With corporate Web sites becoming as common as business cards, innovative marketers are searching for new ways to make impressions on their Internet customers. One of the more popular ways is by launching a mini-site, which we define as a site focused on a single topic, product or service that is an adjunct to the corporate Web site.
“In a way, the emergence of the mini-site is an indication of how the Web is maturing as a medium,” says Len Muscarella, President of Interactive Media Associates. “People used to approach Web sites like they had to be the Sears Catalog. Now they’re getting sophisticated enough to see that comprehensive isn’t always better. Mini-sites can serve a useful branding and selling function.”
The most common mini-sites are those associated with a brand -- think of Oreo or Zocor -- or with a special event, such as the celebration of choreographer George Balanchine’s centennial sponsored by the New York City Ballet, that was designed here at IMA. Mini-sites can be as different as cookies and ballet, but they should have a few things in common.
No matter what, they should have value. The opportunity of producing a focused site carries the obligation to provide the depth of information about the topic that can’t be found anywhere else. However, depth alone is not enough. Mini-sites should also have magic.
The company Web site, serving so many constituents and trying to be all things to all people, can't always provide a magical experience. It has to serve the universe of potential users, from Chairman of the Board to custodian, from subject-matter expert to kindergartner, from power user to computer novice. With so many different types to please, it becomes almost impossible to create a site that is exciting, challenging and personal -- in short, a magical experience.
This is where the mini-site, which we sometimes call a Weblet, can be the answer. As packaged goods and pharmaceutical firms have been quick to understand, it is often best to uncouple a specialized message from the main corporate site.
IMA's version of Balanchine 100 does precisely this. We used New York City Ballet’s distinctive logo for the centennial season, mixed in loads of images, music, tributes and testimonials, and built it all around the database of celebrations that will occur in New York and around the world. In the end, we feel we created a mini-site that -- through animation, design, imagery, interactive features such as timelines, quizzes, and audio -- paid appropriate tribute to the master.
As the industry moves into its next phase of Internet design, IMA predicts more and more focused Weblets will be developed to enable companies and organizations to focus on a specific message or event, with an intensity and creativity that may not be possible in their primary Web site.
