Forget trade shows and in-person events. Online events such as Web seminars, by eliminating travel and external event expenses, make it easier for prospects to participate and are much less expensive for marketers to attract and qualify leads. Enter Macromedia Breeze, which Macromedia today announced as the core of what it calls "an all-inclusive Web event solution" - complete with an online seminar room for up to 2,500 participants, and access to a new Macromedia Breeze event services team to handle event logistics.

"Our goal is to help marketers deliver an online experience for their prospects that is as engaging and persuasive as an in-person event,” said Tom Hale (pictured), senior vice president and general manager, Macromedia. "With support for interactive content and multi-point video, complemented by a complete registration, tracking and reporting system, Breeze gives event organizers everything they need to ensure successful online events that produce tangible results in the form of qualified leads,” he added.

Macromedia's idea is to provide customers everything they need to create, host and manage a web seminar for a fraction of the cost of a typical trade show or in-person event. Macromedia Breeze, it says, "supports data exchange with a company's marketing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, enabling the easy import of prospect contact information, registration and attendance tracking, and the export of results to CRM systems for sales follow up."

The solution includes an online seminar room within Macromedia Breeze for up to 2,500 participants, sophisticated event management and tracking capabilities, and end-to-end event consulting services to meet the needs of marketing professionals who may have previously lacked the technical resources or budget to take advantage of live online marketing.

"The use of live, Web-based events is clearly a trend with great momentum, allowing companies to lower their marketing costs by connecting with a maximum number of people, regardless of location, time zone or other constraints imposed by traveling or meeting in person,” said Paul Ritter, senior analyst and research director, Wainhouse Research. "Using Breeze allows a company to easily reach the widest possible audience to present compelling rich media communications, including live broadcast video, pre-recorded video, software simulations and application demonstrations that provide a much more immersive experience than printed materials or a phone call."

How It Works
Anyone with an Internet-connected PC can instantly join any Breeze event. Unlike other web conferencing solutions that require all participants to download and install a plug-in, Breeze is deployed using Macromedia Flash Player - which is already installed on over 98% of browsers worldwide, so no special downloads are needed. Because Flash Player is so pervasive, viewers already have everything they need to instantly attend any Breeze Event.

"We were looking for an easy-to-use, complete solution for our online events, and Breeze was the logical choice," said Samuel Ong, Multimedia Developer, FX Trainer Financial Services, Inc., a Canadian firm specializing in the foreign exchange market. "Breeze simplifies web events by offering instant access for the entire audience, customizable registration, automatic participant notification and reminders, and full tracking, while also offering great support for rich media presentations."

As part of the events solution, customers have access to a new Macromedia Breeze event services team to handle event logistics so customers can focus on marketing, while reducing the time needed to plan, coordinate and moderate an online event. Breeze event specialists can work with customers on every step of event preparation and execution including: pre-event consultation, product training for presenters and hosts, event moderation, technical assistance during the event, participation reports and event recording. The program enables marketers to try out a one-time web seminar, prior to making the decision about investing in an annual solution or software purchase.

"With Macromedia, we got an easy, end-to-end solution for high-impact web events," said Paul Laskow, IT Support Specialist, Wharton School of Business. "In addition to a rich product, we received tremendous support from the Breeze Events team. The Breeze producers took care of set-up, guided us through practice sessions, and moderated our event to make sure everything went perfectly, so we could focus on the content of our presentation."

Promotional Rate
Through September 26, 2005 customers can purchase a onetime Breeze Events solution, including expert services, at a special promotional rate. For more information: http://www.macromedia.com/go/events.