Kellogg’s strategy was to produce a web site provided specific product line
and brand information to interested consumers. The page displays particular
product descriptions, nutrition information, and recipes. Provided as well are
company contacts allowing direct consumer response. Corporation facts and
financial statements are also available. The overall goal of these sites are to
reinforce the brand images portrayed by the companies’ other advertisements,
such as, television commercials, radio spots and print advertisement.
Kellogg’s does this by posting additional information about its products. New
products are promoted in this site to entice those familiar with the Kellogg’s
name into trying new line extensions. Parents, those with illnesses or
allergies, and exercise enthusiasts will find nutritional information about
their favorite products. The site is easy to navigate through and does not
bombard the consumer with overwhelming amounts of information in a cluttered
manner. The site is concise and allows the company’s messages to be readily
absorbed. General Mills produced a web site that has an abundance of company
information and hyperlinks to individual product and service pages. Its many
product categories, line extensions and brand names allow the company to post
diverse information in accordance with the different product positions. It also
uses this web site to promote new products. The General Mills web site itself
only posts company information, line extensions, news, and online shopping
opportunities. The sight’s links give access to a variety of information.
Parents have the option to explore the Cheerios parent page and educators might
be interested in the Box Tops for education program General Mills sponsors.
Health conscious consumers would be attracted to Cheerios heart healthy news and
kids may check out the "you rule your school" page. The information
provided by this site is varying and a dispersed widely over many different web
pages. This may be problematic for consumers who are not too familiar with
surfing the net. Its broad layout may lead to confusion in finding or difficulty
in discovering specific product information. Post Cereal’s web site displays
health related question and answer forums, product line information, recipes and
snack ideas for their cereals. Those looking for new and alternative uses for
pre-existing brands. Parents and house-wives may be those specifically targeted.
It also attempts to enhance the image of the Post brand overall by providing
historical information. This is in an attempt to distinguish the company as on
that has established itself and also provides quality products. Those who
produced this page may not have taken into consideration the possibility that
loyal Post Purchasers may not know that Kraft is Post’s parent company and
must go through Kraft’s web sight to access Post’s page. Breakfast cereal is
a product that requires little involvement on behalf of the consumer. The
customer knows likes and needs and bases his purchasing decisions of them. One
consumer may like cereals with a lot of sugar while others may look for those
high in fiber. Once a consumer finds a cereal that he/she likes they tend
habitually purchase it. Most cereal purchasers have a select few cereals they
are partial to and routinely buy them. (Speaking from personal experience) The
Web can be used to establish familiarity and allow consumers access to updated
product information. Those navigating these product sites are most likely loyal
brand buyers and are in search for more information. They are more willing and
open to the messages and advertisements displayed by the manufacturers. Loyal
customers also are exposed to the company’s Web address because it is
generally printed on the product labels. This almost forces the habitual buyer
to memorize it. The enormity of the Web may lead consumers to become lost or may
make finding the site itself difficult. Also not all buyers have access to
computers or may be computer illiterate. The Web is a useful tool for keeping
old consumers loyal and up to date in regards to their favorite brands. Web
pages provide a cost effective means to distribute additional product
information. Consumers go to the web site seeking the company’s message. It
offers a means of direct consumer feedback by encouraging buyers to e-mail their
opinion of the brands. It can also be used as a research tool by counting the
number of "hits" there are for a particular products web page. This
recording my reflect consumer interest in the product. Web masters may find
difficulty in making accessibility and navigation simple enough for all users.
Exactly what message and information should be posted and consumer awareness of
the web site itself may also prove to be obstacles to be overcome by sight
producers.

BibliographyReport based on information found at the following web sites: Kelloggs.com
Kraft.com Generalmills.com