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When I sat down to write this article I was aware of finding it more difficult than usual to find a way in to discuss the subject of branding on the Internet. Why, I wondered, are we still asking questions about this as if branding on the Internet was somehow different from branding in any other medium? Was I expected to come up with '10 easy to follow rules about how to brand effectively on the net' or 'the 5 most common mistakes that lead to failure' (the net is a great place for lists!). The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that whilst there are some issues to be aware of from a technical point of view, there are no real differences in how you brand in the on-line world from how you brand off-line. What more is there to say? Despite the dot.com slump, actual usage of the Internet is increasing and expectations of e-commerce growth are bullish. In the UK, 37% of households and 45% of the population have Internet access. By 2004, Forrester research estimate that eCommerce worldwide will be worth $6789 trillion (Figure 1) 
Figure1: Worldwide eCommerce Growth. Source: Forrester Research, Inc
And yet there are some lessons still to be learned and they all revolve around the central and important question 'What do you think branding is primarily about?' Close your eyes and think about that question. What was your first response?
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