Placement and Branding of Digital Goods in Online Stores and Portals

1st Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Joachim Hasebrook (ISNM)

2nd Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schrader (ISNM)

The aim of the current work is - first of all - to present the most important aspects of placement and branding methods and tools used in e-Marketing. Advancements in Internet technology allow firms to customize products and services to each individual consumer and deliver “around the clock” personalized service, not previously possible in traditional markets. The customer seems to be the focus as organizations look to benefit from the Internet for competitive advantage. The main objective of this work is to show how end users analysis (e.g. traffic statistics, online surveys, consumer behavior analyses, etc.) - resulting in the appropriate market segmentation, branding strategy and in a way of maintaining customer relationships further on – are essential and helpful in creating a meaningful Web presence intended to promote or sell goods online. After describing the possible subject of the online business (types of digital goods followed by examples) in the first chapter, the work concentrates on placement and branding issues. Although, promotion and pricing as well as details of competitive strategies are not covered by the topic, partnerships models are mentioned in the Chapter 2 due to the importance of those programs in reaching target customers. Web positioning tips are listed for the same reason. Examples of some successful strategies based on careful segmentation and personalization techniques (Amazon, mBank), added value focus (Salon.com) as well as online advertising campaigns aimed to increase brand awareness (Durex) are shown to evidence how the described tools implemented into the practice supported online success.