Coke
Coca-Cola is a well established company and one of world's most valued brands. In her new global marketing Campaign, Taste the Feeling, Coca-Cola addresses a global customer across six regions in one unified communication campaign (Moye, 2016). This expansion in marketing objectives is, if anything, reflected in company's corporate website. Specifically, Coca-Cola has a global portal for all six continent market presences namely, North America, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Africa and Asia Pacific. Thus, company's portal is, based on current region-based segmentized content, offers information about company's product offerings, corporate strategy, social responsibility, media information and financial position and employment opportunities, as is shown in upper menus in Home Page of global portal: "Our Company," "Sustainability," "Products," "Heritage," "Investors," "Press Center," and "Careers". Primarily, Coca-Cola delivers a broad communication message embracing global consumers enhancing inclusiveness and diversity. Overall, Coca-Cola's portal is well-integrated, content optimized and, not least, visually appealing. This is justified by portal's localization of content (using, for example, different languages for regional websites), searchable content (using portal's search engine or, externally, using Google) and using a broad range of multimedia content to enhance message in different formats including, most notably, still images and videos. This is not to mention off-site social platforms including, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/) is a cloud-based, music sharing platform. Given platform's stated self-definition of catering music, SoundCloud is, given global consumption patterns, aimed primarily at Millennials. (The platform's Home Page features a decidedly concert-going ambiance.) If anything, SoundCloud aims to offer a music platform by which music content, recorded or shared, can be propagated by users on- or offsite (via social networks). The company's website has a primary message of entertainment and sharing, a message delivered using different communication channels employing visual and non-visual objects including, for example, user-friendly browsing features for musical content. More specifically, by clicking a score, a lower panel pops up featuring all basic playing features. Thumbnails can be clicked for a full page display of score, including comments (across social networks) and more works by artist. Overall, SoundCloud has a sleek design and user-friendly music content. This is justified by simple UI objects, collapsible / expandable features enabling users to browse music collections simultaneously. Moreover, SoundCloud is highly personalized, featuring user visuals and using second person ("you") in addressing site users, let alone personal content uploaded by users.
Mental Floss
Mental Floss (http://mentalfloss.com/) is a multi-purpose portal aimed, as stated on website, at Millennials. The website appears "cluttered" at first glance. However, by careful examination, site's objectives emerge only if users / visitors are decided about content. The website has broad menu categories hardly user-friendly. The "Amazing Facts," "SPINNING THE GLOBE," "LIVE SMARTER," "VIDEOS," "LISTS," and QUIZZES" menus are, if anything, hardly informative of site's communication message. The Home Page content communicates, generally, a message of self-help and entertainment. Overall, Mental Floss has major content strategy problems. First, Mental Floss is not user-friendly given lack of proper browsing features or, for that matter, optimum content indexing and cataloging. Second, social network buttons are embedded in a rather arbitrary manner. Third, visuals are often generic, an option which could possibly reflect lack of user interaction or unavailability of proprietary images for content enhancement.
References
Moye, J. (19 January, 2016). ‘One Brand’ Strategy, New Global Campaign Unite Coca-Cola Trademark. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/tastethefeeling/
