By Margaret Wong
Totem Design brings artistic items into our homes through their Web
site www.totemdesign.com.
Though at the present their online catalogue is being updated, and
thus inaccessible, we are given the convenience of viewing various
items of Totem Design production without actually traveling to their
New York gallery and exhibitions throughout the country. One of the
more exciting features of the site is the virtual exhibit, where a
360 degrees panorama simulates actual presence in the featured room
with hotspot links to get descriptions and close-up photos of individual
objects.
Flashy graphics, biographies of designers, locations of stores that
carry Totem Design merchandise, event listings, and exhibition summaries
are also available on the site. The overall feel of the site is clean
and clear, targeting the middle-upper working class with exotic items
that define the clients' personalities as modern and unique. A gift
guide is also incorporated into the site. This particular portion
of the site is not maximize to its full potential.
The design of the site already attracts a particular group of customers.
The gift section can more specifically target these customers' needs
and wants if they open it up for suggestions by the frequent viewers
of its site. The current gift guide contains a subsection of the catalog
in a lower price range, ideal for everyday gifts. But if a section
is setup so that a potential customer can comment on a purchase, or
make suggestions about items they could not find on the site, the
customer will feel a certain personalization of Totem products through
interaction. Right now the site really does not act any more than
just an online magazine with the exception of the virtual exhibit.
If this one step is taken, at the very least the gift section will
grow and be more useful for the clients of Totem Design.
Overall, the site seems to have a very good grasp of who its audience
is. The products promoted are the main reasons for its success. However
the site does not promote the products any more so than regular billboard
and magazine advertisements. One can join its mailing-list, which
can be considered a form passive marketing. But the general success
of non-obligatory mailing-lists in advertisement has not proven the
success "junk mail" has. Though that fact alone shows societal
idiosyncrasies, it is a fact marketing cannot ignore. Unrequested
advertisements might be annoying, but the general effect is positive
for its retailers. And as long as that is true, it will continue to
happen that way. The option to sign-up for mailing-lists might be
preferred by the average customer, but as long as it continues to
succeed less than junk mail, it will not be maintained as the standard
of online advertising and marketing.