Yahoo! is re-branding. Many products and services are in dire need to do the same. But why?

One of the most important things you can communicate to your potential customers and clients is how you can help them. How can you make their world easier? It also helps if your message looks good. Whether you’re only interested in a particular part of advertising or are looking into a revamped marketing strategy as a whole, you need to make sure that your product, your service, your unique selling point is pushed into the spotlight.

(Unique Selling Point: the main thing you have and can offer your clients that no one else in your industry has or can offer)

For example, one of Album’s USP is Confidence. While other items are important, our clients know that they will receive the best service, product, and help possible. We are dedicated to only launching/releasing the best work possible.

Here’s a commercial that does a GREAT job of pointing out their USP, and in a funny way to boot. Can you find the USP?

USP: They help you learn English better.

Pfizer, “the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company”, recently released a refreshed brand identity.  For most people the logo update will go unnoticed, but the overall brand identity (colors, fonts and design style) have been upgraded dramatically.  According to Siegel+Gale, the agency behind the design strategy, the new logo “signals positive change and forward momentum and asks people to take a fresh look at Pfizer because it is not the same company it was in 1991″ (the last time the logo was refreshed).

The most noticeable difference in the new logo is the oval shape, which was tilted to create a more dynamic arrangement.  Subtle changes to every character in the font have resulted in a more rounded, friendlier and soothing feel, with the biggest changes coming to the “z” and the “e”.

The new color palette is bold and fluorescent and contains a lot of visual energy.

Pfizer’s new identity also carries a strong circular theme, as evidenced in their new home page pictured above.  Overall, this is the right move for a global brand that has produced two of the most popular drugs in the world: Lipitor and Viagra.  The change positions them as a more progressive and lively brand that is helping to change lives for the better.  I applaud them on this strategic step and believe it’s a boost to their brand resonance.

The union of savvy merchandising and comprehensive content needed to give customers the confidence to buy online has never been more critical.

• Category merchandising

Merchandising should always start at the category level. Conversion rates slowed in 2008, with consumers likely researching products more, including through comparison shopping, as a result of the tough economic times.

Several online features can improve conversion rates;  keyword search, sales and specials, cross-sells, and e-mail as a merchandising vehicle.

• Promote everywhere

From the product page to the shopping cart and post-order communication pages, all web site locations are fair game for promotional selling. (Example: Survival Kits by SurvivalSimon.com)

• Customer engagement tools

More and more merchants are using tools and tactics that build community and foster brand loyalty. These kinds of tactics are particularly effective in enthusiast categories where consumers want to connect with a brand.

You could consider this question like the chicken & the egg controversy… and you’ll get a different answer from different internet experts. 

I am often amazed at some of the websites that Google ranks #1. The design is elementary and the content is irrelevant or somewhat spammy.  These websites all have a very high bounce rate.  Why? …because their website looks terrible.  Nobody will take a tacky, unprofessional site seriously – even if it is ranked #1 in Google.

Obviously, a website is nothing unless it is aesthetically pleasing.    BUT you can’t get too carried away with the appearance. 

A few years ago, people got carried away with the design aspect and created entire websites in flash.  Search engines don’t read flash.  So any content that was on a flash site was irrelevant.  The people who paid for an outrageously expensive, beautiful site were scratching their heads wondering why there was no traffic. This pretty website is nothing but a façade and the company will end up paying a fortune in Pay-Per-Click because their website is no where to be seen in the organic search.

So what is the answer? What comes first?  The truth is, they go hand in hand.  A website needs to be constructed with SEO tactics in mind.  The extra time and money spent to do initial SEO set-up (keyword research, META tag writing and keyword-rich content) will go a long way.

This is why I believe so strongly in working with companies that cover the whole online spectrum – from branding to web design to SEO to social media.  I don’t want to work for companies that only do SEO or that only do web design.  Both need to be mended together from the beginning, otherwise the website will only be partially successful.  COMPLETE online marketing campaigns, will make the most successful websites on the internet.