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News Release from: Bowen Craggs | Subject: corporate website performance
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 03 April 2008
How well do corporate websites perform?
The second FT Bowen Craggs Index of corporate website effectiveness shows that Europe leads the way.
Corporate websites can cost millions but how does their performance rank? The second FT Bowen Craggs Index of corporate website effectiveness puts the corporate websites of the world's largest companies to the test on how well they serve society, investors, the media, jobseekers and customers - with some fascinating results This year the Index has been expanded from 60 to 75 companies: the top 25 by market capitalisation from each of the US, Europe and the rest of the world
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 5 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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European companies are clear leaders in corporate website effectiveness, taking eight of the top 10 spots; German giant Siemens claims the number one position.
PepsiCo, Toyota and JP Morgan Chase are among the global powerhouses receiving a wake-up call; despite their status as industry heavyweights, they rank in the Index at 69th, 42nd and 54th positions respectively.
Use of video is up on last year finally delivering on the 'convergence' trend; Siemens' site provides a good example of effective multimedia communication.
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By sector, Coca-Cola's position at 10th is way ahead of PepsiCo's ranking at 69th; while Procter and Gamble trails rival Unilever by 31 places.
A relaunch doesn't spell instant improvement - as General Electric has discovered, dropping eight positions this year - because it can take over a year to see change driven through.
Although Chinese and Russian corporations are currently to be found packing the bottom of the table, the early signs are that change is under way: five of the newcomers are Chinese - a reflection of the growing might of Chinese corporations, but also include high-profile westerners such as Google, Hewlett-Packard and PepsiCo.
For a full ranking of the top 75 companies, please visit the Bowen Craggs website.
The FT Bowen Craggs Index is an unrivalled benchmark of the performance of corporate websites.
It measures sites according to a number of key criteria, including how they serve society, investors, the media, job seekers and customers.
It then awards each an overall score.
The depth of the analysis behind the Index is incredibly robust.
It is not a simple check-box exercise; former business journalist David Bowen has spent 10 years refining the techniques which deliver the scores, and a new review of one company takes 10 hours.
Bowen Craggs and Co advises companies and other organisations on their web presence.
It does not build sites, but helps improve effectiveness with strategy, measurement and continuous improvement techniques.
Recent and current consulting clients include Shell, BP, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Nestle, HSBC, Novartis and Roche.
It is an independent company, and its association with some companies in the Index has not affected the scoring: it has no interest in marking them either up or down.
David Bowen is senior consultant for Bowen Craggs and Co.
He founded the London-based publishing and consultancy company Net Profit in 1996, and his present company in 2002.
He was industrial editor of the Independent on Sunday for seven years, as well as energy and business features editor of The Independent.
Named twice as national newspaper industrial journalist of the year, Bowen has written a column on websites in the Financial Times since 1998 (now on ft.com).
In 2004 he was included among the 100 most influential Britons in the internet's first decade.
He has been following the online world since 1993, when he write a book called 'Multimedia - Now and down the line', which accurately predicted many developments.
It contained the word 'internet' only once, however.
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