Talk show formats with bells and whistles

News and Features
Talk show formats with bells and whistles
Web-cast conferencing takes off

by Brett Lieberman

As the dominant provider of night vision systems to the military, ITT Industries Night Vision sells about 70 percent of the equipment that U.S. armed forces use to see in the dark. But when it came to pitching its equipment to non-defense users spread across some 70 federal agencies in Washington, D.C., and around the country, ITT was in the dark.

WEB CASTING’S BRAVE NEW WORLD

Pros
• Web-casting presentations can save hours of tedious preparation
• Hooking people together electronically is cheaper than flying them all together
• Registration and handing out materials is quick and easy
• Web-casting can reach several smaller conferences rather than one large one
• Feedback, such as voting on issues, can be achieved quickly

Cons
• Technical snafus can ruin the entire event. There’s no fall-back position if something goes wrong
• Compatibility issues make it difficult for people with the wrong hardware and software to participate
• Promotional expenses don’t go away. You still have to advertise to get people to participate

Data: Virginia Business

The solution, like ITT’s products, was technology. Rather than make tedious and time-consuming sales calls, the Roanoke-based company delivered presentations simultaneously to government workers across the country through a Web cast that originated at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. "We didn’t know who all the direct contacts were," said Treva Carter, ITT Night Vision’s commercial marketing director. "We thought if we advertised this Web cast we could reach more than one group of people at one time."

From satellites and Web casts to talk show-style presentations complete with couches and Regis Philbin-like hosts, trade groups, industry associations and businesses are finding technology helpful in bridging vast distances in geography, understanding and interest. The days of presentations delivered to conference attendees using slide projectors — and even Microsoft’s Power Point on laptops — may be fading. These new technologies have the potential to jazz up presentations and save meeting planners tens of thousands of dollars.

Instead of flying a conference speaker across the country or the world, organizers use Web casts and satellite conferencing to bring people together. Web-cast presentations and meetings like the one Night Vision produced last June are becoming increasingly common as a means of reaching large audiences, delivering sales pitches and holding company-wide meetings among satellite offices scattered around the country or the world. Many mid-sized and large companies are equipping conference rooms for Web casting for employee and board meetings. "Sometimes it’s easier if you can just hook everyone together rather than bring them together," said meeting planner Robin Doran of Catapult Meetings, Inc. of Richmond.

Web casts are growing in popularity, because they can be put together quickly — in as little as a few hours. Also, they offer networking and marketing potential. Organizers can conduct live polls of participants to guide interest or gain feedback. Web cast registrations enable collection of e-mail addresses, providing a means for future contacts. In addition, organizers can view online chats to determine client needs and see when participants tuned in and tuned out. Another benefit? After a Web cast ends, organizers can rebroadcast it at little or no cost to serve as a training aid or sales tool.

Even with those benefits, the use of Web casting, teleconferencing and satellites is generally isolated. At the moment, it’s largely confined to just a few sites in most states because of the needed capital investments. Most facilities are at universities or large conference centers such as the Hotel Roanoke. And many of these sites are only partially equipped for satellites. The Hotel Roanoke, for instance, has downlink capabilities, but must contract for outside help if it needs to broadcast a production via satellite.

Talk show-style presentations with a host and large video screens linking the live audience to speakers or audiences elsewhere gained momentum a few years ago and continue to be used by large conference organizers as well as in the political realm. During the presidential campaign, George W. Bush participated with a Washington, D.C., audience to showcase proposals in his platform that benefit women. The production was beamed to a satellite and shown live around the country and was also later rebroadcast.

Many people expected this chatty, almost informal, platform to really take off, but many meeting planners shy away from this type of event. The sessions can require a lot of planning and can come across as overly scripted, especially if the planner is a novice. Plus, there’s always the possibility of glitches. When satellite presentations work, they work well. But they can also be embarrassing failures — something no group wants to risk.

Another downside is that satellites are much more costly than Web casts. Video conferencing or a small Web cast can cost as little as $250 per hour. In contrast, a satellite downlink typically starts at around $500 per day. A satellite uplink can easily cost $1,000 or more per hour. "Satellites have increased in price in recent years and are not cost effective for small groups," said Tucker Smith, whose Smith Computer Services in Chesterfield County provides assistance for satellite productions.

The use of video conferencing and satellites is not limited to small audiences. Smith helped provide downlinks when Gov. Jim Gilmore addressed about 20,000 state employees in a town hall meeting via satellite after his first year in office. The approximately $12,000 price tag might seem hefty, but it was an efficient means considering the audience size. Web casts and video conferencing are often able to utilize ordinary telephone lines or high speed Internet connections, making them more affordable and convenient.

Just three years ago, the Hotel Roanoke hosted only two or three video or Web cast conferences a year. These days, it’s more likely to be two or three a month as corporate clients, particularly those with more than one site, find it a cost effective and convenient means of meeting. "It’s dirt cheap if you’ve got six people in an office and you’re trying to talk with someone in California for six hours," said B. Bagby, the Hotel Roanoke’s manager of business and technology services.

Those who fear that the use of technology will eliminate human interaction need not worry. Even the staunchest supporters of Web casts and other electronic conferencing technology believe face-to-face meetings will remain crucial for networking and sealing the deal. Besides, plenty of obstacles remain with these technologies. Web casting and video conferencing comes with software and compatibility hazards. It is essential that everyone comes online at the same time and that telephone or equipment failures be avoided. Satellite transmissions are also subject to failures, glitches and weather interference.

Unforeseen snafus can leave conference organizers unnerved and those wishing to tune in pulling out their hair in frustration. ITT Industries Night Vision was able to make contact with officials at dozens of federal agencies thanks to its Web cast. But the number who tuned in on the day of the presentation was about half the number who registered. Some lack of participation may have been voluntary, but many other would-be participants were unable to connect despite the "pre-flight" tests done to ensure software and equipment compatibility. "The concept was very good and in theory it was an excellent way to present material to a diverse group of people at one time," says ITT Night Vision’s Carter. But, he adds, "I think it’s a little ahead of its time. Computer technology is so great that people still forget that there are many different kinds of languages on PCs. ... Sometimes it works, some times it doesn’t."

Even so, the production allowed Night Vision to make key contacts with government officials. No sales have resulted and future Web casts aren’t planned, but they’re not out of the question, either. Carter just needs to be convinced that the technology really works.

While Web cast productions save on travel expenses for in-person conferences or the costs of using satellites, they may have offsetting expenses. Money spent on slick production is wasted if nobody tunes in. Night Vision advertised its Web cast in newspapers and other trade publications that government officials were likely to read. The advertising expenses made the entire effort very expensive, according to Carter.

Much of this technology is still in its infancy and has yet to fully catch on within the meeting industry. After members of the Meeting Planners International Virginia chapter split between the Hotel Roanoke and Kingsmill in Williamsburg to watch a recent video conferencing demonstration, Trace Carson, president of Catapult Meetings in Richmond, said "It’s like watching a Japanese movie. It’s a little jerky. It’s a little bit distorted. ... In the future I think this is where meetings are going."