Webcasts
These interactive presentations are the perfect solution for training, professional development, seminars and other educational initiatives. They allow "attendees" to follow a
session from the convenience of their desktops, and the information is archived for future reference.
Medialink provides Webcasting services and has been using Webcasts for PR education programming, like recent crisis communications sessions with Ford and Merrill Lynch (PRN,
Oct. 22). Cost-savings can be significant. Vendor Biznews24 says one financial industry client was able to reduce cost per contact with individual brokers from $190 to $7. Simple
Webcasts can start around $1,500 and range to more than $20,000, with additional cameras, more complex PowerPoint and more interactive components. (Biznews24, Dan Leonard,
703/465-9200, http://www.biznews24.com; Medialink, Susan Macaluso, 212/812-7034, [email protected])
Collaborative Workspaces & ASPs
Restricted travel means PR can be difficult for employees in separate geographic locations and for agencies and clients. Application service provider (ASP) Copernus offers
WebSpace, a secure online workspace that allows team members to consolidate documents, contacts, and other knowledge, allowing communicators to eliminate unnecessary face-to-face
meetings. Employees with access to the workspace can collaborate on materials, and clients and other stakeholders with access can grant approval of work more efficiently. Plus,
users can create private workspaces in order to keep some documents available to only a limited number of users.
Cost is around $20,000 to $25,000 to start, scaling up to more than $100,000 for large corporate applications. ASPs like Copernus and Vocus also offer the benefit of remote
hosting - in the event of a crisis like the unprecedented loss of material in the recent terrorist attacks, critical information is still available.
"We had Morgan Stanley and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as clients," says Kay Bransford, VP of marketing for Vocus. "Their equipment was destroyed, but
employees could work from home." (Copernus, Dan Meyer, 513/562-5000, http://www.copernus.com; Vocus, Kay Bransford, 301/459-2590, [email protected])