[wg-e] website discussion, etc.

[WICG@aol.com]

Hello All,

Because of our embryonic state, lack of capital (at this point) and 
geogrphically widespread participation, it's going to be difficult (but not 
impossible) to follow a few basic marketing/advertising rules in promoting 
ICANN membership. Some of these are obvious, but are quite often ignored when 
promoting a service or product -  and that's a mistake I don't want to see us 
make. Image and first impressions will be of critical importance for the next 
year.

It's been discussed that the outreach program will involve website and direct 
mail campaigns, along with (presumably) a serious media relations effort. 
Whatever the final outreach menu might be, we should try to be careful to 
coordinate the design and corporate identity in these materials. Using the 
logo alone is not enough. The message and look should be clean and concise, 
reflecting order and leadership. (Well, it should at least look that way ;-) 
It may sound frivolous, but the website and the brochures, for example, 
should compliment each other in every possible way. To do less would 
communicate uncertainty and lack of direction. 

Who would direct this coordination? Don't know. I guess this would all need 
to filter through the ICANN staff, but I encourage WG-E to establish a 
sub-group responsible for these particular tasks. This sort of thing is part 
of what my firm does on a daily basis, so consider me a volunteer.

Thanks,
Jay Parker
West Indies Communications Group
Charleston, SC