Monday, June 09, 2008
Party on the Pier
The Winnetka, IL Park District fundraising foundation, The Winnetka Parks Foundation, celebrates summer with their annual Party on the Pier fundraiser. Similar to previous years, PCG has provided an online event registration with secured eCommerce in the form of an ISAT.
Labels: 2.0, banners, Chicago, email, Internet Secured Application Technology, ISAT, Lifestyle Computing, Marketing, multimedia, online advertising, PCG, Performance Communications Group, Podcasts, video
Monday, June 02, 2008
Case Study: Hope Publishing discovers Multimedia Sells Paper
Situation:
Hope Publishing, founded in 1892, is one of the nation's largest Christian music publisher. Managed by the fourth generation of the Shorney family, Hope Publishing sells choral, hand bell, hymnal and other instrumental sheet music to music distributors and churches. The marketplace, in general, is defined where new sales are not 'found' but rather 'taken' from a competitor.
Hope represents and sells more than 3,000 musical pieces, almost all of which have audio samples. Since the sheet music Hope publishes is not heard on the radio or other popular channels, music sampling is critical to sales. For decades, Hope Publishing has mailed music samples to their clients using vinyl records, cassette tapes, and finally CDs.
In 1997, Hope launched their first website for promotional purposes and began to digitize their music portfolio using Real Networks technology for online sampling. In 2001, using IntelliSuite as their platform, Hope redesigned their web site for eCommerce. By 2006, online revenue growth had stalled and visitor technical support had grown, so Hope began looking for a change in multimedia technology.
Solution:
Performance Communications Group (PCG) suggested converting the Hope music catalog into MP3 files, which could be managed with PCG's Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) Communication Center (www.isatcommunications.com). Hope would maintain digital rights management while improving the user experience and reporting, and introduce new ways to promote their music. PCG created the "Hope Player," a personal juke box that loads as many samples as desired. The Hope Player also allows for pre-defined play sets that Hope creates to promote new and compiled musical works.
Results:
PCG and Hope Publishing worked together to convert Hope's 3,000 music files during the summer of 2006 and launched the Hope Player in September of 2006.
Comparing the site traffic of September 2006 and September 2007 reveals:
Sept. 2006 Sept. 2007 Change
Site Visits 58,000 111,000 90%
Page Views 163,000 263,000 60%
Multimedia Minutes 29,000 115,000 300%
In the last twelve months, visitors have listened to more than 1 million minutes of music. This has translated into a 50 percent gain in revenue when compared to the prior twelve month period. A success by all accounts, Hope and PCG continue to work on new features such as podcasts and video.
Hope Publishing, founded in 1892, is one of the nation's largest Christian music publisher. Managed by the fourth generation of the Shorney family, Hope Publishing sells choral, hand bell, hymnal and other instrumental sheet music to music distributors and churches. The marketplace, in general, is defined where new sales are not 'found' but rather 'taken' from a competitor.
Hope represents and sells more than 3,000 musical pieces, almost all of which have audio samples. Since the sheet music Hope publishes is not heard on the radio or other popular channels, music sampling is critical to sales. For decades, Hope Publishing has mailed music samples to their clients using vinyl records, cassette tapes, and finally CDs.
In 1997, Hope launched their first website for promotional purposes and began to digitize their music portfolio using Real Networks technology for online sampling. In 2001, using IntelliSuite as their platform, Hope redesigned their web site for eCommerce. By 2006, online revenue growth had stalled and visitor technical support had grown, so Hope began looking for a change in multimedia technology.
Solution:
Performance Communications Group (PCG) suggested converting the Hope music catalog into MP3 files, which could be managed with PCG's Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) Communication Center (www.isatcommunications.com). Hope would maintain digital rights management while improving the user experience and reporting, and introduce new ways to promote their music. PCG created the "Hope Player," a personal juke box that loads as many samples as desired. The Hope Player also allows for pre-defined play sets that Hope creates to promote new and compiled musical works.
Results:
PCG and Hope Publishing worked together to convert Hope's 3,000 music files during the summer of 2006 and launched the Hope Player in September of 2006.
Comparing the site traffic of September 2006 and September 2007 reveals:
Sept. 2006 Sept. 2007 Change
Site Visits 58,000 111,000 90%
Page Views 163,000 263,000 60%
Multimedia Minutes 29,000 115,000 300%
In the last twelve months, visitors have listened to more than 1 million minutes of music. This has translated into a 50 percent gain in revenue when compared to the prior twelve month period. A success by all accounts, Hope and PCG continue to work on new features such as podcasts and video.
Labels: 2.0, banners, Chicago, email, Internet Secured Application Technology, ISAT, Lifestyle Computing, Marketing, multimedia, online advertising, PCG, Performance Communications Group, Podcasts, video
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
American Bar Association uses ISAT Newsletter
The Business Law section of the American Bar Association promoted their 2008 annual Global Business Law Conference with an ISAT Newsletter. ABA's Business Law, a client of PCG since 2002, used the ISAT Newsletter for email marketing and registration.
Labels: 2.0, banners, Chicago, email, Internet Secured Application Technology, ISAT, Lifestyle Computing, Marketing, multimedia, online advertising, PCG, Performance Communications Group, Podcasts, video
Monday, July 02, 2007
Tips for Avoiding Red Xs in Email
A Whitepaper from Performance Communications Group
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two years ago, you would open an email and see an image; today you see a “Red X.” This can reduce the effectiveness of email messages and force the subscriber to take an extra step to view the image. Performance Communications Group (PCG), a Chicago-based interactive marketing agency, has developed a whitepaper that provides instructions on how email marketers can avoid the “Red X.” The whitepaper, “The Big Red "X”: Methods to Move Beyond Email Roadblocks and Improve the User Experience,” is available for download free by using the banner below.
“Email is evolving to include advanced features, such as multimedia. While these features can make email more interesting and effective, they also open the door to adware, spyware, phishing and viruses. To curtail their spread, email systems and providers have pre-empted the use of advanced email features, leaving a red X where the content was,” said Scott Madlener, executive vice president, interactive strategies at PCG. “While this is done in the name of safety, it is forcing email marketers to take a giant step backwards.”
The whitepaper offers best practices for optimizing emails without being restrained by preprogrammed email default settings. These tips include:
1. Don't rely on images or multimedia for primary messaging. Many emails include images to ensure fonts are rendered as the sender intended. Instead of text, the reader may only see a red X.
2. Manage Visual Assets. When building an HTML email with images or multimedia, combine as many objects in one to reduce the total number of Red Xs seen by a viewer with images off.
3. Trim Down Tables. Don’t use tables for large header images or media, as pre-allocated table space will be maintained causing the text to fall “below the fold.” Even though multimedia should not be in a table, set the height and width settings for the object, as scaling to 100 percent may reduce the actual size, making it too small to view in a preview window.
4. Keep the Code Simple. Complex JavaScript and CSS for formatting generally are not supported. Instead, use inline styling, multimedia or standard HTML to achieve the desired affect.
5. Don’t Hide the URL. Always present the URL to which a link will go, rather than hiding the URL behind a "click here" statement. Most email service providers change links for tracking purposes, so the replacement links will expire over time.
6. Remember Fundamentals. Make certain to include a link to "view as webpage" and "add to address book" within the copy.
7. Reduce Animation. When using multimedia, file size is of the essence. Reduce your HTML source code, optimize embedded objects and avoid attachments.
About PCG
Performance Communications Group (PCG) brings together technology, strategies and services to support a broad range of online advertising and sales efforts. PCG’s Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) is an evolution in online advertising that radically improves the relevance and usefulness of banners for businesses and consumers. Companies such as Whirlpool Corporation and Sysco Corporation have improved their communications and driven meaningful ROI utilizing PCG solutions and strategies. PCG is based in Chicago. Additional information can be found at http://www.epcg.net.
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two years ago, you would open an email and see an image; today you see a “Red X.” This can reduce the effectiveness of email messages and force the subscriber to take an extra step to view the image. Performance Communications Group (PCG), a Chicago-based interactive marketing agency, has developed a whitepaper that provides instructions on how email marketers can avoid the “Red X.” The whitepaper, “The Big Red "X”: Methods to Move Beyond Email Roadblocks and Improve the User Experience,” is available for download free by using the banner below.
“Email is evolving to include advanced features, such as multimedia. While these features can make email more interesting and effective, they also open the door to adware, spyware, phishing and viruses. To curtail their spread, email systems and providers have pre-empted the use of advanced email features, leaving a red X where the content was,” said Scott Madlener, executive vice president, interactive strategies at PCG. “While this is done in the name of safety, it is forcing email marketers to take a giant step backwards.”
The whitepaper offers best practices for optimizing emails without being restrained by preprogrammed email default settings. These tips include:
1. Don't rely on images or multimedia for primary messaging. Many emails include images to ensure fonts are rendered as the sender intended. Instead of text, the reader may only see a red X.
2. Manage Visual Assets. When building an HTML email with images or multimedia, combine as many objects in one to reduce the total number of Red Xs seen by a viewer with images off.
3. Trim Down Tables. Don’t use tables for large header images or media, as pre-allocated table space will be maintained causing the text to fall “below the fold.” Even though multimedia should not be in a table, set the height and width settings for the object, as scaling to 100 percent may reduce the actual size, making it too small to view in a preview window.
4. Keep the Code Simple. Complex JavaScript and CSS for formatting generally are not supported. Instead, use inline styling, multimedia or standard HTML to achieve the desired affect.
5. Don’t Hide the URL. Always present the URL to which a link will go, rather than hiding the URL behind a "click here" statement. Most email service providers change links for tracking purposes, so the replacement links will expire over time.
6. Remember Fundamentals. Make certain to include a link to "view as webpage" and "add to address book" within the copy.
7. Reduce Animation. When using multimedia, file size is of the essence. Reduce your HTML source code, optimize embedded objects and avoid attachments.
About PCG
Performance Communications Group (PCG) brings together technology, strategies and services to support a broad range of online advertising and sales efforts. PCG’s Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) is an evolution in online advertising that radically improves the relevance and usefulness of banners for businesses and consumers. Companies such as Whirlpool Corporation and Sysco Corporation have improved their communications and driven meaningful ROI utilizing PCG solutions and strategies. PCG is based in Chicago. Additional information can be found at http://www.epcg.net.
Labels: email, ISAT, rich media, video
Friday, June 22, 2007
How to Effectively Integrate Your Video Message In An Outbound Marketing Campaign
A recent new product launch campaign for SYSCO Foods illustrates the importance of the correct video message and a well-thought out integration strategy. SYSCO asked PCG to create a custom ISAT site to assist them in educating both their sales force and restaurant operators on the new product in order to create demand and pull the product through the distribution chain.
SYSCO provided a custom video featuring a well-known chef (Chef Pepin) in a Casa Solana product demonstration. At 5:12 the video itself is significantly longer than industry recommended standard video lengths, making the strategy behind the site crucial.
In building the site, PCG integrated the long-format video using our ISAT platform, allowing viewers to multi-task and interact with the sales PDF sheets and/or “raise their hand” through a direct response contact form – both without ever interrupting the video presentation. PCG created the site for their campaign, building an in-depth, interactive presentation available at www.syscocasasolanapromo.com and as an email sent to sales representatives and restaurant operators where previously, only PDF sales sheets and text email communications were available.
As a result of this campaign, the average viewer watched 6 minutes of video and downloaded 2 documents (generating a 200% ROI with most viewers watching the video more than once) with 10% of those downloads in Spanish. In anticipation of product sales, 50% of SYSCO’s operating units have stocked the product line, with 32 units planning on adding inventory and resulting in near saturation for the product within SYSCO’S distribution network.
SYSCO provided a custom video featuring a well-known chef (Chef Pepin) in a Casa Solana product demonstration. At 5:12 the video itself is significantly longer than industry recommended standard video lengths, making the strategy behind the site crucial.
In building the site, PCG integrated the long-format video using our ISAT platform, allowing viewers to multi-task and interact with the sales PDF sheets and/or “raise their hand” through a direct response contact form – both without ever interrupting the video presentation. PCG created the site for their campaign, building an in-depth, interactive presentation available at www.syscocasasolanapromo.com and as an email sent to sales representatives and restaurant operators where previously, only PDF sales sheets and text email communications were available.
As a result of this campaign, the average viewer watched 6 minutes of video and downloaded 2 documents (generating a 200% ROI with most viewers watching the video more than once) with 10% of those downloads in Spanish. In anticipation of product sales, 50% of SYSCO’s operating units have stocked the product line, with 32 units planning on adding inventory and resulting in near saturation for the product within SYSCO’S distribution network.
Labels: email, ISAT, supply channel communications, video
Sunday, May 27, 2007
If you're tagged as a spammer, it's hard to get off the blacklist
As seen on the International Herald Tribune.
By Karen J. Bannan
Thursday, May 24, 2007
NEW YORK: About a year ago, Scott Madlener, a marketing executive, e-mailed a client several times but his messages were not getting through.
"It raised a red flag immediately," said Madlener, executive vice president for interactive strategies at the Performance Communications Group of Chicago. "We asked our system administrator to look at what was happening, and he came back to me with some bad news: We had been blacklisted."
Blacklisting is an annoyance for big companies, but one that a dedicated technology staff can eventually remedy. For many smaller businesses, having messages blocked or shuttled into a spam folder by an Internet service provider or e-mail administrator can mean lost revenue.
E-mail blacklisting was created as a way to help reduce spam. The Internet protocol addresses of suspected or known spammers are compiled into a list, which is often shared and eventually posted on industry sites like Spamhaus.org and SpamCop.net.
But innocent companies like Madlener's are finding that even people who follow the rules and do not send unwanted e-mail can find themselves in a jam. In Madlener's case, the company shared its server with some of its clients, and one of them sent out e-mail that was flagged as spam. Madlener's company was guilty by association, as are many companies that use outside e-mail service providers that offer shared servers.
"It happens a lot," said Shar VanBoskirk, senior analyst with Forrester Research. "There's so much spam out there and it's so expensive to manage that even big ISPs simply can't handle the volume."
Several years ago, Gary Bevers, the current group publisher for National Petroleum News Magazine, created an e-mail newsletter for his previous employer and sent it out to a list of names he had bought from a reputable marketing company. Unfortunately, the list was old, and only 600 messages out of 10,000 made it through to the intended recipients.
The rest were returned as invalid. Because so many e-mails bounced back as addressee unknown, his company's IP address was branded a spammer. It looked as though he had sent messages to random names and addresses even though he had bought what he thought was a solid permission-based list.
"It was a simple weekly newsletter with advertising, and we had advertisers complaining that they weren't even getting the newsletter," Bevers said.
As Bevers and Madlener can attest, getting on a blacklist was easy but getting off was another matter. It can take time and perseverance to be unblocked, said Stefan Pollard, director for consulting services at the e-mail service provider EmailLabs, based in Menlo Park, California.
"You have to be constantly reviewing and monitoring your bounce logs and looking for the messages that say you've been blocked," Pollard said. "The messages will provide the name of the list that's blocked you and why. Then you have to go to that list that's blocking you and follow their directions about how to get off. It's going to take diligence and hard work."
For example, if a company is using a purchased list or an affiliate list - an e-mail list provided by a marketer - it will have to, at minimum, sever ties with the affiliate or provide the name and contact information for the list owner. If a company is working with its own list, it will have to provide proof of what is known as legitimate opt-ins, a record of how, when and where each person on the list signed up to receive e-mail messages from you.
Sometimes, a company is blocked because its e-mail server is set up incorrectly, leaving it vulnerable to hackers. In that case, the company will have to fix the problem before the Internet service provider or blacklist administrator will even listen to an appeal.
If a company is hacked and a spammer uses the company's e-mail server to send spam, the company will have to prove that its server was hacked and show how the problem was repaired. All in all, technology specialists said, it can take several days to two or three weeks to get off a blacklist.
What can small businesses do to avoid blacklists altogether? That answer is not a simple one, either, VanBoskirk said.
"There's no quick panacea, no check list of, 'Do these three things and you'll be set.' Even if there was, those three things would change as spammers get more aggressive," she said.
But she said a few precautions can reduce the chances of having a problem. First, when hiring an e-mail service provider or ISP, make sure it is a reputable one that is committed to eliminating spam. The company should use outbound spam filters, have stringent anti-spam policies in place and be willing to enforce them.
The company should also have some sort of deliverability reporting in place so it can tell you how many of your messages get through and are opened by end users. Finally, if you can afford it, try to send e-mail from your own server. Using a shared e-mail server, as Madlener found out, can be risky.
You can also avoid problems by including a prominent opt-out link in every message you send so recipients do not feel that they must report your messages as spam to get off your list.
For a more active approach, you can try signing up with reputation services providers like LashBack (www.lashback.com ) and Habeas (www.habeas.com). These services assign a reputation score to e-mail senders, so that ISP's feel comfortable letting in e-mail messages from those with high scores. E-mail certification and accreditation services like Goodmail Systems (www.goodmailsystems.com) and Return Path's Sender Score Certified product (www.senderscorecertified.com) provide similar services.
But all of these strategies may just be stop-gap measures for many companies, VanBoskirk said. Madlener agreed.
"There's not a lot anyone can do because people have the right to complain about e-mail at any time. It's sort of like getting a ticket in the city," he said. "It's a nuisance and a problem, but it's very difficult to avoid."
By Karen J. Bannan
Thursday, May 24, 2007
NEW YORK: About a year ago, Scott Madlener, a marketing executive, e-mailed a client several times but his messages were not getting through.
"It raised a red flag immediately," said Madlener, executive vice president for interactive strategies at the Performance Communications Group of Chicago. "We asked our system administrator to look at what was happening, and he came back to me with some bad news: We had been blacklisted."
Blacklisting is an annoyance for big companies, but one that a dedicated technology staff can eventually remedy. For many smaller businesses, having messages blocked or shuttled into a spam folder by an Internet service provider or e-mail administrator can mean lost revenue.
E-mail blacklisting was created as a way to help reduce spam. The Internet protocol addresses of suspected or known spammers are compiled into a list, which is often shared and eventually posted on industry sites like Spamhaus.org and SpamCop.net.
But innocent companies like Madlener's are finding that even people who follow the rules and do not send unwanted e-mail can find themselves in a jam. In Madlener's case, the company shared its server with some of its clients, and one of them sent out e-mail that was flagged as spam. Madlener's company was guilty by association, as are many companies that use outside e-mail service providers that offer shared servers.
"It happens a lot," said Shar VanBoskirk, senior analyst with Forrester Research. "There's so much spam out there and it's so expensive to manage that even big ISPs simply can't handle the volume."
Several years ago, Gary Bevers, the current group publisher for National Petroleum News Magazine, created an e-mail newsletter for his previous employer and sent it out to a list of names he had bought from a reputable marketing company. Unfortunately, the list was old, and only 600 messages out of 10,000 made it through to the intended recipients.
The rest were returned as invalid. Because so many e-mails bounced back as addressee unknown, his company's IP address was branded a spammer. It looked as though he had sent messages to random names and addresses even though he had bought what he thought was a solid permission-based list.
"It was a simple weekly newsletter with advertising, and we had advertisers complaining that they weren't even getting the newsletter," Bevers said.
As Bevers and Madlener can attest, getting on a blacklist was easy but getting off was another matter. It can take time and perseverance to be unblocked, said Stefan Pollard, director for consulting services at the e-mail service provider EmailLabs, based in Menlo Park, California.
"You have to be constantly reviewing and monitoring your bounce logs and looking for the messages that say you've been blocked," Pollard said. "The messages will provide the name of the list that's blocked you and why. Then you have to go to that list that's blocking you and follow their directions about how to get off. It's going to take diligence and hard work."
For example, if a company is using a purchased list or an affiliate list - an e-mail list provided by a marketer - it will have to, at minimum, sever ties with the affiliate or provide the name and contact information for the list owner. If a company is working with its own list, it will have to provide proof of what is known as legitimate opt-ins, a record of how, when and where each person on the list signed up to receive e-mail messages from you.
Sometimes, a company is blocked because its e-mail server is set up incorrectly, leaving it vulnerable to hackers. In that case, the company will have to fix the problem before the Internet service provider or blacklist administrator will even listen to an appeal.
If a company is hacked and a spammer uses the company's e-mail server to send spam, the company will have to prove that its server was hacked and show how the problem was repaired. All in all, technology specialists said, it can take several days to two or three weeks to get off a blacklist.
What can small businesses do to avoid blacklists altogether? That answer is not a simple one, either, VanBoskirk said.
"There's no quick panacea, no check list of, 'Do these three things and you'll be set.' Even if there was, those three things would change as spammers get more aggressive," she said.
But she said a few precautions can reduce the chances of having a problem. First, when hiring an e-mail service provider or ISP, make sure it is a reputable one that is committed to eliminating spam. The company should use outbound spam filters, have stringent anti-spam policies in place and be willing to enforce them.
The company should also have some sort of deliverability reporting in place so it can tell you how many of your messages get through and are opened by end users. Finally, if you can afford it, try to send e-mail from your own server. Using a shared e-mail server, as Madlener found out, can be risky.
You can also avoid problems by including a prominent opt-out link in every message you send so recipients do not feel that they must report your messages as spam to get off your list.
For a more active approach, you can try signing up with reputation services providers like LashBack (www.lashback.com ) and Habeas (www.habeas.com). These services assign a reputation score to e-mail senders, so that ISP's feel comfortable letting in e-mail messages from those with high scores. E-mail certification and accreditation services like Goodmail Systems (www.goodmailsystems.com) and Return Path's Sender Score Certified product (www.senderscorecertified.com) provide similar services.
But all of these strategies may just be stop-gap measures for many companies, VanBoskirk said. Madlener agreed.
"There's not a lot anyone can do because people have the right to complain about e-mail at any time. It's sort of like getting a ticket in the city," he said. "It's a nuisance and a problem, but it's very difficult to avoid."
Labels: advertising 2.0, email, ISAT
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
E-mail Overload: A Solution › › › B2B E-Mail Marketing
E-mail Overload: A Solution
› › › B2B E-Mail Marketing
As seen in Click-Z www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625718
By Karen Gedney | May 2, 2007
Are the e-mail messages you send to internal staff still marked as "unread"? Are new product announcements, policy memos, and other critical corporate information ignored by your employees?
If so, your company may be at the tipping point where even the most diligent employees can no longer keep up with their e-mail inboxes.
What then? Sysco, the giant food-service corporation, found a solution for communicating with its 10,000 marketing associates in a more targeted way.
The company has over 80 business units. As a result, marketing associates' inboxes were jammed with innumerable messages from corporate, unit managers, and vendors -- sometimes with contradictory information. No one had time to plow through all these messages, so many were unopened.
To solve the problem, Sysco used Performance Communications Group's (PCG's) Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) to create a secure, multimedia microsite.
The site, called Sysco Blue Cube to reflect the company's branding, has 10 tabs that correlate to Sysco's main business lines, such as frozen food, beverage, and dairy. The content is password protected, but you can look at the first page.
Marketing associates need only check the tab for their product lines -- and, in fact, are required to as part of their regular job responsibilities -- to find new information relevant to their work.
The site's more than 100 screens are updated weekly with reports, spreadsheets, sales collateral, and multimedia material. Because ISAT technology uses up to 80 percent less bandwidth than regular HTML, Sysco can offer employees higher-value content, such as vendor demos, said Scott Madlener, PCG's EVP of interactive strategy. Vendors are happy to supply this video content because they know Sysco Blue Cube's high employee compliance rates guarantee viewership, he said.
The Blue Cube site has a high internal viewership and is secure from outside eyes. Employees must use a password to access the site and are prevented from forwarding information outside the organization. And because ISAT technology is portable, it can be used not only on Sysco's corporate site but also on each operating unit's site.
What does it take to publish 100 pages for 10 tabs on a weekly basis plus administrative duties such as new-user authentication? While four Sysco employees share responsibility for the site, the total workload only amounts to one full-time person.
Since the information is controlled internally, there are no worries about contradictory e-mail coming from different internal sources. All the information is catalogued for reference and updated regularly.
Though Sysco Blue Cube is still in its pilot stage, 3,300 marketing associates have signed up, the site has just published its 27th issue, and over 1,000 marketing associates log in weekly. That's pretty good compliance compared to the company's previous e-mail performance.
But how do you remind the marketing associates to log on to the site? By e-mail, of course! There just doesn't seem to be any way to totally get around it yet. However, ISAT e-mail messages have the Blue Cube site embedded in it, so at least one step is eliminated.
› › › B2B E-Mail Marketing
As seen in Click-Z www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625718
By Karen Gedney | May 2, 2007
Are the e-mail messages you send to internal staff still marked as "unread"? Are new product announcements, policy memos, and other critical corporate information ignored by your employees?
If so, your company may be at the tipping point where even the most diligent employees can no longer keep up with their e-mail inboxes.
What then? Sysco, the giant food-service corporation, found a solution for communicating with its 10,000 marketing associates in a more targeted way.
The company has over 80 business units. As a result, marketing associates' inboxes were jammed with innumerable messages from corporate, unit managers, and vendors -- sometimes with contradictory information. No one had time to plow through all these messages, so many were unopened.
To solve the problem, Sysco used Performance Communications Group's (PCG's) Internet Secured Application Technology (ISAT) to create a secure, multimedia microsite.
The site, called Sysco Blue Cube to reflect the company's branding, has 10 tabs that correlate to Sysco's main business lines, such as frozen food, beverage, and dairy. The content is password protected, but you can look at the first page.
Marketing associates need only check the tab for their product lines -- and, in fact, are required to as part of their regular job responsibilities -- to find new information relevant to their work.
The site's more than 100 screens are updated weekly with reports, spreadsheets, sales collateral, and multimedia material. Because ISAT technology uses up to 80 percent less bandwidth than regular HTML, Sysco can offer employees higher-value content, such as vendor demos, said Scott Madlener, PCG's EVP of interactive strategy. Vendors are happy to supply this video content because they know Sysco Blue Cube's high employee compliance rates guarantee viewership, he said.
The Blue Cube site has a high internal viewership and is secure from outside eyes. Employees must use a password to access the site and are prevented from forwarding information outside the organization. And because ISAT technology is portable, it can be used not only on Sysco's corporate site but also on each operating unit's site.
What does it take to publish 100 pages for 10 tabs on a weekly basis plus administrative duties such as new-user authentication? While four Sysco employees share responsibility for the site, the total workload only amounts to one full-time person.
Since the information is controlled internally, there are no worries about contradictory e-mail coming from different internal sources. All the information is catalogued for reference and updated regularly.
Though Sysco Blue Cube is still in its pilot stage, 3,300 marketing associates have signed up, the site has just published its 27th issue, and over 1,000 marketing associates log in weekly. That's pretty good compliance compared to the company's previous e-mail performance.
But how do you remind the marketing associates to log on to the site? By e-mail, of course! There just doesn't seem to be any way to totally get around it yet. However, ISAT e-mail messages have the Blue Cube site embedded in it, so at least one step is eliminated.
Labels: Chicago, email, Internet Secured Application Technology, ISAT, multimedia, PCG, Performance Communications Group, video
