Media Dynamics
6737 W. Washington St., West Allis
www.mediadynamics.com
Innovation: CustomPitch, an iPad app for custom presentations
West Allis-based Media Dynamics, an interactive media and digital production agency in the B2B market, has launched a new iPad app that aims to help businesses deliver custom presentations without breaking the bank.
The new app – CustomPitch – is built to be adaptable for users to incorporate various different types of digital presentation materials, including videos, word documents, audio files, excel files, .pdfs, .jpgs and PowerPoint. CustomPitch allows users to store, easily access and present all of these materials in one place on one device.
Ron Trilling, a partner at Media Dynamics, said the “unique breakthrough” with the CustomPitch app is its ability to both customize the front end in how the information is presented and control the back end through a content management system (CMS), allowing customer administrators to easily update content on the app.
“What’s really cool about this is that, for us, it’s a great sales tool. But what we’ve done is make the shell available so it’s completely customizable,” said Trilling. “Besides it being customizable on the front end – the interface, and all – there’s a content management system on the back end. The most attractive features of the CustomPitch app among our customers are the ability for them to incorporate their unique brand identifiers and update their presentations quickly and easily using a custom-designed, easy-to-use CMS.”
John Platta, another partner at Media Dynamics, said CustomPitch has “two huge advantages” that set it apart. One is “version control,” so that there is only one current version of a company’s presentation material out in the field, making the content consistent for all of those in the company using the app, which is done by using the app’s user-controlled content management system. Standard contracts authorize up to 500 individual users of the app.
The second is the app’s update system, where whenever there is an update to the content stored on CustomPitch, a user will simply tap an update button to get the latest material. Platta said this eliminates hassles in having to rely on other outlets such as email and Dropbox to ensure the most up-to-date content and material is available through the app.
The update system is the only aspect of CustomPitch that uses Wi-Fi. The rest of the app’s capabilities do not require an internet connection.
What the app also offers, said Platta, is additional capabilities for customization done at a lower cost.
A number of customers, he said, were spending “tens of thousands of dollars on an app,” but when a company would identify changes that would need to be made, they “would have to go back to the developer for further customizations that could cost thousands of dollars.
“Customers said if we ever came up with a concept where you set up the template, and we can go in and make changes, that would be very attractive to (them),” said Platta. “The cost savings is huge. Nowadays, that’s a big, big push with a lot of our clients.”
Trilling said the app is a “$3,000-$6,000” one-time cost that each individual client is able to have input on. It can also be billed monthly, based on a client’s needs, such as for a short term project.
Media Dynamics works with a number of large clients in the area, including Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, GE Healthcare and Master Lock, which is already using the app.
And in addition to CustomPitch’s capabilities for sales presentations, there are other applications for it as well, said Trilling, including trade show demonstrations and e-learning, already an important component of Media Dynamics’ business.
Another important component of this, Trilling notes, is that by using CustomPitch – as opposed to PowerPoint or other presentation platforms that can be limiting – a company can demonstrate an image of being up to speed with the latest in digital technology.
Media Dynamics was founded by Trilling and Platta in 1994, and this represents the latest in the company’s evolution in the world of digital technology and interactive media. More information about the app can be found at www.custompitch.com.
