Weber Public Relations Worldwide & Electronic Media Communications Partner To Support The Recording Industry Association Of America's Secure Digital Music Initiative, SDMI, Announcement

Business Wire, Dec 16, 1998

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1998--

Deliver The Industry's First Integrated, Interactive Press

Conference at http://www.emcnews.com/SDMI

In the first Internet-enabled event of its kind, Weber Public Relations Worldwide and Electronic Media Communications (EMC) produced a multimedia Internet Press Conference for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to announce its framework to protect artistic copyrights in the digital age.

Called SDMI, this framework will create a voluntary digital music security specification that will protect copyrighted music in all existing and emerging digital formats and through all delivery channels.

Separating this event from other, more traditional Webcasts, was the integration of telephony with the Internet broadcast and the use of a video window in a static frame that allowed viewers to simultaneously access a wide variety of press materials and supporting information while participating in the live event.

The entire press conference is archived for on-demand viewing at http://www.emcnews.com/SDMI. The combination of an enhanced Webcast with the traditional media channels of newswires, email, fax blast and a press conference resulted in significant media participation both live and online.

While the "real world" press conference was attended by CNN, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC, The New York Times, Fortune, Rolling Stone and more than 20 other publications and broadcast stations, it is estimated that the Internet press conference served more than 2,500 other members of the press, industry experts, special interest groups and consumers. USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post and Wired Magazine were among the media who participated interactively through the integration of telephony and the Internet.

"This is just the beginning of what I see as the 'Era of Visual Communications'," said Larry Weber, chairman and chief executive officer of Weber Public Relations Worldwide. "We will continue to integrate high-end multimedia elements with text and data to help companies successfully position themselves and effectively communicate with their constituencies. By helping our clients adopt and explore these new technologies, they can leverage online publicity and promotion campaigns to successfully manage their corporate reputation and brand leadership."

Patrick Pharris, president and CEO of EMC agreed, adding, "The application of convergent technologies is allowing us to deliver our clients' messages to a much larger audience. We aren't limited to a television or radio broadcast, or a print release anymore. We can deliver the story in an integrated form to any audience, anywhere in the world, at any time, interactively."

Weber Public Relations Worldwide is a full-service, global public relations agency offering marketing public relations, investor relations, corporate communications, public affairs and new media services to a broad range of industries, including healthcare, consumer, entertainment, financial services and technology. As the premier public relations agency for the Information Economy, Weber Public Relations Worldwide delivers high value to clients through programs that are interactive, individualized, immediate and information-rich, based on an approach that blends new technology-based communications with traditional methodologies.

With headquarters in Cambridge, Weber Public Relations Worldwide (http://www.weberpr-worldwide.com) has offices in major markets globally and is a member of McCann-Erickson WorldGroup and The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG).

Electronic Media Communications (http://www.emcnews.com) is a fully integrated broadcast and Internet publicity, promotions and marketing communications company. The EMC New Media division specializes in the creation and execution of Internet PR campaigns, Internet press conferences, multimedia press releases, Web promotions, the development and marketing of World Wide Web sites, CD-ROM marketing materials, database marketing and e-commerce solutions.

The EMC Broadcast PR division specializes in the production and distribution of television and radio PR productions such as video news releases, b-roll, satellite and radio media tours, electronic press kits, broadcast press junkets and promotional videos and films. The EMC Place-Based Media division specializes in the production and placement of corporate-sponsored airline in-flight video and audio programs, outdoor advertising/environmental imaging, and the distribution of video PR and advertising productions in thousands of retail point-of-purchase television locations. Electronic Media Communications is based in Irvine, Calif.