Stop the Prezis: A New Way to Think about Presentations

During the Evening MBA class of 2014 orientation weekend I participated in a session led by Dan Turner, the Associate Dean for Masters Programs, giving an overview of the MBA program within the larger context of the University of Washington. He did not however use the traditional PowerPoint that is the staple of presentations throughout academia, but rather, something I had never seen before, something new and exciting… something called a Prezi.

I was able to go out to their website to sign up for a free trial, which automatically enrolls you in one of three tiered pricing levels depending on need. I was ready, willing, and able to pay for the middle tier, or “Enjoy” level at $59 per year. Fortunately, there was a student pricing option available that gave nearly all of the benefits, such as keeping my presentations private and providing increased storage space, at zero cost.

The entire experience was very positive and easy. The student pricing required a quick email validation, followed by the desktop interface program in a second email. The only partial issue I found was in the download, which took a bit longer than I would have expected. Additionally, it required an immediate update, meaning another download and login before I was able to begin using the program. Overall, the experience of acquisition and pricing for the end consumer (me) was a successful one.

A Breathe Right of Fresh Air

Have you heard of the Breathe Better. Sleep Better. Challenge? Well, many have in the PR community as this GolinHarris-sourced campaign was recognized in the PR Week’s most recent awards, for using a minimal budget to drive website, Facebook, and impression activity. It also received an honorable mention in the 2012 PR News Platinum PR Awards under the category of Satellite Media Tour. The idea of this campaign is to use Breathe Right strips to help with nasal congestion while sleeping, providing a full refund to the user if they are not fully satisfied with the results. The campaign website provides both a progress tracker as well as a “congestion” study performed by Breathe Right and Sperling’s BestPlaces that identifies the 50 most congested cities. Seattle just made the cut at # 46.

I believe that this public relations campaign is geared primarily toward traditional media channels, with some residual exposure, and hopefully endorsement by, lifestyle blogs. Although that support is not always what Breathe Right gets.  I found this campaign by searching through the Breath Right site and affiliated press releases. As the most popular low-cost, low-value provider in the congestion/snoring market, we believe that many of our target consumers will be sourced organically from companies like Breathe Right, as those customers will be willing to spend more for a solution that actually works for them.

QuietNITE – A Split Consumer Focus

QuietNite is a mouthguard designed to properly align an individual’s jaw while sleeping, both reducing tissue vibration and increasing airflow, thus reducing the effect of snoring. A UK-based product, QuietNITE acquires its customers through a distribution network of prescribing dentists.  Although it states directly on Angellist that “Our customer is a Dentist, a Dental Laboratory, or a Distributor,” this company appears to cater to both the product user (snorer) and dental practices/labs in its online customer acquisition strategy. For the downstream consumer, it allows the user to both register his or her device (thus securing a one-year guarantee) and gives step-by-step picture instructions for the customer to adjust their Mouthguard for optimal fit and effectiveness.

While the wearer can contact the company directly through information found on their site, their strong distributor registration focus is evident as the link to this portion of their site is found on every page, click able on the phrase, “Want to Become a Distributor? – Click Here”. There is no doubt that the product’s FDA approval helps in its acquisition of new distributors and by virtue of this, new customers.

Zephyr Sleep Technologies: A Breeze of Relief from the West

Zephyr Sleep Technologies has a mission that “…is committed to the research, design and development of innovative, scientifically-validated and medically-proven products and services to monitor, analyze, and improve sleep performance and effectiveness.” They are firmly positioned in sleep disorder analysis and product solutions marketplace in both Canada and the United States. Further, they are looking at product expansion into European, Asian, and South American markets. Additionally, they place a strong emphasis on clinical trials out of their Calgary, Alberta location.

There are four key value tenants put forth by Zephyr (paraphrased below):

• Improved health/well-being for patients with sleep issues
• Use proven, research-supported technologies in product development
• High quality and safety
• Marketplace partnering will lead to innovative solutions

I would characterize the success of Zephyr in communicating to their target customer in two distinct categories. The first being their use of website and messaging, which I believe is both comprehensive and effective at conveying their purpose to the target audience. The second would be direct marketing and outreach to the potential client base. I believe that their most recent round of secured funding as well as their participation at the 2012 SLEEP Conference in Boston are excellent beginnings in this arena, but only time will tell how effective and expansive their market communication will become.

Meteor Entertainment – Striking with Free-to-Play games as the Iron gets Hot

The objective of Meteor Entertainment is to “…help our development partners create the best gaming experiences possible.” Broken down to its most basic elements, this means that Meteor drives both the publishing and distribution channels for its respective games. As a lifelong gamer myself, I must admit that the allure of a free-to-play first person shooter (FPS) is very high. This is why Meteor Entertainment’s marquee release, Hawken, is such an exciting platform by which this emerging gaming market can be put to the test.

I think that Meteor is going after an amalgamation of both the FPS market and online gaming market. To give a better idea of the FPS market, one needs not look further than the success of both the Halo and Call of Duty franchises, as each new release surpasses $100’s of millions in revenue after only one day. Stepping back a bit, the current market for the entire video game industry is rapidly approaching $70 billion. With the decline of retail software developers and the ascension of the online gaming market at close to $25 billion, there appears to be growing opportunities in this segment. Given this, I would estimate their specific market to be between $25 and $50 billion.

Of note is the relative controversy that surrounds the free-to-play gaming market. Is it really free if you end up with nothing more than a glorified demo that requires either real dollars or an unrealistic amount of in-game play to unlock the full potential of the game? Only time will tell if the approach of Meteor and its beautifully-developed games like Hawken will overcome the nuanced differences of the free-to-play marketplace vs. the traditional pay-to-play approach.