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.
Posted in corporate communication, internal communication, investor relations
Tagged Akamai, cameraman, external provider, proposal, Solutionpark, streaming, streaming engineer, video, webcast
I want to do a video, sure, cool thing, but what and who and where and how? And what for, for heaven sakes? As a communication professional I have been taught to think in structured, linear processes, in concepts and with project management as a guiding principle of my doings. On a side note: It’s not as creative as one might imagine. So, simply follow the basic steps of analysis and definition, implementation and evaluation. Super. By the way, I still believe in that method. So I’ve learned to ask the right questions, coach my counterparts and advise them on what I believe to be a valuable and successful communication path. 
Here are the three most important criteria for producing a webcast:
- We want to reach a broad audience that goes beyond our immediate target audience
- We want people to be able to view the webcast independent of geographic location and time zone
- We want to use a video for bringing our communication messages across
Reaching out to a broader audience
Even though you have a specific target audience in mind, you automatically reach a much broader group of people including potential clients, interested investors and future employees that might be surfing your website. Exposure is imminent when placed on the landing page of your company website. You never know who will be attracted to your CEO’s video message, your product line responsibles’ statement, your market managers’ proposition or your business experts’ insights. Therefore it’s wise to draft your message carefully, take the time to prepare your script, select an appropriate location for the shooting and get your webmaster or web content editor on board early on. It’s important to place your video on a site that is easily accessible and quick to find – not buried in a corner of your website.
Giving your company a face on your website
Let your speaker do some media/camera training, with our without a teleprompter and discuss your expectations with your external provider – video, multimedia or web TV producer and streaming engineer. Your communication agency or Solutionpark can help you scout the location, draft the story board, write the script and organize the props. Be it as part of a full fledged integrated communications campaign or a single communication activity, it’s so easy to have so much exposure with only one small video.
Posted in corporate communication, employee relations, internal communication, marketing communication
Tagged CEO, Solutionpark, streaming engineer, target audience, teleprompter, video, web TV producer, webcast, webmaster
On a typical day, when a publicly-traded company published their quarterly financial results, it all begins at 7 am with sending out the official press release and financial results presentation to the media, analysts and investors as well as publishing it all on the company website. An E-mail is sent out to all employees informing on the news while the internal communication specialist and internal services people get the auditorium ready for the upcoming employee information event.
Pulling it all together
The IT person responsible for helping with the webcast and the two streaming engineers from Solutionpark arrive and set up 2-3 cameras, hook up laptops and lay the necessary cables. I check the lighting and the sound (microphones) and upload the employee presentation onto the laptop next to the speaker’s desk. By 8 am staff piles into the auditorium – once again filled to the very last seat – and eagerly awaits the Executives Team’s explanations of the quarterly financial results. The session will be recorded including the slides and Q&A and is published on the intranet an hour following the staff event as a Video on Demand.
By 9 o’clock the Executive Team moves on to the boardroom where the investor call will be held shortly. The scripts are ready and so are the head of investor relations and the streaming engineers who will ensure that the slides are synchronized with the speeches from the CEO and CFO. This investor call will be broadcast live, i.e for everyone to see who logs on (and registers) on the company website. While the live webcast is in full swing in the boardroom, the auditorium is once again remodeled and set up for the onsite press conference.
Moving forward through the day
I remember the poor guys from the internal services department well who had to lug hundreds of chairs, shove around tables and prepare the information booth for the awaited financial analysts and business journalists. As employees, we were not allowed to participate in the press conferences, though we’d sneak through the hallway and try to get a glimpse of who had come. Are there photographers present? Has a journalist from a prestigious financial paper arrived? Have the analysts dressed in their sleek designer outfits again?
By noon, the show is over, the employee webcast published on the intranet, the investor webcast marked for download on the Internet, journalists’ and analysts’ questions answered. Oh well, just a typical day at the office.
Posted in corporate communication, employee relations, internal communication, investor relations, strategic communication
Tagged broadcast live, camera, internal communication specialist, Internet, intranet, investor call, microphone, press conference, press release, quarterly results, results presentation, Solutionpark, streaming engineer, Video-on-Demand, webcast
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?
