Web Watch - May08

www.nikeplus.com 5/5

This is an outstanding example of a brand experience tightly woven around a community's interests - in this case, people who enjoy running.

I bought the Nike+ Sports Kit first (of course) that wirelessly connects my trainers to my iPod nano. So while running, my nano is not only playing my music but is also recording how far/ fast I run - fantastic innovation!

I then upload my running data to www.nikeplus.com, to which I give full marks for deeply understanding the running community's needs and crucially, translating that insight into a compelling experience. For example I can chart all my runs, plot my running routes using Google maps, download music for my next run and even compete with fellow runners - from Singapore, South Africa or Seattle.  I can set goals (note to self: complete 6km in under 30 minutes!), track my progress against them and a whole lot more. Love it!

NOT

http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/ 1/5

I wanted to take a SBS Transit bus - why not? Being new to Singapore, I naturally turned to its website to figure out which bus would take me to my destination. Simple, I imagined. Far from it! The very first obstacle I encountered was that the tab for ‘journey planner' appeared inactive, an elementary design error. So I did not even know where to start looking! As my motivation was high, I persisted and finally discovered that the tab did work, and my online user journey started. However the poor experience continued - small and unclear maps to pick your bus stop, icons shaped as arrows that were not clickable (thank you for that), browser windows that irritatingly popped up but then hide vital information below the fold (grrr...). Frustrated, I exited the online world, walked down to the real world bus stop on the street and waited - for a taxi.

Taru Jain 

Head of Digital

Young & Rubicam