Rich Media - Exploring New Territory
By Ronni Rhodes
Until recently, audio, video, Flash, and static graphics
were all independent components used as enhancements to text
based messages on the Internet. We’re now seeing technological
breakthroughs that allow us to combine these various elements
into exciting web-based presentations that not only simulate
our television experience but also take us to a whole new
level of user interactivity. This technology is called Rich
Media.
Rich Media is comprised of a combination of audio, video,
graphics, and other techniques that, when put together, create
an Internet experience that is personal, relevant, and largely
unmatched by other print or broadcast media.
Rich Media is in its infancy but companies cannot afford to
ignore its’ potential impact as a business tool. The “dot
bomb” crash in April, 2000, notwithstanding, the Internet is
still the fastest growing medium in history and continues to
attract thousands of new users everyday.
Most of us come to the Web to perform specific tasks. We
send mail, we read the news, and we research topics of
interest. We also come to the Web to browse and shop for goods
and services. The Internet, unlike other forms of media,
allows us to take immediate action. We’re urged to click on
banners, click on text links, write letters to the editor,
create greeting cards, and upload our family pictures for the
world to see. Is it any wonder that we have higher
expectations of the Web than we do from browsing the newspaper
or passively watching TV?
We are only beginning to understand how Internet
advertising works and how it differs from that in the offline
world. We do know that we’ve come a long way from the
traditional banner ad which has been steadily losing its’
effectiveness. When banner ads first appeared, they were a
novelty, and click-thru rates were satisfyingly high. As the
banner ad proliferated, and websites became increasingly
cluttered, click-thru rates plummeted forcing advertisers to
look for new ways to engage consumers.
Much has been written and said about the state of
e-commerce and the emerging trend that puts consumers in a
position of power as never before. The need to service,
retain, and communicate with these consumers in more
meaningful ways has provided the impetus behind the Rich Media
movement.
Not only can we use Rich Media to attract consumers; we can
craft messages that invite the visitor to interact with the
message to obtain additional information or to take a desired
action. Purchases could be made directly in the ad or banner
window. A user could subscribe directly to a newsletter. Games
could be demonstrated. Streaming audio or video clips could be
viewed. And, all of this could be done without ever leaving
the publisher’s site. (A huge advantage for site owners.)
As the visitor enters a site, Rich Media can be deployed to
inform him of weekly specials or product specific promotions.
One click could then take him directly to the place where he
can obtain further information about that product and order
it. If the product is a complicated one requiring
demonstration, he could be given the option of viewing a Flash
or streaming presentation of the product being assembled. Text
boxes could be synchronized with the demo to scroll frequently
asked questions and answers about the product.
Pop-up windows, albeit annoying to some, have proven to be
an effective method of engaging the consumer. These windows,
known as intersitials or supersitials, are done with streaming
audio, video or Flash, and usually appear when the user’s
browser is loading another page making that user a captive
audience.
This kind of interactivity is what makes Rich Media
advertising truly unique.
Many potential advertisers hesitate about venturing into
Rich Media due to bandwidth constraints and the lack of widely
available “high speed” connections. But broadband services are
starting to spread, and, by 2004, 30 millions households
should have broadband access. Business users will drive the
trend. As more people experience media delivered via broadband
in the workplace, they will demand that same experience on
their home computers. (Currently there are 30 million
workplace computers with broadband access compared to 4
million households.) *
One of the issues that have worried Web publishers is how
to create “stickiness.” Rich Media, used to deliver content as
well as advertising, provides the tool. People are sensory by
nature and respond more emotionally to sound and moving
objects than they do to still images and static text. Since
most purchasing is done on an emotional level, Rich Media
presentations often provide that extra impetus to close the
sale.
As site publishers and advertisers become more familiar
with Rich Media and its’ interactive nature, we’ll begin to
see more sophisticated methods of engaging the visitor emerge.
Using extensive databases based on consumer preferences and
lifestyles, advertisers will be able to deliver highly
targeted messages. (We’ve already seen this begin to happen as
Internet radio stations insert customized messages to generate
advertising revenue.) Retailers will employ Rich Media
techniques to offer better customer service and to fine-tune
their product offerings. Educators will use it to make their
sites more meaningful and add interactivity to workbooks and
lessons.
It’s clear that advertisers and site publishers will have
to weigh the costs of producing Rich Media versus the benefits
that they hope to receive. As technology moves inexorably
forward, however, and bandwidth becomes more plentiful, users
will come to have higher and more sophisticated expectations
of what they see and hear on the Web. The opportunities
afforded by Rich Media – interactivity, sound, motion, and
text all bundled into one smoothly delivered presentation –
cannot be ignored.
* Cahners In-Stat group at
http://www.instat.com
Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet
company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing
streaming media technology. With her husband, Don, a digital
media engineer, they work with companies to incorporate
streaming as part of successful and meaningful sales and
marketing programs.
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