It’s Comcastic!

Website:
http://www.comcastic.com

Intended Audience:
Potential customers of the cable company Comcast, Inc., especially those who are younger and “love technology and speed and all things new and surprising as much as [those at Comcast] do.”

Usefulness of Content:
The website’s content is useful not so much for the information it contains about Comcast’s On Demand, high-speed internet, HDTV, and digital video recorder services (although the website does contain basic information about them), as it is for the approach that Comcast has chosen to market its services. The website relies on two interactive games to promote its products. The first is its On Demand puppet theater where visitors can choose a puppet representing an entertainment genre that is available with On Demand service. Using the keyboard, mouse and a computer microphone, visitors can make their puppet dance, talk, and even chat with other puppets. The second interactive game promotes the download speeds of its high-speed internet service by challenging visitors to compete individually and with others in a series of five games to determine the “Comcast World Speed-Mouse Record.” Through these games, Comcast emphasizes that by using their services (and even their website), each customer has the ability to “direct the entertainment” in a way that entertains them. This website is a good example of marketing that attempts to incorporate some Web 2.0 characteristics to engage potential customers, rather than simply telling customers about the services offered by the company.

Consistency of Design:
One of the impressive things about this website is how it can incorporate so many different font sizes and contrasting colors in a way that does not look sloppy or poorly designed. The designers intentionally have chosen the bright, rainbow colors typically associated with a TV test pattern to demonstrate their love of TV, and they have utilized these colors in a consistent and creative way. The fake “static” background that appears when clicking on certain menu options and the black background of each page also tie nicely into the TV theme. All of these various design elements work very well together to convey Comcast’s message of empowering people to “[b]ring the whole world into [their] living room” by using OnDemand, high-speed internet and HDTV services, which, according to Comcast, are “beyond cool.”

Ease of Navigation:
The website is divided into three main categories for “On Demand,” “High-Speed Internet” and “Encyclopedia Comcastica.” By clicking on the navigation bar at the top of each page, one can switch between the categories with ease. There are also clear directions throughout the website telling visitors how to play the games, move the puppets, and invite others to play along. Each page uses a minimal amount of text, so there is almost no scrolling required on any page of the website. The “Encyclopedia Comcastica” page is a good example of this, with its attractive, easy-to-use expandable menu that provides a significant amount of information on Comcast’s On Demand, high-speed internet, and other products, without cluttering the screen or frustrating users with pages of text to scroll through.