9-1 - Multimedia Tools

The ways in which information is delivered has evolved at a drastic pace over the last few years.  With the rise in the use of social media such as blogs as a mode of communicating information, the use of multimedia has risen as well.  Multimedia tools have become so prolific in their use, as Sniderman notes, “A website without multimedia is like a cupcake without icing: Functional but lacking. These days, all manner of web pages from huge company sites to small business blogs are expected to add audio, photo, or video to their posts and homepages” (2010).  From news sites to even privately run blogs, the use of multimedia helps to add to the message, providing a more robust experience for the reader or viewer.  

Within the article Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek (2012), the use of multimedia tools gave the story of the avalanche a lot more depth.  The videos and maps provided a great deal of background information to enhance the story, making for a more well-rounded story that held human interest as it detailed the facts of the episode, and also provided a great deal of information related to the weather conditions that lead to the dire situation the skiers found themselves in.  Reading this article as someone who is not a skier and not well-versed in snow conditions and other terms related to the sport, I appreciated the explanatory maps and terminology that Branch provided, as it provided a level of detail that would not have been available within a simple newspaper story. 

As an example of a corporation’s use of multimedia, Catamaran Corporation, a prescription benefit management company (http://www.catamaranrx.com/) utilizes multimedia tools to convey the company’s services to potential and current clients.  The use of a video detailing a new service offering within the specialty pharmacy segment further demonstrates the company’s commitment to provide unique service offerings to their clients and members.  The video demonstrates the personalized member engagement service offered to those receiving specialty medications for chronic conditions that many times must be self-administered.  Through the video conferencing, patients are able to discuss topics such as potential side effects with a registered pharmacist.  A PowerPoint presentation of the “Catamaran Difference”, a company-wide initiative centered on building accountable and reputable relationships with clients is also provided, as are links to Catamaran’s Twitter and newsfeed in order to provide information regarding industry updates and clinical trends.  The overall messaging of the site provides a cohesive overview of the company as a whole, and the use of multimedia helps to push the message of “stay well ahead”, the company’s motto.   

References

Branch, J. (2012). Snow fall: the avalanche at Tunnel Creek. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek.

Sniderman, Z. (2012, Jul 28). How to: add multimedia to your blog. Mashable. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/add-multimedia-to-blog/.