ELGIN, Ill., Nov. 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- "The Emergence of Convergence" is more than a clever play on words. It describes the opportune way a University can serve its students, administration, faculty, parents and alumni, and describes the direction of tomorrow's -- even today's -- communication.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2115
According to Poynter Online's Convergence Chaser newsletter, "Convergence is about the communication process -- telling a story in multiple formats. Convergence is about promotion -- moving viewers, readers, users to different mediums. Convergence is about devices -- the hardware that can do it all."
College Town Profile, headquartered in Elgin, Illinois brings the most sophisticated communication technology available to the higher education marketplace -- and directly to the campus. The publisher's Convergence Publishing Program(tm) promotes Universities and their programs, and affords participating advertisers exposure to an audience reaching far beyond the printed publication and local geographic boundaries of the campus and its community, to a worldwide audience via the Internet.
College Town Profile's Convergence Publishing Program(tm) meets important objectives that are critical to many Universities' operations today, all made available at no cost.
First, it allows the University to offer comprehensive connectivity between students, faculty and administrative staff, using the communication tools that today's students have grown up with -- and more frequently, want and expect to find on campus.
Second, as a marketing tool, Universities will reach local, national and international audiences through the convergence of multiple sophisticated communication technologies, as well as more traditional means for total market connectivity!
Third, and just as critical to Universities, of course, is the generation of revenues. College Town Profile's Convergence Publishing Program provides Universities with non-tuition revenues to enhance operating budgets and enhance fund raising efforts through royalties from advertising sales.
With thousands of Colleges and Universities across the country competing for students, those that attract the most interest from prospective students and educators will be those institutions that offer more: a complete experience that not only educates students, but also lets them take advantage of the communication opportunities that are available through the technology they use every day.
A recent Forrester report indicates that "to reach the youth market, one needs to reach young consumers on their terms and, more importantly, speak a dialect that they understand . . . . it's important to master the tools that young people use to communicate." The findings included:
-- More than two-thirds of young consumers own PCs, DVD players, home
stereos, game consoles, mobile phones, and handheld videogames.
-- Teens spend 11 hours a week surfing the Web.
-- More than half of young consumers rely on their friends and
families for purchase advice, and 65% tell others about products
they like. Electronic communication tools favored by youth are IM,
mobile phones, and email.
College Town Profile's Convergence Publishing Program(tm) is made up of a four-color custom designed publication that includes quality-of-life editorial and photographs about the University, plus a section on the community at large. The print publication is converted into a dedicated website on College Town Profile's Community Profile Network at http://www.villageprofile.com; and an eBook of the publication, which includes all the printed magazine's text, photos, and advertising. It can be downloaded at no charge for use with most PDAs, handhelds and computer desktops.
The final, and perhaps most attractive, element of the Convergence Program is wireless access to University departments and directories via web enabled cell phones, smart phones and other wireless devices, through College Town Profile's portal at http://www.vpmobile.us portal.
Market research by College Town Profile identifies a growing trend in electronic communication methods. PDAs, smart phones and handhelds are growing in popularity and usage around the world, and especially in the U.S. Sales of PDAs in the U.S. nearly tripled from 12,345,000 in 2000 to 35,165,000 in 2003, and are expected to reach more than 56,550,000 in 2005 (worldwide sales figures indicate similar past and projected growth).
The number of Americans who subscribe to cell phone service rose in a decade from 16 million in 1994, to 110 million in 2004; 1.2 billion subscribers are predicted worldwide by the end of 2005 (Network World). According to the online newsletter cellular-news, the average U.S. subscriber logs 490 minutes of use (MOU) per month, which surpassed residential landline usage of 480 MOU in late 2002. College Town Profile's Convergence Publishing Program(tm) meets important objectives that are critical to Universities today. It allows the University to offer the most up-to-date communication and promotion technology available.
The "Emergence of Convergence" has proven to be an exciting venture in promoting participating Universities as innovators, as they take the lead in utilizing innovative technology that will shape the future of communication on their campuses in their communities and provide worldwide access to their campus departments.
Convergence is not just a sophisticated level of communication technology, but, most meaningfully, a technology that is USEFUL. College Town Profile's Convergence Publishing Program, the patent-pending wireless technologies, puts University information literally into the palm of the world's hands.
Said Steve Case, founder of America Online, "Every decade has some word associated with it. In the '80s, it was 'PC.' In the '90s, it was 'Internet.' For the rest of this decade, the key word is going to be 'Convergence.'"
The photo accompanying this release is also available at NewsCom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
