Branding Lessons for 2018

What Branding lessons can you learn by looking back at what we have done int he past?   Our friend and contributor Jenny Holt has once again sent us a wonderful article reviewing the impact of understanding what we have learned over the years from our ever changing Web and Social Media experiences.  Check out her thoughts and implement those idea’s that can impact you.  We all have a great deal to learn. 

 

 

What Branding Lessons Can Be Learned From Pre-2000s Web Pages?

By Jenny Holt

Dec. 13, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the days of make-your-own web pages, where no limit to sounds, sights, and effects existed? From individuals to major companies, almost no one was immune to a bad website layout. Although the design of these web pages were sufficient at the time, advances in technology quickly helped businesses re-design their websites to look more professional and have a user-friendly layout.

For those who interacted with (or even built) web pages prior to the year 2000, this might be a time in Internet history you’d like to forget. However, there are three important branding lessons that can be learned from old web pages.

Simplicity is key

Prior to about the year 2000, most websites were a complicated maze of sights, sounds, links, and special effects. While this new technology was fun, it arguably didn’t improve company branding. Most of the time, these special features were added without the intention of enhancing a company’s image or the customer experience. On top of these distracting website features were counterintuitive links, and hard to navigate pages. From these web design flaws of the past, it should be noted that branding and marketing doesn’t need to be full of “special features” to be effective. In fact, user friendliness and simplicity should always be part of your brand strategy (even when the latest and greatest advances in technology arrive). Seek to simplify your message in all new initiatives, and brainstorm ways to make the brand experience even more customer centered.

Strive for consistency in branding efforts

Your brand is an incredibly valuable asset. No matter what new technologies or marketing opportunities come up, be sure that the decisions you make are consistent with your brand. When companies began building the first iterations of their websites, the designs didn’t match other branding efforts. When your various marketing efforts send different messages about your brand, your overall message can lack clarity and effectiveness. Before implementing any new marketing initiatives, be sure that they are consistent with the message you would like to communicate about your brand.

Change is inevitable

Perhaps one of the most obvious lessons that the designs of some of the oldest web pages in existence can teach, is that change is inevitable. Within the last two decades, technology has forever changed the way that companies promote their brand. From the most basic website designs to the fast-paced world of social media, you need to accept the fact that change cannot be avoided in marketing and branding. Staying up-to-date with the latest technology and marketing strategies is the best way to keep your brand moving forward.

Taking lessons from the past into the future

Although it may not seem like anything could be learned from web pages of the past, there are highly relevant lessons that both novice and experienced marketing professionals can take away. Striving for simplicity and consistency in messages sent to the public, while accepting and adapting to change, are some of the most important lessons that branding experts can use to achieve future success.

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