stimulating and has minimal interactivity (no videos and few picutres), the content of the site is insightful and stimulating. The next blog, The Musings of a Professor of Marketing, is maintained by Dr. Neil Hair of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology. While mostly focused on personal experiences, there are also a number of additional pages beyond the blog itself and the site is current and well-maintained. The International Advertising Association, a global network of advertising professionals, organizations, and institutions, provides a juvenile website with a very specific set of information. While the data available focuses only on the organization itself, many parts of the site are for members only. The Market Research Society is an association for professionals in the fields of marketing, social and opinion research, business intelligence, market analysis, and consumer insight and its website also concentrates on organization-specific topics. The site is simple and unpicturesque, but does incorporate research, news, and career information. The Marketing Research Association is an organization with similar purposes, but the site itself reaches a much higher level in all of the Webby categories. Most notably, the content goes beyond association information to include pages such as Education Central, Career Center, Media Center, Advertiser's Resource, and an Industry Calendar. Next is the Chartered Institute of Marketing, an educational body that supplies its members with training, qualifications, and resources. Visitors to the website can also enjoy many of these perks as well and are welcome to explore current news, white papers, forums, and facts. The last, but certainly not the least, website I have chosen for this week is the World Association for Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals. Although the homepage looks busy, this is only because there is an abundance of resources available spanning categories such as news, industry information, events, publications, directories, career networks, conferences, and research. This website, along with many others discussed above, is useful for academics and professionals interested in learning more about marketing.
March 29, 2008
The Wonderful World Wide Web: More Sites to Explore
This week, I have again chosen to delve into the boundless universe that is commonly known as the Internet. There is a plethora of marketing related sources out there, and it is almost impossible to explore them all. Thus, I have selected ten relevant websites to discuss and have added each of them to the Linkroll for your convenience. I will be evaluating the sites based on IMSA (for blogs) and Webby Awards (statue pictured left) standards, which include criteria such as content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience. The first two new additions to the Linkroll are both websites that contain extensive libraries of advertisements across media. Ad*Access is part of Duke University's online library and is both visually appealing and easy to navigate. Although there is a limited focus on radio, television, transportation, beauty and hygiene, and World War II, it is still a good site because users can browse ads by year, media, category, or search by keywords. AdFlip is similar in purpose but slightly more plentiful, as it claims the title of the "World's largest archive of classic print ads." The structure of this site is a bit more complex and difficult to navigate, with multiple lists of links on the homepage including "Today's 1o," publications, "My AdFlip," categories, and "What's Hot." Advertising World is the next new site, and despite its misleading name it is not a publication itself. Rather, it is the University of Texas's marketing communication directory that contains links to company websites in over one-hundred categories. The site is simple and easy to navigate but only contains organizations in each category that have submitted their URL's to the University. The first of two blogs that I have added this week, Duct Tape Marketing, is written by John Hantsh, a small business marketing expert, and was chosen as Forbes favorite for small business and marekting and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site. Although the blog is not necessarily visually stimulating and has minimal interactivity (no videos and few picutres), the content of the site is insightful and stimulating. The next blog, The Musings of a Professor of Marketing, is maintained by Dr. Neil Hair of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology. While mostly focused on personal experiences, there are also a number of additional pages beyond the blog itself and the site is current and well-maintained. The International Advertising Association, a global network of advertising professionals, organizations, and institutions, provides a juvenile website with a very specific set of information. While the data available focuses only on the organization itself, many parts of the site are for members only. The Market Research Society is an association for professionals in the fields of marketing, social and opinion research, business intelligence, market analysis, and consumer insight and its website also concentrates on organization-specific topics. The site is simple and unpicturesque, but does incorporate research, news, and career information. The Marketing Research Association is an organization with similar purposes, but the site itself reaches a much higher level in all of the Webby categories. Most notably, the content goes beyond association information to include pages such as Education Central, Career Center, Media Center, Advertiser's Resource, and an Industry Calendar. Next is the Chartered Institute of Marketing, an educational body that supplies its members with training, qualifications, and resources. Visitors to the website can also enjoy many of these perks as well and are welcome to explore current news, white papers, forums, and facts. The last, but certainly not the least, website I have chosen for this week is the World Association for Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals. Although the homepage looks busy, this is only because there is an abundance of resources available spanning categories such as news, industry information, events, publications, directories, career networks, conferences, and research. This website, along with many others discussed above, is useful for academics and professionals interested in learning more about marketing.
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Hi KLK! Clever title to your post! I thought this entry started out really strong with a very good introduction. I like how you incorporated the criteria used in the IMSA and Webby Awards because not everyone is familiar with the standards used by these entities to evaluate different websites. I found myself to be very much in agreement with your analysis on these websites. Some sites such as adflip were a bit overwhelming while others were simple, bordering on dull. Because I am not very well versed in the field of marketing, I found myself getting a bit lost at times. I admire your ability to keep your post concise, but it seemed to me that some of the transitions between sentences were a bit unsmooth. I often went back to re-read sections to make sure I was understanding things correctly. Again, I think this is mostly due to my inexperience in your area of study. I also discovered one typo while reading over your post. In the sentence introducing the blog of John Hantsh, you write that it was "chosen as Forbes favorite for small business and marekting..." A small error in an otherwise well written post. Overall I felt that you provided your readers with some great marketing resources and aptly discussed the pros and cons of each one in a brief, tightly knit post. As stated before, my only criticism would be a perhaps smoother transition between sentences and also the minor correction in spelling. Nonetheless, I appreciate the fact that you were able to provide so much information in a highly compressed and eloquent manner. I'm sure it is something that many of your readers will also be grateful of.
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