I caught an interview on National Radio the other day which interested me from two angles. Firstly because it was about research into whether chewing gum while studying helped with learning (and I'm a sucker for that sort of trivia- it's a great conversation starter...if you can summon up the courage to start a conversation with it). And secondly because, although it had got less media attention, the main reason for the study was to see whether CD-ROMS could be as effective as traditional lectures (in this case in teaching dental anatomy).

Prof. Kenneth Allen devised a simple study involving two student groups. It was not exactly what you would call groundbreaking stuff. But then came his apple-falling-from-the-tree moment.

"I was looking at a way of funding the study," Allen explained last week, "and a colleague of mine came up to me and said that Wrigleys wanted to do a study about learning with chewing gum. And I thought, Dentistry- this is a great place to do it." Dentists, it turns out, are not nearly as opposed to gum- or, at least, to sugarless gum- as schoolteachers are. "I don’t think dental schools have an official stance on chewing gum," Allen said. "Some people actually feel that chewing gum can stimulate your saliva, which can help keep the teeth clean."

So Allen added a twist to his CD-ROM experiment: half of the students in each group would be asked to chew gum while studying, and half, like typical grade-school students, would be forbidden to chew gum. He called his proposal "The Affect of an Interactive CD and the Use of Chewing Gum on Learning Dental Anatomy." Sure enough, Wrigley agreed to provide the gum (sugarless, by request) and to cover other auxiliary expenses. Allen rounded up volunteer students and, after three days of instruction (in person and via CD, gummed and gumless), tested them on the material.
To his surprise, the gum chewers scored, on average, a B-minus on the written component while the abstainers managed only a C-plus. *

What I was most interested in though, was that the CD-ROM learners, scored very slightly higher than the lecture audience. How are you carrying out staff training...?

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* Quoted in New Yorker 09/04/02

Auckland Theatre Company recently had the opportunity to promote their production of the ASB Bank season of "Goldie- The Man Behind the Faces" on Sky TV''s new Arts Channel, during its initial free-to-air month.

They wanted an entertaining, informative and enticing advertisement for the production including interviews with two of the production's stars, as well as the artist's work which featured in the play, and footage of the cast preparing for the production. The material recorded could also needed to be compiled into an EPK (electronic press kit) for other PR purposes such as TV news and arts programme segments.

The lead time was extremely tight to take advantage of the opportunity but, as rehearsal hadn't started, and permission to record much of Goldie's work is difficult to obtain quickly we had to think creatively about how to present the information in a visually stimulating way. So we decided to record the interviews in the Auckland Art Gallery in front of two appropriate (copyrite-cleared) Goldies, and in the companys rehearsal space during a publicity photo shoot. This meant we could record images of the leads in full costume and makeup, including veteran actor George Henare having his character's moku applied for the first time.

The keep production costs down some of the material was recorded on Mini-DVCAM and treated in editing, but all the material was recorded in 16:9 format and letterboxed, for a more theatrical look.

The benefit of this approach to ATC was delivery of an entertaining and informative story as well plenty of visual stimulation to entice audiences to this new, and critically acclaimed NZ play.

That was the theme for UDC's new brand launch to its staff in February. With only one chance to make a first impression DNA Design (who had designed the new branding and were charged with creating a memorable and dynamic unveiling) engaged Video Promotions to create the video content for the launch.

DNA required video content which would be projected on a large screen to reinforce the message being delivered at UDC's re-branding launch. The key message to be delivered by the video was that everyone at every level of UDC contributes to its clients' success.

The videos also needed to be presented in such a way that they energised and excited the audience, and consisted of stylishly-produced 'interviews' with UDC clients, as well as vox-pops from key UDC personnel, presenting the human face of UDC's business. Most importantly, these testimonials had to clearly convey how important UDC people are to maintaining satisfied clients, while at the same time helping break down the traditional giant, faceless, corporate image.

The energy of the video presentation was enhanced by the dynamic packaging of this material into a fast-paced, visually-stimulating montage incorporating DNA's new graphic design elements, a "Mission Impossible"-style soundtrack and an explosive climax! The final product was delivered on BetaSP, DVD and .WMV formats for the presentation and archiving, as well as still images from the videos for incorporating into the speakers' PowerPoint presentations for continuity of theme.

By choosing Video Promotions to produce this important re-branding tool DNA Design were able to guarantee their audience understood that everyone at every level of the company contributes to UDC's clients' success.