TalkPoint Conveys Self-Service Webcasting
TalkPoint launched its newest product at Streaming Media East earlier this month, joining the ranks of companies offering Software-as-a-Service (Saas) webcasting. The new product, called Convey, has a few customizable features that make it worth watching.
CEO Nick Balletta said interest in Convey was high at both Streaming Media East and Internet Week, events held back to back in New York in mid-May.
"Attendees of Streaming Media East this year seemed focused on video creation and management," says Balletta. "This focus on not just creating but also managing webcast content is a major factor in our development of the Convey product."
Balletta said that Convey's use of a webcast wizard allows users at any skill level to schedule, customize, and broadcast audio or video webcasts. Convey automates signal acquisition from a variety of sources, including videoconferencing units, traditional encoders, webcams and—in the case of audio-and-slide presentations—even from a plain old telephone line.
"Our intelligent system determines what device viewers are using," said Balletta, "whether it’s a PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. Each device will automatically connect to the webcast through a single URL, and we provide automatic archive for on-demand access."
Convey can also be private labeled, starting with the email invitations and expanding to the look and feel of the landing page and embedded browser video player.
"Customers can create fully-branded email invitations and landing pages," said Balletta, "using our web-based visual HTML editor. Sponsorship opportunities, including hyperlinked logos, can be used throughout an event, and at the end of the event customized exit URLs can direct viewers to particular additional information."
TalkPoint customers include PR News, Wainhouse Research, and Meetings Focus. An on-demand demo of a recent Meetings Focus event showcases the power of Convey.
The on-demand Meetings Focus event used an audio-and-slide presentation style that greets the viewer with a qualification question, asking how many others are attending with meeting with the viewer, as a way to better gauge total audience size. This qualification question pops up even for those who watch an on-demand version of the presentation, allowing Meetings Focus to determine interest in particular topics over time (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Qualifications questions can be presented even before the on-demand version of Convey webcasts.
If viewers want to watch the PowerPoint slide show with no other distraction, they can click an icon and the slides expand to full screen. Conversely, if the viewer wants to look at upcoming webinars, the speaker's biography or other downloadable materials, Convey offers a series of customizable tabs across the top of the webcast screen (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Customizable tabs allow viewers to look at speaker biographies, upcoming webinars, or other related content.
For busy executives who might only have time to view the highlights of an on-demand webinar, Convey offers two options. First, a traditional scrub bar (Figure 3) lets viewers move forward and backward through the event in a granular way.
Figure 3. Convey offers multiple navigation options, including the traditional scrub bar.
Second, for those who might not be familiar with the topic, Convey offers an agenda-based option that allows viewers to "jump to" various slides or agenda points (Figure 4).
Figure 4. The scrub bar can be combined with an agenda to allow viewers to "jump to" specific points in the presentation.
Balletta said potential customer interest was strong when Convey debuted two weeks ago and has continued since.
"Everyone wants to find stories and use cases that show forward thinking in the enterprise," he says, "so I think it’s a great opportunity for TalkPoint, with our client roster and experience, to highlight how our clients are already enhancing their communication efforts by using a self-service tool that doesn't require any additional upfront capital expenditure."
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