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I have decided to create content for my employer, Kidde, a leading manufacturer and brand of safety products for the home and business. I work as a web communications manager at Kidde Residential and Commercial, which is headquartered in Mebane, NC. I chose to create content for Kidde, because I believe the products we make serve a noble purpose, and I think we can do a much better job of educating the public about safety problems and their solutions.

 

Point of view

As a company representative, my aim is to act as:

1. An educator and helpful source of knowledge about home safety
2. A facilitator of two-way communication between Kidde and customers

 

It will be clear in my writing that I am a company representative, but the message should not sound like it is coming from a marketing or sales perspective. We usually reach our customers through targeted public relations campaigns. This often involves promoting a safety issue that is not being addressed enough in the media or it has low public awareness. We usually target a specific demographic and back up our story with independent research and expert recommendations. Therefore, as an educator I need to be knowledgeable, credible and helpful in presenting our message. As a facilitator I need to be curious and attentive as I begin and maintain a positive interaction between Kidde and its customers.

 

 

About Kidde (pronounced “Kidda”)

Globally, the company has a long history of developing safety products and services for residential, commercial and military applications.

 

 

History:

 

• Kidde was founded in 1917 in Belleville, NJ by Walter Kidde, a 23 year old engineer.
  
  
• In 1933, the company established new operations throughout the UK where it would later move its global headquarters.
  
  
• During World War 2, Kidde expanded its production of fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and smoke detection systems for military and industrial applications.

 

• The industrial focus continued after the war, but in the 1950’s Kidde began designing and selling products for home, automobile and marine uses.

 

• In 1972, Kidde’s U.S. fire extinguisher manufacturing and North American headquarters moved to Mebane, NC. This Kidde division would eventually be named Kidde Residential and Commercial (Kidde R&C).

 

• In 1997, Kidde R&C expanded its product line to include smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. With the rapid growth of the large home improvement chains in the 1990’s, Kidde expanded its brand presence in consumer and commercial safety products.

 

• In 2005, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), purchased the global Kidde organization, and then merged it with its global fire and security companies to form UTC Fire and Security.

 

 

Kidde R&C

Kidde’s operation in Mebane focuses on the North American consumer and commercial market. Our marketing team includes advertising, promotion, public relations and creative functions. The main Kidde Web site Kidde.com, is maintained through an enterprise content management system administered through our parent company in Hartford, Connecticut. One of the major challenges is creating cutting-edge consumer-friendly content, while using this system that was developed by and for a global industrial business. One strategy that we employ is the use of PR micro sites developed for various national campaigns. These sites often center on an issue such as child proofing a home, and often partner with a major safety advocacy organization.

 

The micro site strategy has its pros and cons, but it has taken resources and attention away from the main site in recent years. I have evaluated traffic patterns and user feedback and determined that much of our core audience may be under served by the site.

 

 

Our audience

We determine our current site’s audience mainly by using Web analytics results, consumer research studies and educated guesses.

 

Who are they? 90 percent of our site visitors come from North America, 5 percent from Western Europe and 5 percent from other areas. Our main audience is a diverse mix of consumers, electrical contractors, business customers, industry professionals, investors and journalists. We do not have an accurate breakdown of these groups in terms of their current site usage. However, I feel that our site under serves current or potential users of our products. Reaching this group also happens to be the main goal of most of our promotional campaigns. Our research indicates that our target audience for advertising should be female North American homeowners. It is often narrowed down to mothers between 22 and 54 years of age, because research has shown that they often initiate the purchase of safety products. Because our main audience is broad, we communicate at the high school education level and assume our audience is multiracial.

 

How do they get here? A third of our site’s users come from search engines, another third through a direct URL, and the rest from a diverse mix of sources. We believe that many consumers visit because they recently purchased a product and want additional information or services. There is probably a large group that is aware of our brand or other keywords through media exposure.

 

What are the challenges for the audience? Users face a problem of too much information that is not concise or accessible enough. The information is usually provided by government agencies, which offer too much text and not enough visual or multimedia options. The other source is manufacturer websites which often focus on selling products at the expense of safety education. Our site offers information such as user manuals, material safety data sheets, product updates, recalls, buying information, safety education, customer service and contact information. We need to learn more about what users need most and how to make it more accessible.

 

How should content be offered? We need to use compelling visuals and multimedia to tell a story that is easy to understand and relate to. We also need to interact with and learn about the site’s users. I would like to introduce interactivity and enhance readership through the use of videos, pod casts, flash demos, surveys, newsletter sign-ups, and the sharing of safety success stories. Our analytics suggest that nearly 70 percent of our users have broadband connections and most use Internet Explorer 6 or above, so multimedia components such as flash video should be supported.

 

In having this conversation with our audience, several questions can be anticipated. I would expect questions about the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide and how to mitigate them. Users need to know the best way to protect their home and family and it needs to be easy to understand.

Where do they go now? There are several sites that offer home safety information: Firehouse.com, iVillage, HGTV.com, NFPA.org, CPSC.gov and NFPA.org.

 

How often do they come? New visitors arrive daily, but how often they return is difficult to determine. Most of our traffic is first time visitors who may visit infrequently, or industry professionals who may make repeat visits. We would like to make the site a more regular destination and have users that visit several times during the year. This could be accomplished by refreshing content more often and by emphasizing customer interaction.

 

 

Developing a style

Kidde has explicit brand guidelines that indicate the tone of writing and speech to be used, as well as the proper use of graphics, fonts and colors. There is no official indication for a writing style guide, but most of my colleagues use the Associated Press Stylebook. Therefore, I am planning to use this as my style guide going forward.

Part 1. Find three examples online of poor headlines used as links and suggest a fix:

Headline: Shagging downtown
Problem: This headline can easily be offensive to someone who only knows the British slang term ‘shagging’ and not the beach music dance style. This can cause off-topic curiosity, but it is inappropriate and doesn’t give enough information.
Solution: Downtown building renovated for beach music.

Headline: Spiked eagles tale set to fly
Problem: This headline did get my attention, but it was confusing and didn’t give enough information to make me click. Is it about the Philadelphia Eagles? Is it a play on the word eagle’s tail? What does spiked mean?
Solution: Salacious Eagles memoir to be released

Headline: Bulla scout hut returns
Problem: This headline was confusing for me. What is a Bulla Scout? Most people wouldn’t know it was named after a person or know what a scout hut is.
Solution: Local scouts get their cabin back

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Part 2. Find an article that could benefit from the use of lists.The following example is from the full version of an article at Press Mediawire. The article does utilize keywords, but the thrust of the article is about John Edwards steps for piece. Therefore, I added an ordered list to highlight the main point of the article and to aid in scannabilty.An excerpt from the article in its original form:Edwards believes we should work with NATO, one of the world’s most effective security organizations, to make sure the U.N. process will be as rapid, tough and effective as possible. We saw the success of NATO in the Kosovo operation under President Clinton. Edwards believes a combination of U.S. and NATO actions will accelerate the peacekeeping process and stop the genocide. Edwards has called for the following steps:
Convene an emergency NATO meeting. We should call an emergency meeting of NATO’s leadership to support and accelerate the deployment of 26,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces to Darfur. Deploy our extraordinary assets to support peace.Lead a NATO support effort. America should lead NATO countries to support the deployment of U.N. troops with logistical, operational and financial support. Establish a no-fly zone. The U.S. should work with NATO to establish a NATO-led no-fly zone over the region to cut off supplies to the brutal Janjaweed militias and end Sudanese bombing of civilians in Darfur. Implement new sanctions. We should work with NATO member countries to impose new multilateral sanctions on Sudan’s government and individuals complicit in the genocide. Lead a divestment effort. The U.S. should lead an effort by the American federal government, by American states, by American companies, and by individuals to divest holdings from companies and countries that do business with the Sudanese government. We should deploy American airlift capabilities, logistical support and intelligence operations to assist U.N. and African Union peacekeeping efforts in Darfur.

My edited version of the article using an ordered list:

Edwards believes we should work with NATO, one of the world’s most effective security organizations, to make sure the U.N. process will be as rapid, tough and effective as possible. We saw the success of NATO in the Kosovo operation under President Clinton. Edwards believes a combination of U.S. and NATO actions will accelerate the peacekeeping process and stop the genocide.Edwards has called for the following steps:

1. Convene an emergency NATO meeting. We should call an emergency meeting of NATO’s leadership to support and accelerate the deployment of 26,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces to Darfur.
2. Deploy our extraordinary assets to support peace. We should deploy American airlift capabilities, logistical support and intelligence operations to assist U.N. and African Union peacekeeping efforts in Darfur.
3. Lead a NATO support effort. America should lead NATO countries to support the deployment of U.N. troops with logistical, operational and financial support.
4. Establish a no-fly zone. The U.S. should work with NATO to establish a NATO-led no-fly zone over the region to cut off supplies to the brutal Janjaweed militias and end Sudanese bombing of civilians in Darfur.
5. Implement new sanctions. We should work with NATO member countries to impose new multilateral sanctions on Sudan’s government and individuals complicit in the genocide.
6. Lead a divestment effort. The U.S. should lead an effort by the American federal government, by American states, by American companies, and by individuals to divest holdings from companies and countries that do business with the Sudanese government.

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Part 3. Rewrite the headline from your writing sample. My original title and subhead:
Happier
By Tal Ben-Shahar.
Reviewed by Todd Pendergast for JOMC 711


My rewrite aims to attract the reader’s attention and better summarize the content of the article by focusing on the fundamental question of the book being reviewed. This also helps to set the mood and tone of the piece. I also tried to make it more quickly understood by not having two author’s names in the same headline and subhead. I think it is clearer now that I mention the book reviewer and then wait to first mention the book’s author in the opening paragraph. The headline rewritten:

Can we ‘learn’ to be happy?
Book review: “Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment”
Reviewed by Todd Pendergast
For JOMC 711

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Part 4. Write 3 headlines for a news story from week 7 module.

Headlines:

China blocks imports amid criticism of its exports

China blocks imports of U.S. meat

China responds to criticism of its exports:
Blocks imports from major U.S. meat producers

By Todd Pendergast

Raleigh, NC – Imagine a wave of millions of plastic toys on their way–not to the store shelves–but back to the factory. A rash of recent recalls of unsafe products has caused many parents to lose faith in Chinese-made toys and kids products.

 

On August 1, nearly 1 million Chinese-made Fisher-Price toys were recalled because they contained lead paint. Two weeks later, their parent company, Mattel, ordered a recall of nearly 10 million more faulty toys. The list of defective products keeps growing, and this week includes the largest crib recall in history. Thursday’s recall of 425,000 play yards by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. is the second major recall of a children’s nursery product in a week. On Sept. 21, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled a million Graco brand cribs by Simplicity Inc. due to design and hardware defects.

 

On September 11, U.S. and Chinese product safety agencies announced an agreement to improve the safety of imported toys and other consumer products. Companies have implemented numerous product recalls, but are industry and government doing enough to keep kids safe? For some local families, the answer is no. “I look at my child’s playroom filled with neon plastic toys, and a list of recalls three pages long, and what are the chances that we are going to find all of these and say, we’ve got that,” said Kelly Hollis of Raleigh. Kelly and her husband Jim have an infant and a four year old. They are concerned about the effectiveness of these recalls. “There are probably many things that slip through the cracks,” added Kelly.

 

Are parents taking action?

Kelly said she no longer shops at consignment stores or accepts toys from friends, “because you really don’t know what the recalls were four years ago.” She mentioned that she’s been shopping at special boutique shops that carry natural wood toys. “They cost more, but are more likely to be safe,” she added.

 

However, Kathy Nilsson, another mother from Raleigh, doesn’t think there’s much she can do about it. “If you go to a store, and everything your kid wants is made in China, what can you do?” asks Kathy. “Besides, even if the product is made here, you wonder where they get their paint,” she added.

 

Are companies and the government taking enough action?

“I’m not sure,” said Kathy, who usually learns about recalls from her mother. “I am glad they are getting the information out there, but I wish they would do more on the front end. I think there should be more regulation and oversight in the first place,” added Kelly. “The company (RC2 Corporation) was very responsive and provided good communication after we sent our Thomas trains back, but I think it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure these imports are meeting our safety standards. It’s appalling that Mattel apologized to the Chinese during their crisis,” said Kelly.

 

How to stay informed

The most direct way to get information on product recalls is through the CPSC website. You may choose to visit the site regularly, or you may want to take advantage of the website’s email alerts and RSS feeds. Five simple steps will help you learn if you have products affected by a recall:

1. Visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
2. Click on Recalls and Product Safety News.
3. Search by manufacturer, date or product type
4. Scan the list of recalled products and look for products in your home. Check your model numbers against the ones listed to see if your product is included.
5. If you do have a recalled product, read all the information and follow the instructions for remedy and consumer contact.

The rash of recalls has focussed the public’s attention, but whether this will lead to better safety regulations and safer products is an open question.

“I imagine that the problems were always there, but this is the ripple effect from all the exposure in the news,” said Kelly. Kathy added, “Inspectors are paying more attention now, so China is under the magnifying glass.” “It’s a symptom of our non-regulated world, and now I don’t trust any of the toys.”

 

 

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News sources:

“On August 1, nearly 1 million Chinese-made Fisher-Price toys were recalled…”
Associated Press. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070801/toy_recall.html?.v=12)

“Two weeks later, their parent company, Mattel, ordered a recall of nearly 10 million more…”
The Associated Press. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20254745/)
CNN.com. (http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/14/news/companies/mattel/index.htm)

“Thursday’s recall of 425,000 play yards by Kolcraft Enterprises…”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07315.html)

On Sept. 21, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled a million Graco brand…”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07307.html)

“On September 11, U.S. and Chinese product safety agencies announced an agreement to improve the safety of imported toys and other consumer products.”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07305.html)

“It’s appalling that Mattel apologized to the Chinese during their crisis.”
Quote by Kelly Hollis confirmed by the Canadian Press. (http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCS6azNXZQiyubu8CXeodKqNMyzw).

Interview sources:
Kelly and Jim Hollis, parents from Raleigh, NC.
Kathy Nilsson, mother from Raleigh, NC.
Jennifer Barwick, mother from Raleigh, NC.
Alicia Gilsenan, mother from Cary, NC.

Interview questions:
Are you aware of the recent wave of recalls of child products?
Are you concerned about the recalls?
Have you changed your buying habits as a result?
Do you check to see where products are made?
How do you keep up with recalls?
How do you feel about how companies are handling the recalls?
How do you feel about how the government is handling it? Why is there a sudden outbreak of these problems?

Audience
Citizens from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.

By Todd Pendergast

PittsburghTrib.com is a website version of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review newspaper. The site includes news from wire services and local writers and other typical large newspaper content. The amount and variety of web site content makes for a tough task as Jay Small explains, “If it’s your job to design the homepage for a newspaper website, you already deserve sympathy.”

 

My critique of PittsburghTrib.com will focus on its home page, its overall organization, its use of visuals and its writing style. Determining the main goals of a site of this scale is difficult, because the site tries to do so many things. This appears to be the source of the site’s usability issues, as it is crowded with all kinds of content for many types of audiences.

 

Site Organization

The web site suffers from a general lack of identity and hierarchy that makes it disorienting for new and returning visitors. The first thing that came to mind as I used the site, is Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton’s work that suggests, “pages should direct the user’s attention, prioritize information and make the user’s interactions with a web site more enjoyable and more efficient.” PittsburghTrib.com discourages visitors by emphasizing too many elements that compete for their attention. The site is an example of “clown’s pants,” which is Lynch and Horton’s metaphor for sites “where everything is garish and in the end nothing is emphasized.”

 

The most dominant item on the home page is the flashing ad at the top of the page, which seemed to have more emphasis than the masthead, the navigation or any other element. Credibility research concludes that visitor’s don’t like websites that seem too commercial in their purpose. This ad, multiple newspapers’ logos, and the “Trib Total Media” navigator made me spend considerable time trying to figure out where I was and where the main navigator might be. I would suggest consolidating this information into a less conspicuous menu and providing clarity about the identity and purpose of the site.

 

Poor organization and a general lack of emphasis on the PittsburghTrib home page:

 

Page Layout

The site incorporates a common three column layout that appears to be designed for the 600 x 350 screen standard. Given the amount of content this site provides, I would explore using the wider 750 x 400 standard. This would increase the column width for articles, lessening the need for long vertical scrolling, and creating some much needed white space.

 

An example of a wider page layout and article width on http://www.newsobserver.com

Navigation

The site’s navigation scheme was confusing, hard to find and violates many of the findings of the Eye Track 3 study. The main navigation was not located near the hotspots identified by the study. There is a horizontal navigator above the large ad, and then there is a main navigator on the left that was almost completely below the fold on a typical 1024 by 768 pixel monitor.

 

The site navigation could also be improved by integrating the findings of Steve Krug’s usability studies. Visitors’ use of the site would be encouraged by anticipating their needs:

• Where am I? I would suggest that the navigator highlight the link of the current page or that the page incorporate a page heading.
• Where do I begin? Where did they put it? I would suggest emphasizing the navigator by moving it to a more central position that is not below the fold. A horizontal navigation scheme that clusters all navigation tools in the same general area of the page could make the navigation more easily adaptable to visitors.
• What’s most important here? A hierarchy needs to be developed that features dominant elements to help direct the visitor’s attention. This can be done by eliminating some of the distracting graphics and icons.

 

Content

PittsburghTrib.com’s use of visuals discourages visitors from exploring the site. There is a general lack of identity and too many variations in color, size and style of icons and fonts. I would suggest creating and adhering to a graphic identity guide for standard usage. There are too many flashing icons and ads, which tend to reduce credibility and discourage the use of the site. There are several flashing mug shots of writers, but the pictures are tiny and Jakob Nielsen’s research suggests that mug shots are usually ignored. These mug shots are in one of Eye Track 3’s biggest hot spots, so I would move these to a less prominent position unless their content has been deemed critical.

 

Advertisements are probably a necessity for this site, but credibility and user experience by announcing where ads begin. I would suggest they remove the “click here for discount fares” ad that is embedded in the weather icon. I tried to click on the weather icon but it isn’t linked, so I clicked on the ad by mistake. Deceptive tactics like these may decrease the credibility of the website and discourage repeat visitors.

 

Deceptive advertisement embedded in navigation icon:

 

Writing Style

The site features articles from several major wire services and from local journalists. In general the writers make good use of the inverted pyramid model in their articles. However, there wasn’t much to facilitate the reader’s scanning, and it didn’t cater to varying interest levels. I would suggest increased use of Nathan Wallace’s multi-level writing model. For example, the site employs paragraph summaries, but I would suggest displaying them in bold on the same line as the blurbs, as is suggested by the Eye Track 3 findings. I also found no use of bold face for major points and little use of bulleted lists to aid in scanning. The local writers could be encouraged to use these in their articles.

 

A Strategy for Change

I realize that many of my suggestions would be resisted by departments within the newspaper, so I would suggest that a comprehensive usability study be done. The results of this study would likely bolster the case for change if they could be linked to improved web site readership.

This blog will have its first meaningful post very soon. Thanks for stopping by!