Multimedia
...on in midcourse or call up special sections during question-and-answer periods. Sales Presentations Multimedia can greatly enhance the power of sales presentations to a room full of prospects or to a single potential client. The interactivity offered with multimedia can help draw prospects into the sale, making them active participants in the process. As in the case of corporate presentations, a sophisticated appearance is extremely important. However, the large corporate presentation is usually more of a staged event—-one requiring hours of preparation—-whereas sales presentations are given more frequently and need to be set up, presented and torn-down in an hour. Corporate Training Most organizations have traditionally trained employees in classrooms, using an instructor to present information to students. Computer- based training, generally more cost-effective, offers a consistent message delivered in a consistent manner, and allows greater scheduling flexibility. Multimedia provides significant enhancement to computer training systems. Almost any kind of training—-administrative procedures, sales, customer service, machine operations—-can benefit from a multimedia application. Full-motion video can replicate actual customer encounters, allowing the trainee to interact, select an appropriate response or course of action, and then view a result. In manufacturing companies, mechanical operations can be simulated, using video recordings of factory-floor processes. Point-of-Sale Stations Multimedia point-of-sale applications can help retailers (and even government agencies) provide higher levels of customer service without increasing the size of the sales staff. POS stations can offer information accurately and in an entertaining manner, and can even automate the sales process. The NoteStation, from MusicWriter, for example, allows customers in a sheet music store to select, listen to, customize and print out the songs they are interested in, and interact with the sales staff only to pay for their purchases. Consumer Information Kiosks A multimedia system operating as an information kiosk can be a valuable part of a company's public relations effort. Usually located at sites where people are killing time (malls, train stations, etc.) they offer convenient access to information, as well as fun and adventure as the consumer explores the various levels of the application. The travel information kiosk at the Los Angeles airport... is an interesting example of the latest multimedia technology because it draws full-motion video from a hard disk drive. Planning a Multimedia Project Once you've determined that multimedia can more effectively deliver your particular message to a specific target audience, finding the answers to four key questions will help you determine the project's scope: 1. Which media will be included? Today's multimedia authoring systems are so feature-rich that it's tempting to throw in all the bells and whistles and use the technology to its limits. Sometimes the high production costs are justifiable, but sometimes, quite frankly, less would have been more. The key to creating a successful and effective multimedia program that doesn't overuse the technology or overrun its budget is to suit the media to the message. The decision of which media to include should be based on what combination will work best to deliver your message, and the needs of the audience, rather than on what the technology can handle. 2. How will it be delivered or distributed? Each type of multimedia application has its own delivery and distribution requirements. Corporate presentations, because they are usually part of specially staged events, face the fewest restrictions. Technical limits are generally imposed by the auditorium or presentation hall—-the quality of the sound system and the video projection equipment, for example—rather than by the computer delivery system. Kiosk and POS situations also offer considerable flexibility, if you provide the equipment. Corporate training, similarly, typically takes place in a controlled environment. But as interest in remote training and factory-floor interactivity grows, new and more flexible technology will be employed. The most severe limits on multimedia are imposed on sales presentations. There, flexibility is lim...