Organizers of the new Web-based service TellThemNow.com (PRN, Feb. 28) are betting that "download" times for gauging public reaction to media coverage will be considerably
shorter once their product hits full swing. The Seattle-based service, which kicks off beta testing this week, enables readers of online news stories to email any person or
company cited in the article instantaneously. Emails to corporations are then delivered in bundles (using technology called SmartMail) to avoid server crashes.
"That means if the CEO of your company is in the news in the morning, TellThemNow will soon be able to give you a good read on how the public is reacting by 3 p.m.," says
founder/PR counselor Wiley Brooks, who likens the service to Nielsen ratings for broadcasters. "It's like an instant electrocardiogram of public response."
Under the service, email delivery to corporations is free. But by summer, companies willing to pay a premium will be able to receive their email feedback bundled by message
skew (positive or negative) or in accordance with specified demographic profiles. Wiley expects to generate revenues through these analytical services and from Web banner
advertising on co-branded sites launched in partnership with news organizations.
The start-up venture has secured the Tacoma News Tribune as its signature media partner for beta testing, but Wiley says there are "hundreds" of other news organizations in the
queue.
The service launches with $1 million in seed financing and boasts a host of measurement gurus on its advisory board, including Council of PR Firms President Jack Bergen,
AT&T Director of Public Relations Research Bruce Jeffries-Fox, Microsoft Director of Corporate Communications Mark Murray, and Nintendo Corporate Affairs Director Perrin
Kaplan. Former Miami Herald Publisher David Lawrence is on board representing media interests.
(206/264-8900, http://www.TellThemNow.com)