Browse Marketing History via the Wayback Machine

What did some major marketing brands look like on the web 5, 10, or even 20 years ago? You can find out by checking the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Not only is this a good way to see the evolution of web design, you can also follow along as logos change, brand ownership changes, and offerings change.

At top, how the Wayback Machine shows the number and timing of Sears.com web pages captured and saved since January, 1997 to today.

At right, the Sears "about us" page in 1997. This is obviously before the acquisition by Kmart was announced in 2004 and completed in 2005. The brand's logo is prominent along the header and navigation is along the bottom as well as via links embedded in the body copy.

At left, the "overview" page from the corporate page of Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart today.  Navigation is along the side and along the bottom (not shown in this capture).

There is a link to the Sears Archives, where the distinctive blue-and-white logo is prominent at top left of web page. Check this page for the history of the venerable Sears, Roeback & Company, a true pioneer of legacy retailing.

Marketing Earth Day, April 22

Thanks to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, we can see how the EarthDay.org website looked last year and years earlier.

Above, one of the screens that rotated on Earth Day's home page last year.

At right, an image from Earth Day's home page in 2011.

And below, an image from Earth Day's home page in 2006.

Clearly, the site has become increasingly sophisticated and image-oriented. It captures the imagination by vividly portraying our Earth and showing how people can preserve its beauty and natural resources.

This year, Earth Day is April 22.

You can get the latest info on the Facebook page (183,000+ likes), Twitter account (37,500 followers), and YouTube channel.

Studying Marketing? Use The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine

Are you researching the history of a particular company or a marketing technique? For example, what if you want to see just how far online retailing has come since the days of dial-up Internet service?

You can use the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to research a specific website at particular points in its history.

At left, for example, is the way the JC Penney retail website looked in December, 1996. This is online retailing in its youngest days. Compared with today's whiz-bang sites, there's no animation, no audio, no social media links.

Yet the merchandise photos add interest. Also note how the company explains the process of "secure online shopping."

By 2002, JC Penney was making graphics the star of the show for Christmas (at right). The site isn't as busy looking and the logo is prominent and recognizable.

By 2012, the short-lived "square deal" JC Penney logo was in place (see below) and the retailer was promoting its social responsibility connections as well as its merchandise.

Today's 2015 JC Penney site is shown at bottom. The logo is nearly the same as it was in the 1996 screen capture by the Wayback Machine.

This home page echoes the look of the JC Penney ad flyers. Labor Day sales are the main focus, discounting is the message of the day.

Not shown here are the 5 social media links at the lower edge of the page.

Go ahead--follow a different marketer back through the years to see how its online look, logo, and messages have changed.

Look Back to Plan Ahead in Marketing

If everything old is new again, then the Internet Archive is a great resources for marketers. One of the collections highlighted at this link shows pages from web pioneers of the mid-1990s (Yahoo! for instance). It's more than a lesson in the evolution of web page design--it's a great way to think about how people's use of the web has changed, how expectations of functionality and formatting have changed, how we as users have grown accustomed to certain conventions. Logos, web sites, products, all blasts from the past may become inspirations for the future.

And that's why I think "old news" can be "new news" when viewed through the lens of situational analysis as you prepare a marketing plan:

• Know the history of your brands; know what worked spectacularly well and what failed miserably. This gives you background about how your brand came to be what it is today and the trajectory it has followed. In the process, you could rediscover an insight that will help you market tomorrow.
  
• Don't change for the sake of change. A wise boss once reminded me that marketers tire of campaigns and packaging far more quickly than our customers because we spend months planning, months executing, months evaluating. Who wouldn't be sick of seeing the same thing for so long? Resist the urge to tinker because you want a change. Your attitude may not be your market's attitude.
  
• Look at what's happening beyond your brand and your industry. Browse today's web, browse yesterday's web, wander through stores and malls, read and listen widely. You never know when or where you'll get a germ of a great idea as you analyze the current situation.