In-Depth

Reebok

Stoughton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, is attempting to provide an interactive experience for users of its Web site while at the same time grabbing market share from industry leader Nike.

Reebok, with the help of Web consultants from Mindseye Technology, Boston, have built a site that integrates 12 different databases to give visitors a truly unique experience. New visitors can enter profiles of themselves, and with each subsequent visit to the site, be presented with information tailored to their wants and needs. In addition, special promotions can be targeted directly to consumers most likely to be interested.

Driving the dynamically created site is WebShare, from RadNet Inc., Cambridge, Mass. The original reebok.com site was entirely static, according to Marvin Chow, Reebok’s director of interactive marketing. Now the site is entirely database driven.

"The WebShare system allows us to make changes to our site on the fly, no matter where we’re located physically," said Chow. And, by supporting such a large number of SQL relational databases, WebShare allowed Reebok to keep their existing data infrastructure in place and use it for the Web.

Reebok's site can be found at www.reebok.com.