Does web usability affect brand perception? : A comparative study on the "Iliad Italia S.P.A." corporate website

Abstract: The concept of brand nowadays goes beyond the simple logo printed or displayed on a product or service. Branding is an important element for companies, and the communication channels used to deliver brand messages play a fundamental role. The advancement and innovation in web technologies made web communication artefacts crucial channels for companies and a key aspect of these artefacts is their usability. In this project a re-design process has been carried on the “Iliad Italia S.p.A.” corporate website from scratch, introducing innovative approaches such as user-centered design and value-based design. The developed website has been then used to perform an innovative comparative study aiming of verifying whether or not web usability affects brand perception. Adopting two different innovative procedures, brand perception has been measured on test subjects after using the old website and the new one. Analyzing the gathered data, a visible correlation has been found between usability and brand perception, indeed, using a website with higher usability resulted in a higher brand perception and the usage of a website with lower usability resulted in a decrease in brand perception in test subjects. The project introduced innovative research tools and procedures in a real case scenario, illustrating how they can be adopted in the development of web-communication artefact in companies, moving web development and marketing a step closer each other.