Sales Graphics Blog

Almost every company can celebrate an instance of innovation, but when it comes down to it few businesses sit at the bleeding edge of their industry for decades at a time. Sales Graphics has pushed to be one of those few.

Fifty years ago we brought Mad Men to the top of their game with fuse-lit pyrotechnic bar charts so big they required their own carrying case. This was the front lines of innovation at the time, but as a family-owned business that expects to live on for generations, the world didn’t stop at fireworks.

We were one of the first presentation agencies to blaze trails on laptops and today we’re an industry leader of iPad presentations. As new technologies emerge we’ll be at the front-lines there as well, insofar as these technologies make sense for the businesses that use them.

So what kind of technologies could affect the future of presentations? Here are five innovations that could change the future of our industry:

Presentation Technology #1. Motion Gesture Technology – Kinect

Microsoft aims to bring motion gestures into every aspect of our lives, but in a world so motivated by tactile feedback, it’s hard to envision that we’ll see Kinect-type technology replacing much of what we do. There are some industries that could see dramatic change with motion gestures and presentations is one of them. Goodbye dead batteries and half-functioning clickers. Hello switching slides with the swipe of your hand.

Presentation Technology #2: The Anywhere (and Anything) Screen – Microsoft LightSpace Technology

We don’t mean to give Microsoft preferential treatment on this list, but it doesn’t take long to see the power of the technologies demonstrated in the Microsoft LightSpace demo above. This R & D project aims to bring the kind of multi-touch interactions we’re used to experiencing with LCD devices onto every surface. Need to present but don’t have a screen? Use the table, hand someone a video. Anything’s possible here.

Presentation Technology #3: New Concepts of Presentation Management

Marketers in the industry would have us believe that the future of presentation management lives in the cloud, but until the Internet is ubiquitous and fail-proof, this browser-based presentation approach is far from perfect. Expect to lose those long cable transfers and super-sized emails, but don’t rest in the cloud because the real future is much more versatile than that.

Presentation Technology #4: Li-Fi and Other Forms of Data Transfer & Interaction

Researchers have been increasingly keen on a new form of data transfer called Li-fi. Li-fi uses a flickering light to transfer bits of data with a few attractive benefits. Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh, UK says of the technology:

“There are around 14 billion light bulbs worldwide, they just need to be replaced with LED ones that transmit data. We reckon VLC is a factor of ten cheaper than Wi-Fi.” Because it uses light rather than radio-frequency signals, VLC could be used safely in aircraft, integrated into medical devices and hospitals where Wi-Fi is banned, or even underwater, where Wi-Fi doesn’t work at all.

Perhaps this is the answer to our cloud-based presentation problem, but this kind of ubiquitous data transfer technology coupled with the mobile explosion could also give rise to more than a few forms of interaction. Live-polling, more engagement and audience feedback. This could give rise to an entirely new dimension in the world of presentations.

Presentation Technology #5: Feedback and Metrics

As more of what we do becomes wired to data streams, presenters will have access to unimaginable sets of data. Our clients who use CustomShow can already see data points like how long recipients are spending with each slide, but this is just the beginning. As presentation-related data becomes ubiquitous, the ones who can make meaning of it will change the industry.

Conclusion

Back in the days of pyrotechnic bar charts none of this was possible, but as cars learn to drive themselves the industry is fast-evolving. Here at Sales Graphics technology may be our platform, but stories and design are our language. That, we’re sure, will always be the same.

As tablets fly off the shelves businesses are rushing to put iPads into the hands of sales and marketing teams. 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies are now testing or utilizing the iPad, but when it comes to security many businesses may be putting trade secrets at risk.

A recent infographic by Confident Technologies explains tablet users’ most common vulnerabilities, including most people’s decision not to password protect their device and the fact that 66 percent of users keep themselves perpetually logged into applications.

Most app developers look at these vulnerabilities and blame the user, but we have a different perspective. At Sales Graphics we look beyond security ideals to examine exactly how people actually use their devices.  This closes the gap between perception and reality, allowing us to create a presentation software that doesn’t leave presentations vulnerable, even when devices are left unlocked.

How Sales Graphics Keeps Your Presentations Secure

When teams send presentations over the Internet they often deal in clunky files or cloud-only services. Both mediums are only as secure as the passwords that protect them, but in the world of iPads where more than half of users are always logged in, this could create significant vulnerabilities. Sales Graphics solves this problem with secure URLs.

These URLs create weightless sharing for intended recipients, feedback showing how engaged users are with specific presentation slides, and security by changing every five minutes. Even if an employee’s iPad is left unlocked and unprotected, presentations won’t end up in unwanted hands.

1. Physicians Prefer Pharma Reps Present via iPad
2. The Best iPad Presentation Apps for Business
3. CustomShow: Now Playing on the iPad
4. Sales Graphics Provides Powerful Tool For Pharma Marketers
5. Vanity Fair’s iPad Presentations Mark the Future of Sales for the Industry
6. WeTV and AMC: United By Presentation Software CustomShow
7. NBC Increases Advertising Revenue $100mm at 2011-2012 Upfronts
8. What’s Wrong with Keynote for iPad? Almost Everything
9. 5 Reasons Why Good Presentation Design Can Drive Your Point Home
10. Telemundo Presentations From IMAX to iPad

This year Proximo (the brand behind 1800 Tequila, Three Olives Vodka, Hangar One Vodka, and more) made a huge splash at their annual sales meeting. The privately-owned spirits company called on Sales Graphics to take their presentations to the next level with a solution that looks phenomenal and works great.

We responded with a product that brought the audience to their feet. Statistics based video animations built substance for the spirits brand while graphics referencing the brand’s advertising campaigns provided pop and personality with special appearances from the Three Olives animated cowboy, and much more.

The life of Proximo’s newfound presentation design coupled with high-performance presentation technology created the perfect recipe for Proximo’s presentation’s in 2012. Since CustomShow software works across sales teams and operating systems, our presentation software helped put iPads into the hands of Proximo’s entire marketing team. Pre-loaded presentations gave every iPad holder instantaneous access to presentation creative, providing consistency for sales reps across the country. Updates are simple on iOS and Windows, meaning the days of hard-to-transfer presentations that don’t render right are over. In fact, in CustomShow version control is automatic and updating to new iterations is as simple as a single click.

This new convenience and portability lets Proximo’s sales team present instantly, on demand, and regardless of whether or not they have an Internet connection. 2012 is sure to be a good year for Proximo, as they propel ahead with effective presentations crafted at the intersection of technology and design.

To read more about the Proximo case study and view a snippet of the animated presentation we created for the spirits brand, check out their spot in the Sales Graphics Presentation Portfolio.

Each year at DIRECTV, employees from the broadcast satellite service gather by the hundreds to train the company’s retail sales force at locations including Denver’s Invesco Field. The purpose of these events is to equip key employees with the tools they need to communicate precise messaging for the upcoming year, so DIRECTV relies on Sales Graphics to help train trainers by the hundreds.

The standard presentation tools can create hours of slide searching and unmanageable oceans of corporate content. By contrast, our design services and presentation software bring simplicity to stadium-sized events like the ones DIRECTV holds. Animated videos bring the broadcast company to life while legally vetted, lockable content gives DIRECTV sales trainers the assurance they’ll never slip up. To give attendees an active voice through the sessions, we built live interactive text voting into the slides. The result is a lean-forward environment where everyone is engaged.

This year DIRECTV readied their training presentation near the strike of midnight before delivery day, and as soon as the team hit “save” everyone across the company had immediate access to the next day’s presentations. When the trainers at Salt Lake City’s event had an edit they were able to make the change for the next presentation in Raleigh, NC within the hour.

After the fact, DIRECTV’s Sr. Manager of Sales Training said:

“Sales Graphics does a terrific job of helping us successfully train our national sales teams each year. It’s a challenge for us because we have so many people to educate. The Sales Graphics team is our trusted source for helping us deliver our materials in a creative, informative , consistent way. They also help us push the technology to rapidly update information across the country and include cutting-edge features such as polling slides that automatically tally text votes from the audience.”

We’re getting ready to launch our first infographic on iPad presentations, but to make it happen we need your help. Please take the next two minutes to answer the questions in our short, two page survey.

Your quick contribution will inform presenters on the state of the industry in an entertaining way. Plus, we’ll send you the completed infographic after the research is tallied and graphic design has put on the finishing touches.

Thank you in advance, and we look forward to releasing this infographic to the public.

Click Here to Take the Survey

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After multiple years of consecutive growth, BIO has proven that they are a strong cable channel serious about story and narrative. A&E and BIO’s SVP of Marketing, Guy Slatterly, won CableFAXIE’s Marketer of the Year Award in 2009 when the channel grew an impressive 23 percent. And then there’s the fact that BIO is consistently nominated for (and is a frequent winner of) the most outstanding nonfiction series in the Emmys.

As the company that makes upfront presentations for A&E, Bio, Lifetime, and History Channel (snippet from the BIO presentation pictured above), we wish the channel and their sales team continued success both on air and in day-to-day meetings.

We’ve all suffered through it at some point in our lives –a presentation design overloaded with text, bullet points, and extraneous data. Every slide turns into a slowly-ticking hour hand, taking countless minutes of our precious time. We all know that dull, text-saturated presentations are huge pitfalls for a company, but now we’ve got proof that excellent presentation design can actually increase attention, improve cognition, and help drive your point home. Here are a few cold hard facts that show how (and why) effective presentation design makes a difference:

1. We found that moving animation enhances product recall, perceived product values in terms of the hedonic and utilitarian dimensions, and attitude toward products that are high on the hedonic dimension,” says Yee-Lin Lai Kuan in The Effects of Moving Animation on Recal, Hedonic and Utiliatrian Perceptions and Attitude.
2. According to Judy Meyers’ “The Color of Learning” in the AP Science Database, colors aid in the process of remembering.  Color also encourages specific feelings and have particular associations.  Yellow, for example, is associated with youth.
3. Graphics make apparent the things that would take much longer to discern from heavy text or sprawling spreadsheets.
4. Based on a claim made by the U.S Department of Labor OSHA Office of Training and Education, “…retention of information three days after a meeting or other event is six times greater when information is presented by visual and oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word alone.”
5. Animations can either augment or distract, but the difference is in how the animation is executed.  Research shows that relevant stimuli that highlight points of influence are effective, while haphazard visuals tend to create equally disorganized memories in the mind.  Long story short, animation is good, but it must be integrated strategically.

We gave a 6-minute presentation at L2′s Innovation Forum on November 5th at the Morgan Library. The title was “Bespoke Presentations” and we focused first on how most corporate presentations don’t live up to the rest of the brand visually. One question to ask is, “Do your company’s presentations look as good as your advertising?”

We also discussed how making presentations look good isn’t enough. Companies need to use technology to make sure that information and brand elements are kept up to date across the organization. Sales teams need to be able to customize presentations for each meeting, and they need to be able to deliver presentations on multiple platforms such as laptop, Web, and iPad. Finally, we showed examples of how we help our customers achieve these goals.

Watch our presentation here, and check out videos of other speakers here.

USA Network asked us to design their Upfront presentation to match their on-air brand. Using our CustomShow® presentation software, we were able to bring their characters to life inside each slide. The presentation included interactive nagivation and a wide selection of videos.