The Auto Auction Group

In today’s world, companies have more choices than ever as they look to effectively inform, educate, and persuade employees, customers, and other stakeholders. “The AVS Group has helped clients transition from traditional video communications on videotape or CD to Web and DVD-based media,” notes Rob Ramseier, the AVS Group’s video team leader and producer.

This article spotlights several ways that organizations have successfully used the power of Web-based video to drive revenue and communicate effectively. These benefits have been made possible by three key technology advancements, which are reviewed in this article. Lastly, we highlight the benefits of DVD and explain why DVD is leading the wave of the future for professional development and promotional applications.

Web-based video: business spotlights

There are seemingly endless ways for organizations to leverage the power of Web-based video as part of their overall marketing strategy. When the video content offered is high quality and in-demand, there is an opportunity to convert it into revenue. In 2004, Major League Baseball (MLB) earned an additional $135 million by offering streamed baseball games via MLB.com. In 2005, MLB streamed 2,300 games during the season.

Web-based video does not have to be sold in order for the content to create a positive affect on revenue. Organizations now use progressive downloading to launch on-camera customer testimonials or product and service demonstrations from their Web sites. These brief Web-based video segments can be used to strengthen an organization’s brand identity. A strong brand identity has been proven to increase revenue.

Web-based video can be more than a brief clip. Organizations are now offering their stakeholders streamed versions of comprehensive Web-based video presentations such as product introductions, product training and tutorials, executive announcements, etc. while still providing high-quality video.

The key to successful Web-based video is to understand how to properly utilize its power, then developing the right strategy to take advantage of the technology.

Web-based video: technology drivers

So, how has Web-based video become a realistic element to incorporate into a marketing strategy? Several technology advancements, including the growing adoption of broadband, market saturation of Macromedia Flash Player, and advancements in video compression have made the benefits of Web-based video possible.

A broadband Internet connection is a necessity for a good experience when viewing Web-based video. The good news is that the adoption rate of broadband has dramatically increased. As shown in Figure 1, only 4.8 million homes in the United States had adopted broadband as of 2000. However, the number of broadband households increased by a factor of nearly 10 to 42.4 million in 2005, and is expected to reach 83 million by 2010.

In addition to the growing adoption of broadband, Macromedia Flash Player is now installed on more than 97.7 percent of all internet-enabled PCs in the world. This is a staggering statistic and provides some level of assurance that if an organization produces Flash-based video content, its audience will be able to view it online as intended.

There have also been a number of advancements in the last few years regarding video compression, which have made Web-based video much more accessible to the viewer. Simply put, compression is the process of removing data from a video file. The key is to remove the right amount of data so that quality is not sacrificed. Multimedia developers can now make fewer compromises in quality by making less significant reductions in frame rate or frame size to reduce file size. The end result is a higher quality video that can be played effectively over the Web.

Just some brief words of caution. Producing video for the Web does present some challenges that one would not typically face if the delivery device were media like videotape or DVD. “Special care must be taken in all phases of the production process,” notes Ramseier. “The setting and background, camera moves, lighting, and sound all have to be optimized to ensure that the compressed video provides the highest quality content for the audience.”

DVD: The media of choice

DVD is leading the wave of future video communications because organizations can provide audiences with a comprehensive and rich experience. DVD is quickly becoming the media of choice for video-based training and promotional tools, although many producers currently do not take advantage of the full possibilities of the media.

With DVD, audiences can experience multiple camera angles, convenient fast forward/rewind features, multilingual versions of the content, and much more. DVDs also run approximately nine times faster and can store up to 25 times more content than a CD. Aside from the technical benefits, current estimates predict that 450 million households worldwide will have a DVD player by 2008.

According to DVD Demystified, “The low cost of hardware and discs, the widespread use of players, and the availability of authoring systems, make DVD ideal for industrial training, professional development, sales presentations, home education, and any other application where full-screen, full-motion video and audio are needed for effective instruction.” According to the National Training Labs Institute, multimedia computer training leads to a 70 percent retention rate.

DVD is also well suited for promotional tools. Web site visitors can view short Web-based video segments of a program, and then order the full DVD. A DVD can hold entire catalogs to inform, educate, and persuade an audience, as well as supplemental content like an interactive video tour, product demonstrations, and helpful on-screen menus to make the program simple for users to navigate effectively.

In closing, organizations should consider the variety of media options now available for distributing their video content. It can be leveraged on the Web to inform, educate, and persuade a global audience. In addition, DVD provides companies with many options for distributing video content for education and training applications as well as promotional tools.

The AVS Group is a marketing, training, and communications company. AVS is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. AVS helps clients communicate and market effectively. AVS can be found online at http://www.avsgroup.com

Who says that married couples can’t enjoy Valentine’s Day? If you would like to make this day a little more special than others have been in the past, you’ll need to think about a few things, make a few plans and make this day a great day.

Keep It Exciting!

Use all of the tools that you have to remind yourself of the day. Set up your palm pilot or your computer to remind you of the day. And, not just on that day but several weeks before. This way, you can easily remember to do something for the day.

* Make dinner reservations.

* Buy a new outfit for the day.

* Plan what you will be serving for dinner.

* Find a way to get the kids out of the house for a few hours.

* Head out on the town for several hours.

* Plan out your meal for the night and test new recipes before then.

One of the biggest problems for the evening is with the kids. Where can they go or do? Find a sitter for them so that you two will have time on your own. Make sure to leave them someplace that they will enjoy themselves so that you don’t have to worry about them all evening. And, doing this will allow you to spend better quality time with your loved one too.

Gifts should be purchased well in advance. First of all, more and more individuals are turning to the internet to purchase gifts. If this is your plan, do it well in advance of the day, as it may take several weeks to receive a package. If you plan to purchase something, make sure that you know the tastes of the individual and their size. If you visit local department stores, they may even wrap them up for you on this day.

Go For Something Different!

Go ahead and get something more unique this year. For example a singing telegram is sure to surprise her. Surprise her with something like this that you purchase through the local florist.

Making Valentine’s Day special is important for each of you to really enjoy the day. Do something different, set aside a block of time and make it mean something to each of you. Then, it will be a day to remember even though you are married.

Nicola Kennedy really enjoys Valentines Day. It’s because she and her husband are always thinking of fantastic Valentines Day ideas. Visit her site www.Best-Valentines.info for more great Valentines ideas to make Valentines 2006 a special one.

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