This chapter consists of the following sections:
The definition of a project depends on the content to be created and the marketing of it to an intended audience. Success depends on clear understanding of goals and objective for a project. Content must be selected which both supports the thesis and enables its communication to the target audience. Technological limits still exist on possible content to be included. These are complex factors.
Multimedia systems combine more than one of the basic modalities of information, such as text, sound, raster image, vector graphics, animation, motion image, and spatial data. The choice of modalities to employ in any given program is as important a design decision as the choice of the actual segments.
In principle, a multimedia program will be most interesting if it engages the largest variety of senses and employs a variety of modalities. However, the choice of proportions of text to image, sound, graphics, motion images and interactive exercises is a design decision; financial, intellectual and pedagogical considerations will play as significant a role as well as aesthetic concerns in the determination of multimedia content.
The budget for a multimedia project will limit the amount, quality and kind of content it may contain. If it is possible to use existing textual, sound, image, graphics, and motion sources costs will be more reasonable compared to the cost of original production. Costs escalate from sound to still photographic image to 2 and 3 D graphics to motion and animation. Text can be relatively inexpensive although markup and indexing can increase the cost substantially.
All interactive exercises will need to be structured, scripted and authored. This process can often be expensive as considerable formative evaluation and rewriting is usually required.
The intellectual level or age appropriateness of content must also be considered. Frequently pre-existing content may be geared to a different age or intellectual level than the multimedia product being created. revision may be required before the content can be re-used. It may also be necessary to recreate the text or sound. One of the advantages of interactive multimedia is that there can be a number of different intellectual approaches created in a single product (and a number of different languages as well) depending upon the variety of audiences that are being targeted. Understanding of audience needs and abilities is required to target a product.
An equally important issue in the selection of content is the appropriateness of the depth of coverage. The nature of the media on which we store interactive products is such that a considerable quantities of information can be made available. However, we need to have design reasons and assumptions about the amount of time which will be spent with the materials and the primary uses of the products we create to guide the selection of content. For example, five minute segments are often inappropriate in museum settings regardless of how intrinsically interesting they may be. Physical capacities of storage media may also limit the depth of content that can be communicated. If we want to convey great depth, we may need to sacrifice some motion sequences which require significant storage space. We may make similar decisions if the primary means of access will be by telecommunications, where available bandwidth is the limiting factor.
Content selection will be dependent on the systems environment in which it will be used and the length of time the content is expected to be used for. If a single product with a short life span (less that three years) is anticipated, then system-dependency will not be a great barrier to selection of content. But if the multimedia content is being created with an anticipated long lifetime, representing information in standard forms becomes a critical consideration. When longevity of information is a concern, it is essential then to select a toolset which is both as open as possible (incorporating the greatest degree of standards), under continuous redevelopment, and commercially well positioned.
Finding standards-based solutions for the management of multimedia information can be quite complicated, and in some cases impossible, depending on the degree of user control in the interactive application. It is relatively easy to ensure adherence to standards if the functionality associated with objects in the multimedia database is simply viewing them, because viewing tools will tend to support a range of data standards for the datatypes they view. It is far more difficult to ensure standard approaches are used when higher levels of functionality are desired. Even viewing data, such as text marked up in SGML which requires a parser, or vector data for a CAD drawing, or mapping data represented for a geographic information system, can present problems for viewers because of the immature state of standardization. Data "conforming" to the standard from a variety of different source software and systems should be tested to ensure a chosen viewer really does correctly read output which purports to conform to standards for the data interchange of required dataypes.
At least four additional generic levels of functionality other than viewing can be defined which require even closer attention to inter-operability claims:
"Engaging" tools allow users to choose how to interact. "Editing" tools enable users to alter the objects,
"Authoring" tools enable users to create new content and to link existing objects in strings or webs, and
"Evaluation" tools support the recording or paths selected by users, the imposition of automatic branching by the author based on results and prior path selections, and the creation of tests to determine the knowledge gained by users.
None of these functions is supported by standards, so requiring such capabilities will limit the selection of a presentation tool. The tool used in turn may limit the selection of content.
The interdependency between content and the capabilities of the tools used to deliver it means that content selection and creation still must take place after rather than before decisions about the presentation environment have been made. While sound decisions will reduce system dependency and provide a longer life for simple data objects, given the present state of standardization more complex data objects will probably not be reusable in future software environments.
All content elements that comprise the multimedia presentation must be authored into a product that allows for story-telling or interaction. This authoring environment will enable or limit the ways in which the data can be browsed, searched, navigated, and edited by the product creator and probably by the end-user of the product. Authoring tools will be selected based on the purpose or intention of the product; generically the tools can currently be classified as those suited for entertainment, infotainment, and pedagogy. All share the features of hypermedia (the linking of objects), but each class includes and excludes functions that are generally considered essential in the others.
Entertainment authoring environments provide a high degree of management for presentation elements involving motion and animation, but have defined and prescribed links activated by selection of specific elements. They generally provide no facilities for browsing or searching, although they may contain functions for testing and performance recall.
Infotainment products allow for significant browsing and searching, and enable navigation across webs along defined links. They tend to provide presentation support for less dynamic objects than the entertainment software and do not provide facilities for user logging and performance evaluation.
Pedagogical products support searching, although not necessarily browsing. They support user evaluation and testing and enable the creation of interactive exercises, along with other scripts. They may allow linking of pre-existing objects in new ways, including the type naming of such links and the creation of new objects, especially textual commentaries or citations.
Given the range of such tools, and their specific individual limitations, it is important that content selection be informed by the capabilities of specific authoring environment.
Content selection should also be influenced by the intended audience for the application. If there is one lesson to be learned during the development of a multimedia product it is that a marketing strategy cannot start too early.
The most important aspect of marketing is defining the target audience. Is the planned application for museum visitors to supplement an exhibit? Is it for a particular age group? For the educational community? If so, is it for the elementary, secondary, college or university level? For the home market? The decisions made here help determine the required functionality of the product.
As an example, CHIN (Canadian Heritage Information Network) participated in the development of a product aimed at students in Grades 7-10 (age 11-15) of the Canadian school system. The educational level and content, Canadian History; had already been chosen; research materials that had previously been used in another paper and slide-based product formed the backbone of the product. CHIN's goal was to assess a new technology and thus the decision was made to produce a CD-ROM.
The material used in this project could have been presented in many ways. After consultation with the educational community, it was decided that a reference-type product that would search, display, print, extract text to a word processing package or editor, and extract images and print them, would be created. These capabilities were based on requirements for classroom and teaching use. If the product had been for the home market, the functions may have included more interactivity such as games or quizzes. The printing and extracting capabilities probably would not have been needed. The searching would have been presented in a different, more intuitive way. All decisions were made with the target audience in mind.
The selection of the target audience also affects the media to be chosen. CHIN's Canadian History project included only text and images. The decision was made not to add sound because it was recognized that the product would be used in a classroom by a single student or a small group or in a library where sound would distract other students. Because related video was not available without more research and cost, video was not used, even though it would have improved the product. In some products full video, as opposed to quarter screen video available on CD-ROM, will be required. In such a case a format such as CD-I might be preferable.
In a CD-I project undertaken at CHIN, sound was the key feature of the product. Directions and information were generally presented verbally which simplified the interface requirements. However this product was for the home market where the model of the television, with sound and video, is already in place.
Selecting the target audience also affects the technology decisions. If the target audience is schools and the technology available to them is low end PC and Macintosh with low quality monitors, the development of a product that is beyond these capabilities should be carefully considered.
A product is going to take several months to a few years to develop and technology the schools have in the future will have advanced. There is no point in working on a DOS-based product when the schools will be using Windows with graphical user interfaces by the time the product is ready for market. Trends in technology and the existing (installed base) and potential market should therefore be carefully monitored. In North America, for example, the distribution of Macintoshs and PCs in elementary schools is approximately 40-60% with significant regional differences. It is therefore important that a product for elementary schools in Canada runs on both platforms.
The speed at which technology is adopted by the target markets should also be considered. For example, museums, elementary and secondary schools, for economic reasons, tend to use their technologies longer than industry, universities or government.
The use of CD-ROM and/or CD-I players in the target audience is also an important factor to consider. This varies greatly internationally. CD-I technology has made inroads in Europe but not yet in North America where there is strong competition from computer games. Of course, if the number of products available to use with a particular technology is small the technology will not sell. From a production point of view it is hard to justify developing a product for an undersold technology. While products may be developed to promote a particular technology, this is not a role museums have played.
The languages spoken by the target audiences will also influence the preservation of content. For example, as a Canadian federal government institution, CHIN is required to produce products in both official languages, English and French. This decision has several ramifications. Since all material must be translated from one language to the other the timetable of the project is extended. Since all text and sound tracks must be stored in both languages the need for storage space is increased significantly. Video and images may also need to be stored twice if they contain language based information but that has not yet been the case in products we have seen. Producing a product in more than one language may therefore reduce the amount of material that can be presented. In CHIN's CD-I product, some of the research and prepared material could not be used in the final product because the bilingual requirement was not fully taken into account by the developer in all steps of the project. In subsequent products, the developer chose to have two products, one in each language.
Multi-lingual products have the advantage of larger target markets. CHIN's can be marketed in any English or French speaking country. In Canada, the number of 'English as a Second Language' courses is growing rapidly. Bilingual or multi-lingual products can be used in these classes, reaching an audience that may not initially have targeted.
There are many decisions to be made about the packaging of a multimedia product. CD-ROMs
require labels, package-inserts, boxes, registration cards. These must include relevant
information for the user to understand the context and content of the product, who was
responsible for its production, what hardware it requires, how to install and use it,
how to get help, warranty, and registration. Wording should capture the audience's
attention and be visually appealing.
The type of packaging required is also important. Often CD-ROMs are packaged in a box
the size most software is sold in. This allows stores to stock it more easily and makes
the product appear more substantial and professional. It also allows space to include
further documentation if required. Packaging must also meet other functional need. If a
product is to be distributed by mail, packaging design must take this into
consideration.
There is, however, debate about adding extra packaging as it increases the cost of
production, distribution and storage. It also adds time to the schedule if it was not
planned for. The other opposing argument is environmental. Is this type of packaging
necessary when public opinion is moving towards cutting down on packaging?
Packaging must be visually appealing while still containing information about the
product, its developers, copyright and technical requirements. This can be a lot of
information in a small space, especially if it must be in more than one language.
Careful design is required, preferably by experts.
The number of disks on which the product is produced will also affect its packaging, its
functionality and the amount of content that can be included. A product on more than one
disk might allow the inclusion of more information and the ability to sell the product
for a higher price. However, accessing information across multiple disks is not easy and
would either complicate the development or reduce the functionality of the final
product. The CHIN project on Canadian history opted for one disk because searching
across all of the textual information was an important objective. This decision was,
however, neither easy nor unanimous. Other multi-CD ROM products such as Luna, Inc.'s
Frank Lloyd Wright Archive have focused on comprehensive content, sacrificing ease of
use by requiring the switching of discs.
The design of promotional material is extremely important to the marketing of the
product. When developing promotional material the CHIN Canadian History CD-ROM, one of
the partners highlighted the contents of the product expecting that it was the content
that would sell the CD-ROM to the target market. Another partner designed the material
to fit under their corporate marketing plan with a common look for all their products.
All materials relating to the product, disk label, insert, packaging and promotional
material, should have a similar visual appearance and provide the product with an
identity.
The materials must be written with the target audience, or a segment of the target
audience, in mind. This includes wording, visual appearance and focus. For example, one
might expect the product to be of interest to other museums as well as the educational
community. To market to museums, the promotional material will need to focus on
different aspects of the product. Depth of research or subject matter may be the
marketing hook for museums where curriculum suitability would be of interest to the
educational community.
If the product has been developed by a partnership, all partners need to agree on the
promotional material. This will ensure that their contribution is acknowledged properly
and that the resulting product reflects their organization. Promotional strategies and
approval processes should be specified in the partnership agreement.
Marketing multimedia products is similar to marketing other products.
Promotional material on the product can be mailed to standard mailing lists. Mailing
lists can also be purchased from associations that cover some or all of the target
audience. The statistics for the success of mass untargeted mail outs are very low, so
careful selection of mailing lists is important especially considering the rising costs
of mailing. Keeping track of sales will help to develop mailing lists for future
products.
A press release can announce the product. Newsletter, journal, newspaper, radio or
television station interest in the product could lead to free publicity. Even if this
does not lead directly to sales, the resulting articles could form part of the
promotional material.
Advertisements for the product can be inserted into journals, newsletters, magazines and
newspapers. Careful selection of these should be made since advertisements are expensive
to design, produce and publish. The target audience will determine the type of journal
in which to advertise. They could include journals of museum associations, professional
or educational organizations as well as those related to the subject of the product and
the age group at which it is aimed. Libraries often acquire
multimedia products for their collection. Selecting journals targeted at them may well
increase the sales. Popular computer and multimedia magazines are also a new venue for
marketing multimedia products.
Another common way to market now is to put an announcement or press release up on the
Internet to listservs or newsgroups. While these must follow the etiquette of the
listserv or newsgroup and should not be too commercial or pushy, information about the
product and where to get it can be made available inexpensively and quickly to
thousands, if not
millions, of people, some of whom are the target market. Unexpected potential audiences
might be in reach. Another way to promote the product is include information about it on
the museum's Gopher or World Wide Web site; this could include sample screens displaying
the product's functionality along with ordering information which may promote
interest.
Within a short period of time it will be possible to put up an electronic order form on
the Internet and have buyers fill it in, pay, and send the order to the museum for
delivery.
Other traditional methods of marketing include talking about the product in a
conference presentation. Promotional material can also be included in the conference
registration kit of carefully selected conferences. Advertisements can often be placed
in conference programs. A more expensive way to market is to demonstrate the product in
the exhibition hall at conferences or trade shows.
Another quite successful way to market the product is to submit it for awards given by
museum associations, trade shows and multimedia events. Getting a placement or honorable
mention means promotional material and free publicity when the results are promoted by
the organization responsible for the award.
A product can also be send to journals and experts for review. One should however bear
in mind that a negative review can be very detrimental.
Partners can be brought onboard for development or marketing/distribution reasons. Most
multimedia products are developed through partnerships that bring together the expertise
and resources of several players. Partnerships make projects happen and products better.
However, partners also have different priorities and agendas. Unless marketing the final
product is discussed from the very beginning of the project tensions can result even in
the best partnerships. It may be that two partners see a particular market segment as
their own to exploit, bringing competition into the previously friendly relationship.
Perhaps money was not budgeted for the packaging or promotional material. Tensions may
also arise if partners expect others to take the lead in certain areas, be it a
particular market segment or a function. The partnership agreement should be very clear
on these issues to avoid controversies later.
Often the best way to promote the product, especially if the market is not a traditional
one for the museum, is to make arrangements with a distributor or publisher. The
advantage to this is that they are familiar with marketing to target audiences. For
example, choosing a publisher familiar with the educational market will help to market
the multimedia product to schools. They know the educational community and how and
when to sell to them. For example, in parts of Canada, most educational purchases are
made in the spring, late summer and early fall. Experienced publishers and distributors
know what approaches to use with their audiences and can time them to purchasing
cycles.
Reviewing distribution policy and market plans is essential to ensure the museum's
interests are respected. For example, a distributor could use a hard sell with heavy
discounts when what is desired is a professional, low key approach with consistent
pricing for a couple of years. A contract with a distributor should specify museum for
marketing material consistent with museum philosophy.
When selecting the publisher or distributor, several questions should be answered:
How much of the potential market they will be contracted to cover? Will there be an
arrangement with them exclusively or with several distributors based on market segments
or regions? Will they market within only a particular region or internationally? The
terms of a distribution contract may limit a museum's ability to distribute the product
themselves.
Financial arrangements with distributors and publishers are often costly. It is not
uncommon for a distributor to retain between 40 and 70% of the selling price.
When establishing the selling price of the multimedia product the cost of development,
production, packaging, marketing, storage of inventory and mailing or distribution
should be considered, together with the selling prices of similar products. After
estimating costs, expected sales are projected and a profit margin defined. This could
be zero if it is only expected to recover costs.
The decision to recover only out of pocket expenses and not soft costs such as staff
time is also perfectly possible. Or the museum could decide only to recover a percentage
of the costs, perhaps considering the unrecovered costs as part of the learning
experience using this technology or part of the museum marketing costs since the product
could be enhancing the museum's image. The product is, after all, reaching some or all
of the museum audience in a different way than temporary or permanent exhibits and other
outreach programs. Costs could also be offset by the project's contribution to the
museum's multimedia bank. The same multimedia data could then be reused for other
products and purposes.
An increase of expected sales can be reached by targeting more markets. This will raise
the cost of marketing and may or may not increase the sales. Another perfectly valid
approach is to sell the product at higher price which might lower sales unless some or
all of the target audience is willing to pay more for what is offered.
Consideration should be given to two or more pricing levels including discounts for
museums, the educational market or other not for profit organizations.
When developing a multimedia product, a clear target audiences should be defined.
Consideration should be given to available technologies as well as marketing throughout
the project. It is bad practice to arrive at the end of the project and then begin
marketing. multimedia is a relatively new medium for museums. Experiences should be
shared and the museum has to be willing to learn from others. If planned, developed and
marketed properly, multimedia products can enable new, powerful and exciting ways to
communicate the museum's message to a much broader audience.
Packaging
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4. Multimedia in Research
6. Format