Sheba.com

Contribution:

Conceptual strategy
Art direction
Functional definitions
Content layout
Production team management
Client and vendor relationships
Information architecture
Navigation
Usability testing

Client: Kal Kan/Mars

Production Company:
BBDO

The Sheba Web site was my first Web site, and one of the first to integrate consumer marketing and cgi functionality for a rewarding visitor experience.

When the site launched in 1996, I faced several challenges. Since the Web was so new on the scene I needed to create a site that would be accessible to the least functional of Web browsers. I was able to make the site functionally sophisticated by putting most of the technology on the backend, making it browser-independent.

The site also needed to entice visitors, giving them a reason to interact with it, and hopefully provide some information about themselves for Kal Kan to use for direct marketing. Visitors could read book reviews in the Reference Library, browse through Cat Tales written by other site visitors, see pictures and stories of winners of the Cat Contest, and get information about Sheba brand products.

Visitors were also encouraged to join the Cat Club. Kal Kan got visitor information through membership in the Club, which entitled them to a variety of benefits, like coupons on their cat's birthday. It also gave them access to special site features, like entry to the Games section where they could win prizes, gave them access to information about how to enter the Cat Contest, and the ability to submit stories.

Though all visitors could have a good experience on the site, an even more interactive environment was made available to those with the newly available (at the time) Shockwave plugin. This included a game based on the popular "Paper Airplane." Navigation was also more interactive. If the icon for a section of the site was moused over, the name for that section would appear, the cat would then audibly "meow" and reach toward the chosen icon. It was pretty cute. Remember, this was at least a year before Javascript made rollovers possible.

The site remained in its original form for over four years, rivaling more technically sophisticated competitor sites. It has now been replaced, but the current Sheba.com retains some of the content created in the early days, such as the newly named "Cat Chat." It has new features, has lost others and it looks, well, more corporate. I hope it's successful. It's still my baby.