Purpose – To derive an applicable conceptual framework of branding via the internet form; to show how that framework can, by organising and integrating current knowledge, assist marketing planners in the development of successful internet‐based branding strategiesDesign/methodology/approach – The conceptual framework presented here derives from a thorough analytical and critical review of the literature on branding in the conventional and virtual marketing environmentsFindings – There are three key themes in the mainstream branding literature, supplemented in the proposed framework by a fourth research stream self‐evidently relevant to internet‐based branding It is clear that the resulting four main elements of the framework are strongly interrelated in the practice of brand management in the online environmentPractical implications – The “Four Pillars of i‐Branding” should be of intellectual interest and practical value to marketing planners and those advising them, providing a more systematic approa

“i‐Branding”: developing the internet as a branding tool

Intellectual capital creation is theorised in this conceptual paper as a dynamic process of collective knowing that is capable of being leveraged into market value. The tacit, intangible and socially unconscious nature of substantive parts of this dynamic process presents some daunting theoretical challenges. Adopting a broadly social constructionist epistemology and a pluralist ontology, the point of departure introduced here is the set of symmetric and reciprocal relations presupposed in Jurgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action. In this worldview, interaction, as distinct from individual action, becomes the germ‐cell or basic unit of theoretical analysis. The relations and validity claims built into the medium of communicative action, viewed here as the nexus of intellectual capital creation, are substantive and real phenomena; they are thus open to empirical investigation.

Intellectual capital: a Habermasian introduction

Every hyperlink pointing at a Web site is a potential source of new visitors, especially one near the top of a results page from a popular search engine. The order of the links in a search results page is often decided upon by an algorithm that takes into account the number and quality of links to all matching pages. The number of standard links targeted at a site is therefore doubly important, yet little research has touched on the actual interlinkage between business Web sites, which numerically dominate the Web. Discusses business use of the Web and related search engine design issues as well as research on general and academic links before reporting on a survey of the links published by a relatively random collection of business Web sites. The results indicate that around 66 percent of Web sites do carry external links, most of which are targeted at a specific purpose, but that about 17 percent publish general links, with implications for those designing and marketing Web sites.

Commercial Web Site Links.

7 I New basic conditions 91 Revolution, evolution or hype? 102 Latin American Special Characteristics 123 Measuring the digital Economy 14 II E-fra-structure 171 Reforms in the telecommunication industry 182 Network access 2121 Bandwidth 2122 Mobile 2223 Wireless 2424 Television 2525 Powerline 253 Internet Service Provider 264 Conclusions ICT Infrastructure 28

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Latin America on its path into the digital age: where are we?

Online platforms are increasingly used as a means to present brand characteristics to key target groups. Within a political context, websites can act as a shop front from which parties or candidates can advertise their policies and personnel. The increasing use of more interactive forms of communication informs visitors about the overall brand character of the host. This article explores the impact on branding of interactivity by analyzing the online activities undertaken by UK parties and their members elected to the House of Commons during the period 2007 to 2010. Through a process of creating narratives for each of the brands analyzed, based upon a content analysis of the websites and other online presences, this article identifies what characteristics the online shop front is designed to project. This article finds overall that interactivity within online environments is becoming one aspect of the branding of parties, though this is in limited forms and linked more to a marketing communication strateg...

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Jon Schneider

Papers

The caring economy