XXV – A communication professional’s ‘secret’ webcast checklist

Posted on 16.03.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

When you are working in a communication department, say of a publicly-traded multinational company, you are apt to be confronted with organizing a webcast at some point. And just maybe you feel a bit confused, overwhelmed, annoyed or whatever the emotion might be. Then it’s time for a pat on the back, a brief motivational talk and a little help from the expert: I herewith offer you my personal, fully-fledged communication-webcast checklist/questionnaire:

  • Select a suitable time and place; not early Monday morning or late Friday afternoon, not at 7 am or 4 pm, if you have an audience, give them time to arrive and find a seat before starting your event, inform all participants that there will be a webcast today and that the entire session will be recorded.
  • Find a location that is congenial for setting up electronic equipment, that is accessible via elevator or has a back entrance – nobody wants to carry heavy boxes of equipment up numerous flights of stairs.
  • When will the external streaming provider (e.g. Solutionpark) come by to set up the equipment? Is the room / auditorium / facility unlocked e.g. the evening before the event? What type of security access is necessary? Who has the key?
  • Have at least 2 tables and a couple chairs ready for your external streaming provider to set up their equipment. Where will their place be (in the back of the room, on the side)? Is there space for the camera tripod? Any pillars in the way? Or other obstacles?
  • Make sure there is a very good, reliable and strong power line as well as Internet access for live webcasts via satellite.
  • Do you have adapters for foreign speakers? Not all countries use the same electrical plugs. Make sure you have the necessary adapters available.
  • Is there enough lighting? Or are extra spotlights necessary?
  • Are a laptop and beamer already installed? Who knows how to operate the system?
  • What about electronic blinds to darken the room?
  • Microphones, microphones, microphones, have more than extra ones, test them, make sure the battery won’t die on you during the event. How are them mounted? What range do they have? Remember, if the speakers aren’t talking into the microphone, what they are saying will not be recorded.
  • Make sure the podium or stage is not slippery in any way. You don’t want your speakers crashing down and breaking a leg, right?
  • Is there a bottle of water for the speaker on the speaker’s desk? And a nice glass. Please no paper or plastic cups. That really looks cheap in a video.
  • Tell your speakers to bring or send their slide presentations as power point files, electronically, be it on their laptops or on a USB key or CD-ROM. Whatever they are bringing has to be compatible with the equipment onsite. Otherwise it won’t work.
  • Will the speakers be using a laser pointer, remote control or other such device? Please test it in advance, not 5 minutes before you start.
  • Make sure that your speakers get presentation training or media training and that they remove all key, coins etc from their pockets. There is nothing more annoying than a speaker rattling the stuff in his pockets.
  • Will you have simultaneous translators? What language will be recorded on the webcast?
  • How long will the webcast be? 10 minutes, over the course of 3 days? That makes a big difference for the encoding later on. So when you are briefing your external streaming provider (e.g. Solutionpark), don’t forget to tell them what time span you are planning on recording.
  • Are there any legal ramifications? Does your external streaming provider (e.g. Solutionpark) need to sign a confidentiality agreement?
  • Who is the responsible contact person onsite????

And finally

  • Who will upload the link to the (company) website?

I think this should be a good starting point…….

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XXIV – Don’t forget your assessment

Posted on 10.03.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

As communication professionals we tend to ignore or forget, or whatever excuse you want to add, to conduct a thorough assessment following a significant communications task or project. Where this should actually be one of the most important parts of your communication work. In that respect, with webcasts and videos on the Internet, life’s a little easier.

What am I measuring?

There is the quantitative and the qualitative aspect to measuring a webcast: get the statistics from your streaming provider (like Soltionpark) or internal IT department and compare them with the figures from previous webcasts or your regular Internet user statistics. Or benchmark them against what other companies in your industry have. That’s the quantitative side. For the qualitative part you need to define what you are specifically looking for first: Is it that the audience understood the content of the presentations and speeches, is it that the public reacts positively to the message you sent out or is it that you want your employees to take a liking to your newly appointed COO?

In any case, the value of measuring and assessing the success of your webcast hit rate is not to be underestimated. The figures and feedback clearly show you what, when and how the audience likes to receive your content, i.e. video message and slide presentation. It also shows you what aspect or detail needs to be improved or changed in order to have even happier viewers. This might be a small thing such as insufficient lighting that becomes more apparent in a video. My advice is to use such insights for improving your preparation work and to help your company capitalize on a webcast’s benefits.

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XXIII – Traffic, tracking, statistics – evaluation made easy

Posted on 04.03.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

The final item listed in a good communication concept is EVALUATION. Be it through assessments, survey, interviews, benchmarking etc. We want to know if we have reached our target audience, if the message arrived at the receiving end and if the money spent on the respective communication measures turned out to be a fruitful investment.

How will we know? And how can we evaluate the use of a webcast? As soon as your video is published on the Internet, be it Live or on Demand, your external streaming provider can begin logging the traffic generated, as well as the hits and clicks of the webcast watched.

Facts and figures

The good news is, you don’t have to do anything. Take a live webcast, for example. Instantaneously you can track the users on your webpage anonymously and report back what peaks, highs and lows there were during a specific time period. The tracking tools are so sophisticated, that you yourself don’t even need to install expensive software yourself. Leave it to those in charge on the technical side and they will deliver the results first hand while the event is ongoing or immediately thereafter. What more do you want?

Do statistics really tell the truth?

If you are working with an experienced and reliable streaming partner, such as Solutionpark, you can only expect top notch reporting on the facts and figures of your webcast. Every aspect is measured and recorded, tracked and identified – if you so wish. It actually is their general working procedure to observe the user’s movements on the Internet while one of their clients’ webcasts is taking place.

From a communication perspective such statistical information can only be helpful. How many people watched the webcast? At what time? For how long? All good information not simply for justifying the costs but also for explaining their necessity. Look at the cost per user: One can calculate that for an event with a live audience, for the extra cost of a webcast, up to double the number of people will watch it in the following month compared with the number of participants that attended the actual event. Imagine, double!! Most probably the extra cost for producing the webcast was a fraction of what the event cost anyway.

Feel at ease

I always found it helpful to know how many viewers had attended a live webcast session online and was always grateful for the respective evaluation and interpretation provided by Solutionpark. One thing I do want to add is that the technical support throughout the entire project is just as important as the analysis thereafter. I was definitely never left hanging throughout the whole communication-webcast process. And that was much appreciated.

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XXII – Time and speed is key: in communication and in technology

Posted on 25.02.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

Who wouldn’t want to benefit from using new technologies and impressing your shareholders, clients, business partners and employees with a hands-on Internet presentation? Produced in no time and cost efficiently? From a communicator’s perspective, this sounds like a gift sent from heaven.

Let me give you some technical background: Webcasts are often used for synchronizing presentations (such as Powerpoint, websites, film, 3-D objects) with multiple audio sources while encoding them into one coherent stream. They provide an all-in-one solution for broadcasting your video and slides to a broad audience via the Internet.

Let it PLAY

In addition, you have the possibility to use the web-based production software «PLAY» which is an all-in-one production software, especially developed by Solutionpark for producing webcasts, that stores any kind of graphical screen design from your PC or Mac. As the «PLAY» software is installed on a web application server, you only need a web browser and internet access to run it. For recording and broadcasting audio-visual content, a Real Helix, Quicktime Streaming, Windows Media or Flash server is needed. «PLAY» enables video and audio to be joined into a recordable presentation. (All content is generated live).

Therefore presentations can either be broadcasted ‘live’ or ‘on demand’ over the Internet and then viewed with any standard web browser such as Windows Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari or Google Chrome – for which you might need a plugin.

Streaming technologies come to life

A LiveBox is an efficient piece of hardware that combines high quality TV satellite technology with the transmission and distribution of video and slides via Internet, while using the most modern video streaming technologies. By the way, a LiveBox offers an array of advantages compared to traditional streaming transmission possibilities such as ISDN networks, video conferencing technology or complex and costly installation of video streaming infrastructure on site.

The benefit of such technologies used for producing webcasts lies in the fact that you don’t have to buy any extra soft- or hardware or any other additional technical equipment yourself. No license fees, no distribution costs, no maintenance contracts. Sounds good?!

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XXI – Investing in the company image

Posted on 18.02.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

What about a corporate video? In communications many of us may dream of producing a corporate video, a grand project with much prestige and pomp. Though too often it’s the budget that is too tight, or so we believe and other priorities that are consuming our time. Besides, it’s ‘”only” an image tool, I’ve heard people say.

No compromises on a lighter version of “the corporate film”

Thanks to modern technology, oh how I love those words, communication specialists have other options and easier ways of producing a company video. That’s exactly what it is, a video, prepared for the Internet, in high resolution, high quality, and with the look and feel of a corporate film. It’s true value added for your organization and when placed strategically on your Internet entry page, it is automatically broadcast to a large audience, draws attention to your website and grabs hold of your viewers. And all this at an affordable price.

If you are thinking of implementing a web TV project or creating a web TV magazine consider the following budgetary items when asking an external provider such as Solutionpark for a cost proposal:

  • Project management – any professional external provider will take the lead for the external side and set up a time plan, milestones and deliverables.
  • Handling – this cost item includes administrative work, bookings, organization, location scouting etc. I can only say: leave it to the pros, they know what they are doing.
  • Resources and equipment: cameraman and camera, sound/audio technician, lighting – this obviously includes the specialists such as cameraman, videographer, web TV producer, sound technician as well as the respective equipment. Do you have a corporate sound, tune, melody? Every part is important in order to make your corporate video a memorable experience to watch and listen. Assuming a “standard/stationary” situation, the sound/audio technician also does the lighting and the cameraman is concentrated on the subject(s) and content of the video.
  • Postproduction – following the recording, the material is cut to the requested time span and any voice over, soundtrack and/or subtitles are added. The better the raw material, the easier it is to get good imagery and a nice flow of the video afterwards.

A corporate video should be harmonious and inviting. Don’t overload it. Less is often more. Keep it simple and slick. Don’t confuse your audience with too many different messages. Web producers, e.g. from Solutionpark can develop a storyboard, write a script, research locations and recommend the most suitable procedure for shooting a company video. Don’t be surprised if the outcome is overwhelmingly positive.

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XX – Webcast provider doesn’t equal webcast provider: Interpreting a proposal

Posted on 12.02.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

As a communication professional we are often confronted with trying to interpret a proposal that has landed on our desks from one of our external providers. Ok we asked for one, but now it’s our job to check and see if what is being offered is what we really need and wanted in the first place. Does the price tag meet our expectations or is it way over budget?

We tend to be a bit skeptical, but if you want high quality, reliability and efficiency, it’s definitely worth paying an appropriate price.

Looking at a typical proposal

Assuming you are doing a “standard” webcast for video and slides on demand, for the Internet, this is what a proposal (from Solutionpark) looks like:

  • Briefing, planning and coordination – every external provider needs time to be briefed and set up a plan for the implementation of a webcast.
  • Set-up, installation, technical check at the event location – depending on where you are holding the event, interview, roundtable, training session, and depending on the number of participants, guests, people, speakers attending, the technical set-up and respective checks will take the appropriate time. Rather be sure everything is working properly in advance in order to avoid any mishaps, if possible. You will feel calmer and so will your external provider.
  • Cameraman and streaming engineer – these are the specialists behind the camera, in charge of directing, at the mixing desk and the computer making sure that the video and slides match. In addition this item includes encoding the video and sending the link for the Internet.
  • Software and hardware: usage of PLAY software, license and PLAY server utilization, LiveBox, streaming equipment, multiple encoder, backup, converter, slide control, cameras, tripods, hosting, delivery and distribution via Akamai network (content delivery network) – these are the basis for a high-quality webcast and I wouldn’t want to go with anything less.
  • Back-up of the video – for your records you might want to have a DVD.
  • Transport of equipment and expenses – your event might take place nearby, but the equipment needs to be lugged to the location no matter what.
  • Phone service helpline – in case you need a special helpline during the event itself, this is a useful option to consider.

All I can say is, good luck and hope you are successful and happy with your next webcast.

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XIX – CEO calling

Posted on 04.02.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

Which communication professional doesn’t dread that early morning phone call on the way to work from the company CEO saying “we need to prepare some communication on a major announcement to be made today.” Ufffhhhhh. Run to the office and scramble to get the facts together. Try to keep the big picture in mind, the consequences, the impact and and and. Set priorities, make a plan, allocate resources, quick, think about what external partners need to get involved and need to be informed ASAP. Be aware of any legal issues, the stock exchange has its rulings too, forgotten. Crisis communication is always a hot topic and until you have done it, you don’t really know what it feels like. Keep your act together.

Being prepared for the worst

I can not tell you how glad I was to be able to pull my webcast binder from the shelf, look up Solutionpark’s phone number and flip to the scenario that said ‘webcast video and slides on demand.’ Months before I had listed all contacts and processes, described the steps of the ‘To Does’ and drafted template E-mails for just such occasions. The mailing groups had been saved in my Inbox and the only thing that needed to be added was the time and date.

From my own experience, I didn’t mind the excitement, the time constraints and the communication tasks, although every company crisis is emotionally challenging. My job was mostly on the internal communication side and we took great care in informing our employees as soon and as transparent as possible. It’s worse to say nothing than to say “I can’t give you more information at this point in time.”

Absorbing the news

That afternoon our CEO would stand up in front of all (local) staff and explain the situation in the best possible and most understandable way. Following a Q&A session, the employees piled out of the auditorium and went back to their desks, attempting to digest the news they had just heard.

Of course we webcast the information session, no question, as I felt it was too important not to share with staff in the local offices around the world. They have a right to know and learn about what’s going on now, just as much as those in the ‘ivory tower.’ And as always, we published the link an hour after the event on the intranet. No matter the event, this had simply become a routine.

Despite a crisis situation within your organization, communication thereof can be manageable, and the more experience you have using effective communication tools, the better.

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XVIII – How does it make you feel?

Posted on 27.01.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

Who are we? What do we do? What do we stand for? Be it an organization, a product, service or even a person, companies drive to achieve and maintain brand awareness. If nobody knows about the product or service a company is trying to sell, let alone the people behind it, how should they expect you to buy something in the first place. As a communication and marketing professional we strive for unsurpassed awareness, recognition and identification with our organization, products and services. Both internally and externally, by the way. In public relations our job is to influence people’s opinion whatever the respective topic, and to raise awareness of a particular subject.

Experiencing for yourself

Why not make it all into something more emotional, something that feels real, a moving experience. Of our senses, the visual and auditory ones are definitely the most widely used to reach the masses. Touch and smell might be a bit hard to bring across to millions of people simultaneously. Let’s stick to the seeing and hearing and imagine how an ad of your favorite brand makes you feel: happy, excited, affirmed, free, convinced, relaxed, secure….. J In terms of emotions, that is what you need to bring to your target audience.

In communication we are always looking for new ways of catching the attention of those already flooded with information and bombarded with messages in order to promote our brand and influence opinions. Let them take a break, lean back and watch a soothing video clip, an exciting short film or an engaging image sequence on your story. Raising awareness on your brand(s) is just another example of how video, preferably on the Internet, can be used.

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XVII – Coming to your computer soon: communicating new corporate values

Posted on 20.01.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

When we launched our new corporate values, I, a communication professional working for an international reinsurance company, was told that four new core values had been defined and were now to be communicated to the entire staff. “Come up with an internal communication concept. Make a plan. Show us some ideas for implementation,” I was instructed. So I went to work following a structured communication approach and presented my internal communication concept to the Executive Team. The actual launch included a pop-up window with a brief video which would appear on the day we launched the new corporate values to the entire staff (worldwide) by appearing on everyone’s screen first thing in the morning when they turned on their computers. I must say that our IT department was not amused; at all. In the end I managed to convince them of the one-off action and positive (communication) impact this would have.

NOT the old company video

The next step in terms of the pop-up video was ‘how the hell can we produce such a thing?’, a video that wasn’t too big for every user to watch on their own PC. Great communication idea, yep. I called Steve from Solutionpark because I didn’t know who else to ask and also because I figured that he must know how to do it, of course within a reasonable budget and timeframe.

Halleluia, thank you Steve, our external streaming provider could send us a team consisting of a cameraman and a sound technician and would format the video for PC use. Immediately I started writing a script and committing the necessary resources. After very little rehearsal I must say, our CEO and designated participants explained the new corporate values and their signification as well as what they meant to them on tape. The statements were recorded one after the other and we went from one floor to the next for the various takes.

Ready in no time

In only half a day, the planed scenes where on tape and the raw material ready to be cut. When I sat down with the multimedia producer from Solutionpark, we assembled the new 2.5-minute corporate values video within a record two hours. It’s really amazing how fast this can be done.

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XVI – Experts talking

Posted on 13.01.2010 by Christine| Leave a comment

Remember issue management? Agenda setting? Two key topics in communication theory. Unfortunately few companies take this aspect of communication seriously. While it would make so much sense to sit down, take a little time to think about the main themes you want to focus on for the long-term and that go beyond daily business. These are specific yet broader topics, e.g. water resources, climate change, microinsurance etc. that you can connect to your business, that are relevant to your industry and clients, and that they can associate with.

Raising the company voice on important topics

Determine who in your organization is or can become an expert in those fields and let them speak out on behalf of the organization. As knowledge is one of your best assets and specialists are one of the most effective means of communication, use them. Get them to the table, talk to them, listen to them and let their voice be heard.

Demonstrating transparency and open-mindedness

You have no idea what impact such statements can have. It’s all about credibility, reputation, image and demonstrating expertise through your own employees. One way of doing that, i.e. the communication channel chosen in this case, is to record the individual statements on video and publish them on the Internet. That’s the quickest face-to-face information you can get. A Swiss bank recently asked their hedge fund managers to talk about their products and portray their insight on the current market environment which were put on tape and published on the company’s website. What a great way to ‘meet’ the respective hedge fund managers on the Internet.

One can well imagine interested hedge funds surfing the net, looking for new contacts and information. Avoiding high travel costs, they can get a first impression of the banks’ experts, simply by watching the videos online. Wouldn’t you want that kind of exposure?

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