Survey suggests big brands lack consistency on the Net

Large European companies are struggling to maintain brand consistency on the internet because of an explosion in the number of websites they operate. According to new research, the average number of “customer-facing” websites run by major European companies has doubled in the past four years, from 17 to 34.

But the most shocking finding is that 24 per cent of the survey’s respondents – representing nearly one in four large European companies – do not know exactly how many websites their company has.

The report, Brand Control on the Web, was commissioned by content-management solutions provider Tridion and conducted in November by Dynamic Markets. The researchers talked to 200 marketers and Web chiefs at companies with turnovers of &£75m or more.

Although two-thirds (61 per cent) of companies were aware of the need for brand consistency across the internet, many lack the tools to create and maintain it. Only 54 per cent of brand managers have a key say in the look and feel of their company websites, while only 42 per cent of companies have formal brand guidelines specific to the internet.