Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) is one of the world’s leading
beverage companies and the top producer of flavored carbonated soft drinks in
the Americas. A publicly traded company headquartered in Plano, Texas, DPS has
21 manufacturing centers, over 115 distribution centers, and about 19,000
employees. Through a century-long sequence of mergers and acquisitions, the
company’s brands include A&W Root Beer, 7Up, Hawaiian Punch, Nantucket
Nectars, Sunkist, Schweppes, and of course, Dr Pepper (created in 1885) and
Snapple (created in 1973). The main About Us page is Our Company.
OVERALL GRADE: B
The DPS site suffers from a tendency toward elegance at the
expense of functionality. We first noticed it on the Awards
page, which has many pretty pictures, but no text related to awards. Then we
accidentally discovered that hovering over a photo reveals text. And then we
felt we had to try hovering over every
image on every page, just in case we
were missing something. Yes, the bold graphic look of images without text is
elegant, but marketing mavens know that captions are one of the most-read elements
on any page. It’s a waste not to have captions on permanent display, ideally in
service to company history. At the very, very least, a “hover here for more
info” graphic will ensure that visitors realize text is available.
Products/Services: C
The main About Us page has five teasers (brands, investing,
sustainability, operations, mission) in a sensible layout with well-chosen
photos. Unfortunately, the page lacks a concise statement of DPS’s nature and
purpose. Plenty of relevant information appears on the Operations, Mission, Leadership Team,
and History
pages, but for visitors who get no further, a summary should appear on the main
About Us page.
The History page
offers some good corporate storytelling. Why not make it more vivid with vintage
ads or logos of some of the DPS beverages that have been popular for decades?
Given that DPS is a conglomeration of brands, an illustrated timeline might
work even better than a narrative.
Our Commandment 10
of About Us pages is, “Remember to keep holy the updates.” The last tweets
on the Our Company
page are a year old! However, the site’s home page has an active Twitter
feed, so apparently this glitch just means that no one at DPS has cast a
critical eye on Our
Company for quite a while.
Speaking of discrepancies: why does the Mission page have
no obvious relation to the Values
page? Why does Our
Operations introduce “Rapid Continuous Improvement (RCI),” which seems like
a either value or a way to implement a mission, but isn’t mentioned elsewhere?
Our Commandment
9 of About Us pages is, “Worship clarity.” That includes looking for discrepancies
throughout the site and adjusting the focus on business history as needed.
Sites as large as DPS’s require frequent checking to make sure they remain
internally consistent.
Personality: A
At the foot of the main About Us page, in
a carousel display, are company leaders, each with a photo, name, title, and
link to a full bio. This is a welcome innovation. The bios are top notch: they
mention not just where the person has worked, but what he contributed at each job.
(Alas, there are no female executives at this level.)
Bravo also to the FAQ
(available from the Contact
page), which presents just the sort of questions that consumers with inquiring
minds like to ask: “Why is it called ‘cream soda’?” “What exactly is Dr.
Pepper?” “Did Yogi Berra ever own Yoo-hoo?”
Accessibility: C
The Contact
page (accessed via a link in the footer) is sparse but adequate: USPS and phone
information for 5 different departments, plus a form for sending an email for
half a dozen different reasons (consumer questions, media inquiries, potential
suppliers, etc.). This would be an ideal place to encourage interaction on
social media, but the social media icons are confined to tiny print in the
footer.
TAKEAWAY
The main About Us page should always have a quick summary of
your company as well as great pics and teasers, for the sake of visitors who
choose not to explore any other pages. And always, always, always check that
pages within your site are consistent and coherent.
Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!
Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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