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But can multimedia really make an impact on the education industry? Flying Rhino Vice President Ranjy Thomas thinks that multimedia has not yet reached expectations in shaping the industry. Unlike many of those who were disillusioned by the dot-com and CD-ROM craze, the Flying Rhino crew are fully aware that the education industry has a lot of catching up to do, yet they are optimistic that it is ripe for development.
“We had an economy that predicted [multimedia would impact] much sooner than it did.” Companies were initially well funded but market reality soon caused them to close down, which was then followed by a rise in demand. “We need to have real demand versus demand we are trying to create,” said Thomas.
Using multimedia tools would allow schools to leverage their infrastructure and cater to specific student needs. As Thomas states the benefit is tremendous compared with a previous one-size-fits all approach for schools on a budget. “In a pre-mass-media distributed world, schools could not get that specialization cost effectively.”
In the US, the question is how is education going to capture media once school systems realize they have such a high-speed broadband network? With over ten million broadband subscribers in the US, it is common sense to use high-speed connections to carry specialized content catered directly to each kid.
Flying Rhino developed a series of products with Houghton Mifflin including a package of tools tagged “Fraboomerang,” which melds entertainment with education. The company is particular about creating a character to introduce and promote the product (similar to the Little Mermaid). Local centers, such as space centers and museums, like to use characters to create an informal education space.
The key is to “align the right resource with the right kid, using the teacher to diagnose the needs” says Thomas. After gaining wide recognition for specific characters or brands, companies like Flying Rhino would then go to major networks to develop a television series. Using the same content library assets, streaming across different platforms becomes extremely cost effective.
In today’s market, companies such as Disney start with the feature film and then move into the classroom. Such a means to an end is the opposite for Flying Rhino – they are trying to build a trusted brand with tools in the classroom that will have a different substance of fun and can then be marketed outside of the classroom.
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Pearson Broadband, a year-old division of Pearson PLC that recently merged with DK Vision’s television arm, provides interactive education applications delivering media rich content via broadband. With regard to branding, Pearson has a similar mission to Flying Rhino in trying to build recognizable characters such as Peter Rabbit, which have universal appeal and are aligned with the master brand. Similar to Fraboomerang, Pearson Broadband offers a package of curriculum aligned tools called the “KnowledgeBox” to be used at home or in the classroom, incorporating video clips, interactive software and text-based documents.
KnowledgeBox allows “institutions to realize how to gain a return on their investment and how to use their broadband networks,” says Robin Gay, Marketing Communications Manager for Pearson Broadband based in the UK. The advantage of KnowledgeBox is that the content can be individualized to work with different learning needs of the students on a category or functional level. With programming offered in 50 languages across 80 countries, Pearson can also customize content toward the needs of specific cultures.
South Asia is the largest market for Pearson because it is has the highest levels of broadband penetration, particularly Singapore, with 100 percent penetration, and Hong Kong soon to follow by the end of the year. The US and UK don’t come near these figures due to the obstacle of mixed standards. At the same time, the US has a high percentage of primary and high schools with internal broadband networks, which gives Pearson an edge over its web-based competitors. The real need for on demand media is at the primary school level since this enables student engagement at an early age.
In China, Pearson Broadband is the first western company to produce television programming to be distributed at the national level through a joint venture with CTV Media (the Shanghai listed media and technology arm of the national network CCTV). China views the deal as a pilot for broadband initiatives for the country’s 350 million television-viewing households. The programming will focus on an English language learning series titled “Phrase of the Day” with a view to gearing up students and parents for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Pearson is also producing “Eyewitness China,” the biggest contestant game show in Chinese history focused on English language learning.
Beyond English language learning, online education is the most progressive area in the education industry. E-learning is happening at both the MBA and high school level. The University of Phoenix offers a full online MBA, while Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business offers a “Cross Continent” MBA program that supplements international teaching with distance-learning programs. Class.com is a Nebraska-based company providing e-learning services to high schools across the country.
Katherine Endacott, President and CEO of Class.com, noted that “in the scope of educational history, we are seeing more change in schools happening than ever before, mainly due to increased access to information.” With 15 million high school students in the US per year, a traditional platform is too expensive. The use of media in and out of the classroom is a “a natural evolution.”
However, when it comes to building brands, “you can’t influence consumer behavior the same way as in other industries,” says Endacott. “The brand means less to school districts than the quality of the product.” For companies like Flying Rhino and Pearson, quality of both the product and the brand means a fully integrated service in and out the home. [29-Apr-2002]
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Kim Barnet worked as a strategic consultant for Western media firms at Claydon Gescher Associates in Beijing for the past four years. She is currently in New York as a freelance consultant and is seeking new job opportunities.
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Aug 26, 2002
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Commodities: Branding the Basics -- Eric Mirabel
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How do we go about turning a commodity product or production capability into a new brand? We look at the Middle East, a transitioning market where manufacturers are branding commodities.
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Aug 19, 2002
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Brands in Toyland -- Ron Irwin
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Is branding in the toy world just child’s play? We look at how traditional brands like LEGO and Brio stand up to the dazzlingly high-tech competition.
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Aug 12, 2002
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Long Live the King -- John Karolefski
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Young and svelte, bloated and strung out, Elvis had universal appeal throughout his short lifespan. The king may be dead but apparently the brand lives on.
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Aug 5, 2002
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IBM Navigates the Biotech Maze -- Edwin Colyer
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IBM Global Services is expanding to a variety of areas like its recent acquisition of PwC Consulting. We look at how a brand like this penetrates the life sciences market.
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Jul 29, 2002
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Do Nonprofits Have Value? -- Robin Rusch
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As we unveil Interbrand's league tables of the world's most valuable brands for for-profit brands in 2002, we ask, Is there value in a nonprofit brand?
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