February, 2003
by Ken Pyle
I was skeptical when I was told I could get a response rate of greater than 20% to an email campaign. This is the type of response we experienced, however, with the video mail sent a couple of weeks ago. We received this great response, despite my silly mistake of not including a last name on the email account. Recipients received an email from “Kenneth”, so I am sure a number of people automatically assumed it was spam. The response to this email has proven to me that videomail could be a very effective marketing tool for the independent telco, as well as potentially opening up new service opportunities for the independent telco.
The technology behind this videomail campaign came from the folks at Silicon Valley-based, Conferserv. They have developed a comprehensive product that addresses the user interface, back-office and the network bandwidth demands of streaming media. The resulting service offering makes it possible to easily record live video conferencing for playback on an “on-demand” basis by anyone with an Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater web browser.
The target market for this product offering is any entity with a video conferencing system. This product adds value to that conferencing system by effectively transforming it from a simple point-to-point communications device into a low-cost, video studio. I was surprised to find the cost of the teleconferencing systems have dropped significantly in the past few years to the point where a quality video conferencing system can be had for less than $3,000.
It supports question and answer sessions and synchronized Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, while providing reporting and statistics on things such as the number of users that have viewed the presentation. Conferserv offers the product in two ways; 1) as an application service, whereby they provide the hosting service, 2) as software and hardware hosted by the enterprise or telecommunications’ provider.
I could see a telco deploying this product to serve a number of applications including:
- Promoting new offerings to its subscriber base
- Using it to promote video services (particularly PPV or VOD offerings)
- Distance learning for local schools
- Continuing education for adults in the community
- Recording town council meetings
- On-line newsletters
- Recording local community events (e.g. high school football games)
- Supporting businesses with teleconferencing needs
- Selling video advertising space for local businesses
This could be a relatively low-cost, low-risk way for a telco to easily start experimenting with video services. And it is fairly easy to use, as I had never used a teleconferencing system prior to this experience. I will definitely be exploring more ways to use this service in the next few months. To learn more about Conferserv, click here.
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