All About Vzines : Interview
Friday, February 23, 2007
In November, eircom was the first in Ireland to introduce 'v-zines' into its marketing mix. View it here. A new way of communicating with customers, and the perfect way for eircom to showcase their services, we caught up with the woman behind the initiative, Debbie Byrne, Director of Consumer Marketing at eircom.
What prompted eircom to come up with the concept? How long did it take from conception to execution of the first one? How was your experience of working with video, rather than text?
The key driver behind this project was to showcase the best of video content & encourage our customers to get the most from their broadband connection through engaging video content, increasing time spent on-line & therefore usage of our products & services. As well as show-casing excellent video content & sites, we are starting to develop a library of "How to Guides" targetted at our more Techno-Shy consumers giving them a step by step walk through in video format on such topics as "How to create on-line photo-gallery & send photos", "How to create, store & share video" etc. This was a 3 month project from inception to sending out the first issue.
What are the main benefits of delivering information to consumers in video format as opposed to more traditional methods?
Altogether more engaging through use of music, video & a presenter.
How have your customers responded to the v-zine? Are you able to track visitor response rates? How do these metrics differ from traditional tracking through email?
Open and click through rates as per with an email. In addition we have tracking in place that shows which content & part of the V-Zine people use.
Some people might be put off adding video to their website because of the perceived lack of broadband penetration in this country. What is your response to that? Have you any up to the minute stats on b/band penetration broken down by business sector?
Broadband penetration is increasing rapidly in Ireland, latest estimates for consumers post the Christmas period are 14/15%. [Business penetration would be much higher.] Obviously we were sending it to people who we know have broadband but anybody else looking to use video can always have a version that can either be video or text based to accommodate dial users.
What is your view on video and vzines as a format on websites? Specifically, how quickly do you think it will be taken up by the Irish market?
Today everyone is time poor. Video offers businesses a opportunity to engage with their clients / prospective clients in a differentiated & engaging way. It allows products to be featured in a less one dimensional way which should lead to better sales.
Finally, do you have any valuable tips for businesses looking to add flash/video to their web sites or marketing mix?
With the advent of Youtube, MySpace etc, video is essential in engaging with younger audiences online in particular. Apple & Mini have had sone excellent online campaigns using video which have enhanced their brand values & created a sense of 'cool' around the brand with strong viral effect.
Thank you Debbie. Best of luck with the next Access All Areas. View current one.