Kiss your browser goodbye, Webcasting will facilitate easier access to the Net and appeal to advertisers, writes Jacquie Golding-Duffy
THOSE fumbling with the Internet need no longer worry as a medium called Webcasting/Push technology will make a dramatic entry into the world of computers by pushing information on to a desktop without the need to surf the Web.
Webcasting has come to rescue those drowning in the maze of the World Wide Web and promises to facilitate easy access to information as well as create a powerful advertising opportunity.
South Africa’s first Webcasting service arrives in April. Developed by Primedia Interactive, the product, Newzdesk, will push a daily “bouquet” of customised news and information from South Africa’s leading media brands on to your PC desktop.
There will be a minimum of eight free-to- air channels, ranging from a Mail & Guardian news channel alongside a Business Report channel on a daily basis, to Intelligence magazine, an international news service and a weather channel.
It also includes a Stock iXchange channel where you can can choose a share portfolio and have it updated daily using the Stock iXchange charting software that is built into Newzdesk. Another promising channel is the Sabinet Online service which will deliver government gazettes to your PC as they’re published.
“The power of Newzdesk is that it delivers only the news you want directly on to your desktop at times which suit you,” says Newzdesk publisher Bruce Cohen. “The Web has become all too time-consuming and Webcasting eliminates this problem. It’s the cyber equivalent of your newspaper delivered to your doorstep.”
Modelled on an overseas system called PointCast, a runaway success in the United States and which pioneered the concept of Push, Newzdesk is aimed at the needs of South Africans.
While there has been much hesitancy by advertisers to use the Net as an advertising tool, Webcasting may just be the right product to wipe away any remaining fears ad agencies may harbour regarding online advertising.
It is an ad-intrusive advertising medium, says Cohen. He adds: “Newzdesk advertisers will be able to reach targeted audiences during their working day – an audience that is virtually impossible to reach via other media.”
And Newzdesk audiences will be precisely measurable and identifiable. “With Newzdesk we have a subscriber database which will tell advertisers exactly how many people they are reaching, who they are and what interests them.”
Of all the electronic media, the Webcast model is easily the most measurable, far surpassing radio, television and the Web. How come? Because Newzdesk users must register for the service, providing demographic information with their channel choices. This data is logged at the Newzdesk server and will provide a definitive audience profile of every user, updated each time they use the service.
“With Newzdesk there is no audience sampling as the entire data base is the research universe,” says Cohen.
Both the Newzdesk interactive screensaver and browser carry animated TV-style advertising called ActiveAds. The ads are downloaded to the user’s PC with his news channels.
With a pre-licensed audience of 25 000, Newzdesk is set to have an impact on advertisers and Internet users. ActiveAds are constructed using proprietary software developed by Newzdesk and the advertisements are 15 seconds long, but can vary according to the needs of advertisers.
The key benefits of advertising on Newzdesk, besides its intrusiveness, is its brand-building potential. The screensaver is a multi-media billboard carrying commercial and editorial messages when the user’s PC is idle, and is a powerful marketing window, popping up automatically at unexpected moments during the working day.
Research shows that screensavers appear for up to two hours during the average working day. Of course, the user may not be at his desk when the screensaver appears, but there are nonetheless a myriad of opportunities for exposure – during a phone call, a meeting or lunchbreak.
Like a mini-TV news broadcast, the screensaver can be activated on demand by the user, enabling him to browse the contents. Unlike TV ads, flighted during scheduled programme breaks, ActiveAds appear simultaneously with the editorial/programming content in a window or screen.
“Thus they are always live,” says Cohen, adding that ActiveAds far surpass Web banner adverts as the user is constantly exposed to them. ActiveAds are also “far more appealing”, as static banner adverts require the user to click through the Web site, he says.
Most of all, ActiveAds bridge the gap between brand-building and sales promotion, enabling advertisers to blend both elements in a single medium. If a user clicks on an ActiveAd he will be able to view further product information off his local drive. Newzdesk will offer advertisers who do not wish to have their own Web sites a virtual equivalent.
According to the December 1996 Network Wizards Survey, South Africa is way ahead of other “developing” countries in terms of Internet connectivity and ranks 16 in the world. The South African Internet is four times the size of Ireland’s, double that of the Russian Federation’s and three times bigger than Israel’s and Mexico’s.
With a high degree of flexibility offered to advertisers, Cohen says they are able to harness both offline and online marketing opportunities through a single medium. Only a limited number of Webcast advertisers will be accommodated in the launch phase of Newzdesk with adverts appearing across the entire bouquet of channels as well as on the screensaver.
Those interested in Newzdesk can contact www.newzdesk.com