01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
MERIC ONLINE
01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
“A SATISFIED CUSTOMER IS THE BEST BUSINESS STRATEGY OF ALL.” —Michael LeBoeuf (American Businessman)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01
WHERE WE WERE
02
WHAT WE STAND FOR
02 / Brand Overview
12 / Brand Soul
06 / History
15 / The Mission 18 / Our Audience 30 / Our Future 36 / Competitors
W H ER E W E W ER E
C HA PTER 01
WHERE WE WERE [ The introduction of the original AOL. ]
01 02 / BRAND OVERVIEW 06 / HISTORY
1
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
BRAND OVERVIEW [ The brief introduction of the original AOL. ]
2 AOL, originally known as America Online, is an American multinational mass media corporation based in New York, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications. The company owns and operates websites such as The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget, and spans digital distribution of content, products, and services, which it offers to consumers, publishers, and advertisers. AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the U.S. It originally provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, as well as providing a web portal, e-mail, instant messaging and later a web browser following its purchase of Netscape. At the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in U.S. history. AOL rapidly declined thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up to broadband. AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.
W H ER E W E W ER E
C HA PTER 01
3
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
4
THE COMPANY OWNS AND OPERATES WEBSITES SUCH AS THE HUFFINGTON POST, TECHCRUNCH AND ENGADGET, AND SPANS DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES, WHICH IT OFFERS TO CONSUMERS, PUBLISHERS, AND ADVERTISERS.
W H ER E W E W ER E
C HA PTER 01
5
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
BRAND HISTORY [ The timeline of the original AOL’s history. ] 6 1989: Apple investors walk away. Qlink becomes AOL.
1986: CVC releases game line to ATARI.
1996: 6,000,000 subscribers using AOL.
1998: Subscribers hit 27,000,000
2006: Non-Internet services: TV Concert,TMZ,video.
2001: Time Warner merger, transition to services.
W H ER E W E W ER E
C HA PTER 01
7 2010: End of chat room capabilities.
2009: Design rebrand; No longer time warner.
2010: End of chat room capabilities.
2012: Brand overhaul; Accessing our lives.
2015: Verizon buys AOL for $4.4 billion in cash.
2014: AOL sells Patch.
2017: It’s ready.
AOL
8
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H ER E W E W ER E
WE NEVER, EVER IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND HAVE HAD ACCESS TO SO MUCH INFORMATION SO QUICKLY AND SO EASILY. —Vint Chef (Amercan Scientist)
C HA PTER 01
9
AOL
10
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
WHAT WE STAND FOR [ THE STRATEGY FOR NEW AOL. ]
02 12 / BRAND SOUL 15 / THE MISSION 18 / OUR AUDIENCE 30 / OUR FUTURE 36 / COMPETITORS
11
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
BRAND SOUL
ACCESS TO INFORMATION 12 We live in a time when culture defines code and code defines culture. Code is about the evolution of technology, the natural force of human ingenuity that moves culture forward. Culture is about the content experiences that make technology meaningful, enhancing our lives both online and off. Culture + Code is our North Star — the philosophy that guides the way we organize, run and grow our business.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
13
AOL
14
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
THE MISSION
THE MISSION IS TO BUILD A COMMUNITY THAT CAN COLLECT AND ORGANIZE INFORMATION TO SHARE. 15 REBRANDING OBJECTIVE Up to now, AOL has reflected America as its name—America Online, but if it wants to present and convey more to the world, it has to listen to more voices from around the world, People are interested in what is happening in the world, not just in America. DIFFERENTIATOR/USP AOL has a long history of Internet services, and if they can develop something new with their own traditional technology, they will have a good future. POTENTIAL+ EXPANSION This company has a long history in its area, and it had a big market in the world in the past. Therefore, after 5 to 10 years, AOL may have a chance to come back and be in a dominant position in the area, because they know what they should do at this moment, and they have had some ideas about their future. Therefore, AOL may need to narrow down its target and goals into each year, and when it has some strategies for building a new brand. I believe it will come back into the Internet market as a leader.
AOL
16
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
LIVING IN TRUTH CANNOT BE REDUCED TO HAVING ACCESS TO FULL INFORMATION. —Ivan Krastev (Public Servant)
WE BUILD BRANDS PEOPLE LOVE BY UNLEASHING THE WORLD’S BEST BUILDERS OF CULTURE AND CODE.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
17
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
OUR AUDIENCE [ Our target audience. ]
18 AOL is not a brand targeting a specific group of people. It is open to the world, to diverse populations, from different countries.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
19
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
Daniel Jackson
Age:
17
Gender:
Male
Country:
US
Occupation:
High School Student
Interests:
Playing Basketball
20 He likes to play basketball with his classmates, and he always watches NBA games at home. He likes to find videos about basketball skills, so he is used to searching for videos online, and sharing them with his friends. He has some international friends in his school, so he usually chats with them. Thenhe learns something interesting about other countries. He has started to learn Chinese in school, because he has several Chinese friends, and he found some intriguing aspects of Chinese, so he wants to know more. He likes to use the computer to get some information from the Internet instead of watching TV because he thinks that he can not be limited by the channel’s schedule, and also if he wants to learn some Chinese, television does not offer it. He likes to try some new applications instead of just using face-book or twitter and so on. He likes to make friends through some after-school activities rather than on the Internet because he thinks that meeting online is not real so that people can not really know each other. He likes to play basketball with his classmates, and he always watches NBA games at home.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Kim Park
Age:
24
Gender:
Male
Country:
Korea
Occupation:
College Student
Interests:
Fitness 21 He always spends time on searching about fitness on different websites because searching online is much easier and cheaper than asking an instructor at the gym. He applied for an undergraduate degree from Korea when he was in high school because he was interested in some of American culture, and he learned some good major skills from the Internet. He likes reading news and watching movies Online, because he thinks that it is convenient for collecting some good information and resources. He likes to chat with friends from different countries, because he thinks that he can get more good ideas from different cultures. He always wears different new sportswear styles on campus because he loves sports and exercise. He dislikes cooking, but he has to do it because it can save money for his family. He loves to actively tell his friends interesting things about his country, and he invites his American friends to Korea every summer vacation.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
Hans Brockman
Age:
38
Gender:
Male
Country:
Germany
Occupation
Investor
Interests:
Travel, Eating, Economics
22 He always pays attention to the trends of economic development in the world because of his career. He likes to eat some food from a different country when he finishes his work because it makes him relax. He usually likes to find some uncommon places to have a trip, because he thinks that something natural and unique is better than famous attractions. He likes to go to cafes around his apartment at weekends because he enjoys to browsing for information online with coffee and food.。 He always gets information about world economics from the Internet because it is the fastest way to know the trends. He always takes a survey about what people think about economic development in modern society, and also he uses the Internet to hear voices from people in other countries. He wants to know more about other countries’ cultures or different thoughts from the public because this can help him to find some great companies as customers.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Mei Wang
Age:
31
Gender:
Female
Country:
China
Occupation:
Writer
Interests:
Travel, Reading, Photography 23 She likes the beach because the feeling of the sea can make her relax and get more and more inspiration for her writing. She likes to travel around the world, so she has so many different applications about travel on her i phone. She carries her Mac Air everywhere, because she can note some thoughts about her trips. She likes to read including e-books because she thinks that online reading saves her lots of time going to the book store and choosing books. When she finishes her new book, or she just wants to have a break, she always goes to travel websites to look for some interesting travel information or some photographs about traveling. She likes photography because it is a way to record her own footprint in the world, and she also likes to put her photos online to share her experiences. She likes online meetups because she met so many friends from other countries on trips.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
Katie Thompson
Age:
40
Gender:
Female
Country:
US
Occupation:
Homemaker
Interests:
Cooking, Health, shopping
24 She loves to cook because she wants to take good care of her children and husband. She likes to eat some different kinds of food, so she can learn how to cook them for her family. She always shops online instead of going to Walmart, because it is cheaper, and it is more convenient for her to operate from any device. She likes to know about health, because her husband is busy working everyday. She likes to chat with her friends online, and they always share some good websites showing some good tips for cooking or something about daily life. She wants to learn about health practices in other countries because there are some good ways for people to stay healthy in other countries. She does not often leave home without her family, so using online services is best for her.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Frank Sullivan
Age:
70
Gender:
Male
Country:
US
Occuaption:
Retired
Interests:
Reading, Study 25 He likes to learn something new such as computer, shopping online and so on because the world is changing every day, and he does not want to fall behind. He likes to make some young friends because they can make him feel energetic and happy. Through learning how to use the iphone and computer, he wants to know more about the world instead of staying in home every day. He still likes to read, but it is hard to find some old books or documents from past. He has a son who is working in Shanghai China right now, so he wants to know more about China. He dislike cooking, but he still wants to learn about some other countries’ food for his wife. He loves to actively share his own opinion that learning is an important goal in life, and he wants to have a communication with people around the world.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
Lucy Williams
Age:
10
Gender:
Female
Country:
US
Occupation:
Primary School Student
Interests:
Reading, Animation
26 She needs to go to school from Monday to Friday, and she still has some after-school activities. She likes reading different kinds of books, but not e-books, so she does not read on smobile phone or computer. She likes to play with her neighbor, Lily, so she does not spend lots of time using electronic devices. She likes to watch cartoons on TV, but she does not use a computer or ipad to watch videos on the internet. She only invites her best friends to her home to watch TV together, because she does not know that sharing is important, and she does not know that there are so many different ways to share with her friends. She always gets news or interesting things from her family or teachers and friends, because she does not actively search the internet. She likes to learn something she really likes, so she may not be interested in information from other countries.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Tom Radcliff
Age:
26
Gender:
Male
Country:
US
Occupation:
Student
Interests:
Playing video games 27 He does not want to go to school to study, because he needs to play video games. He loves video games so he never makes friends at school, but he has got a lot of friends through games. He does not pay attention to news, food, sports or anything except for video games. He is always concerned about news from different game companies because he likes to buy any new devices related to games.。 He likes to collect toys, posters or books about his games. He is not concerned about his family because his parent are working in different cities, and he is living with his grandparents. They love him so much that he can do anything he wants. He always says that right now, he just wants to play games every day because he thinks that the world does not belong to him; the virtual world is the destination he wants to go to.
AOL
28
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
29
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
OUR FUTURE
BEFORE: 30
SINGLE
LIMITED
TRADITIONAL
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
31
AOL
32
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
AFTER: 33 C O O P E R AT I O N
LO O K FO RWA RD
DIVERSITY
AOL
34
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
35
AOL
V I S UA L D E V E LOPM E NT G U I D E
COMPETITORS [ Our current competitors, adjacent competitors and aspirational competitors. ]
36 This category focuses on the companies that have some paths to accessing information, and also they are trying to collect ideas and communicate with people around the world. Therefore, these companies could be the current competitors to AOL.
FIN AL LOGO
C HA PTER 04
37
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
CURRENT COMPETITORS This category focuses on the companies that have some paths to accessing information, and also they are trying to collect ideas and communicate with people around the world. Therefore, these companies could be the current competitors to AOL.
MSN MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft, and also its original service is Dial-up same as AOL.
38
Yahoo
Lycos, Inc.
Excite
According to third-party web analytics provid-
It is a search engine and web portal estab-
Excite (stylized as excite) is a collection of
ers, Alexa and SimilarWeb, Yahoo! is the
lished in 1994, spun out of Carnegie Mellon
web sites and services, launched in December
highest-read news and media website, with
University. Lycos also encompasses a network
1995. Excite is an online service offering a
over 7 billion views per month, being the sixth
of email, web-hosting, social networking, and
variety of content, including an Internet portal
most visited website globally
entertainment websites.
showing news and weather etc.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Rediff.com
Microsoft
Amazon
It is an Indian news, information, entertainment
Its best known software products are the
It is an American electronic commerce and
and shopping web portal, founded in 1996 as
Microsoft Windows line of operating systems,
cloud computing company, and It is the larg-
“Rediff On The NeT�. It is headquartered in
Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet
est Internet-based retailer in the world by
Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi
Explorer and Edge web browsers..
total sales and market capitalization.
and New York City.
39
Linkedln
Time Warner Cable
Facebook has affected the social life and
It is a business and employment-oriented
It was an American cable television company.
activity of people in various ways. Facebook
social networking service that operates via
it was ranked the second largest cable com-
allows people using computers or mobile
websites. It is mainly used for professional
pany in the United States by revenue behind
phones to continuously stay in touch with
networking, including employers posting jobs
only Comcast, operating in 29 states.
friends, relatives and other acquaintances
and job seekers posting their CVs.
wherever they are in the world, as long as there is access to the Internet.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
ADJACENT COMPETITORS This category focuses on those companies that have some same of the services, and also they share the same information through other channels. Therefore, these companies could be adjacent competitors to AOL.
Expedia (EXPE) It is an American travel company that owns and operates several international global online travel brands.
40
Scripps Interactive (SNI)
Youtube
ebay
It is an American media company formed on
YouTube is an American video-sharing web-
It is an American multinational corpora-
July 1, 2008, when the E. W. Scripps Company
site. The site allows users to upload, view,
tion and e-commerce company, providing
spun off its cable television division as a pub-
rate, share, add to favorites, report and com-
consumer-to-consumer and business-to-
licly traded company. It also diversified into
ment on videos, subscribe to other users..
consumer sales services via the Internet.
lifestyle media, developing relevant content for television, Internet, books, magazines, and on emerging media platforms.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
Gannett Company
The Walt Disney Company (DIS)
Intel
It is the largest circulation of newspapers in
It is an American diversified multinational
It is an American multinational corporation
the United States, So it has a large information
mass media and entertainment conglomerate.
and technology company. It is the world’s
network in this country.
The company is best known for the products
largest and highest valued semiconductor
of its film studio, Walt Disney Studios, which
chip makers based on revenue.
is today one of the largest and best-known studios in American cinema..
41
Priceline
Oracle
It is an American company and a commercial
It is an online news and social networking
An oracle was a person or agency considered
website that claims to help users obtain dis-
service where users post and interact with
to provide wise and insightful counsel or
count rates for travel-related purchases such
messages.
prophetic predictions or precognition of the
as airline tickets and hotel stays.
future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
ASPIRATIONAL COMPETITORS This category focuses on those companies that could be competitors in the future, so they may not have any connections with each other. However,when AOL gets big and diversifies, these companies could directly compete with AOL.
Tencent It is a Chinese investment holding company whose subsidiaries provide media, entertainment, internet and mobile phone value-added services and operate online advertising services in China. Tencent is one of the largest Internet companies, as well as the largest
42
gaming company in the world, many services of whose include social network, web portals, e-commerce, and multiplayer online games.
AT&T
Comcast
T-moblie US
It is an American multinational telecommu-
It is an American global mass media and
T-Mobile US is a major wireless network
nications conglomerate, and it is the second
telecommunications conglomerate that is
operator in the United States. T-Mobile US
largest provider of mobile telephone services
the largest broadcasting and cable television
provides wireless and data services, and also
and the largest provider of fixed telephone
company in the world by revenue.
serves as the host network for many mobile
services in the United States.
virtual network operators.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
HUAWEI
Suddenlink
AMC Entertainment
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a Chinese
Suddenlink Communications is a US cable
Suddenlink Communications is a US cable
multinational networking and telecommu-
broadband service provider with approxi-
broadband service provider with approxi-
nications equipment and services company
mately 1.5 million subscribers.
mately 1.5 million subscribers.
headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having
43
overtaken Ericsson in 2012.
Airbnb
Hulu
Naver
Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospital-
It is an American subscription video on
It is a popular Web portal in South Korea,
ity service, enabling people to list or rent
demand service. It has a big potential in the
owned by Naver Corporation. Naver was
short-term lodging including vacation rentals,
future, and also it spun out its free content
launched in June 1999 by ex-Samsung
apartment rentals, homestay, hostel beds, or
into a joint venture with Yahoo! called Yahoo!
employees, and it debuted as the first Web
hotel rooms. It makes it easier and cheaper
View and announced plans for a live television
portal in Japan that used its own proprietary
to travel.
streaming service some time in 2017.
search engine.
AOL
V I S UA L ST R AT E GY G U I D E
44
THROUGH ACCESSING INFORMATION, THE NEW AOL IS TO BUILD A COMMUNITY THAT PEOPLE CAN COLLECT AND ORGANIZE INFORMATION TO SHARE.
W H AT W E S TAN D FOR
C HAPTER 02
45
TYPOGRAPHY BLENDER PRO BOLD DESIGN HAOLAI (FRANCIS) ZHOU INSTRUCTOR & CLASS INFORMATION HUNTER WIMMER GR604 NATURE OF IDENTITY