1. The Website
The website in focus is the FINLAY PRINTING website found at http://www.finlay.com/about.html. Basically, the outline of the website is a simple with just enough information. The current logo and name of the company is situated to the left top corner, with its motto affixed immediately below it. The middle of the letterhead is taken by a bar code while the right corner has email, home and identification number. All this have a dark background.
The rest of the Website page has white background with information about the company given in black color. A small advertisement window is strategically placed at right hand side with an invitation to visit the Finlay blog. Right below this are logos of its linked facebook and twitter accounts.
The sender
The sender in the company’s website is Finlay Printing itself, which is an all-round service print and marketing solution provider that specialize in high end offset together with digital printing and located in Hartford, Connecticut (Finlay, 2010).
The target audience
The targeted receiver of the profile information provided at the website is several different markets that include: Education, Corporate, Museums, Consumer Products and Design, and Financial markets. These are consumers of high-end consumers of offset and digital printing materials. The information in the section thus targets clients who require such products and services as variable data printing, finishing, print on demand, fulfillment, social networking, as well the trademark Finlay brilliance Brilliance foil (Finlay, 2010).
2. Integrated business communication
The Finlay Printing website has largely made use of integrated business communication. There is convergence of video, voice and data-centric information in the website. This is evident in the presence of social networking applications namely facebook and twitter that have been incorporated in the website of the company. In the same light, the website is interconnected to the company’s website which is depicted by a motion picture window. The is also a provision for the visitor of the website to access detailed information on the various equipment offered by the Finlay Printing company. This is carried in a pdf form that can be downloaded instantly. In addition, the website has an all-important Client Login provision where registered clients can sign in and get more detailed personalized services while on the Internet (Guffey 2010).
The solution for integrated business communications that the Finlay website provides is the MediaSpace design tool. It is a powerful yet user-friendly web-based library equipped to manage all data including project files, layouts, digital photography and illustration. It enables timely retrieval of any digital file in a more organized manner. As such, the facility noted in the Finlay website is one that allows business and individuals to review, edit, recover and upload files and images at anytime and from anywhere. In general, therefore, the MediaSpace essential almost an ultimate design, production, and communication tool for a unified seamless process. It provides users with an opportunity to have increased productivity and reduced mistakes whilst offering more time for design tasks (Finlay, 2010).
3. Media richness of the section
The “About Us” section of the Finlay Printing website is rich in content that is valuable to the Media. The section has basically all information pertaining to the company and its business activities. The section opens with a bold reference to how long it has been around, that is Since 1876. This serves well to the Media as it emphasizes the long journey and profound experience of the company itself. This is followed immediately by a declaration of what the company does – “providing quality and innovative marketing solutions to diverse high-end clients across the country.” The Media is also able to establish the physical location of the company itself right from the the second line of the “About Us” section.
Furthermore, the “About Us” section is keen to play public relations by referring stature as a “leading, unmatched print provider owed to the commitment and passion of its talented staff.”
The informative section of the company’s website has also details about its most state-of-the-art production facilities in the country. As such, the Media is able figure that the company’s control of costs, efficiency and giving of high quality is because of the great investment in right new technology.
In the same breadth, the “About Us” section supplies the Media with vital information regarding the company’s clientèle base. This is explicitly expressed in the last paragraph of the section where it is noted that the company serve a number of varied vertical markets such as Consumer Products and Design, Financial, Museums, and Education (Finlay, 2010). The paragraphs also volunteers information about some of the specific products dealt in by the Finlay Printing company. A media researcher is able to learn that the company deals in all types of marketing materials, brochures, viewbooks, annual reports, capita campaigns, annual reports, art books, posters, calendars, point-of-sale display accessories, customized and variable data printing, full on-line ordering programs for both stationery and on-demand marketing materials as well as on-line fulfillment ordering system.
Finally, there is a colorful aerial photo of the Finlay Printing plant located at Bloomfield, Connecticut. Besides, the Media is able to follow the timeline of the company through a simple display of its logos that have evolved over the years since its inception in 1876 to date. It is also that the Finlay “About Us” section has a “Today’s News” part to keep up to date with current affairs.
4. Framing of the message
The framing of the message in the “About Us” section of the Finlay Printing Website can be termed to be professional. The is coherence in the information being presented. Care has also been taken not to be too wordy and thus just enough necessary information has been given in the website (Guffey 2010). However, issue can be taken with the general layout of the message because it seems to too simple for a company of Finlay’s caliber.
5. Opinion leaders
It is evident from the website that the company itself is an opinion leader in the printing industry. It is one of the oldest companies around in the field and boosts of latest efficient production equipment. Other opinion leaders would be the major competitors of Finlay in the industry together with those who supply the raw materials for their finished products (Potts, 2007).
6. Improving Word Choice
It is imperative for the company to be particularly careful with the choice of words so that the company. The website of the Finlay company as evidenced in the “About Us” section has a number of technical words and phrases. As such, there is need to use simpler terms so that the website appeals a wide range of the target market (Potts, 2007). Furthermore, it would be better if the website sought to address the client directly as to capture their full attention. As it is, the website reads more like a report as opposed to being a way of selling the company to the client.
References:
Finlay. (2010). About Us. Retrieved on April 16, 2012 from: http://www.finlay.com/about.html
Guffey, Ellen, Mary, & Lowey Dana. (2010). Business Communication: Process & Product. Connecticut, Cengage Learning.
Potts, Kevin. (2007). Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites. New York City, Apress.
