The CD-ROM as an information system for marketing has been slow to catch on. As a medium by itself, it has been hampered by technological barriers as well as a general resistance to its use for human reasons. Faster drives, coupled with software that extends its usefullness beyond the desktop has finally brought the CD into its own as part of an integrated marketing strategy.

It was inevitable that the CD should go through the same growing pains as the web and "desktop publishing". A few years ago, "multimedia" was the darling buzz-word of the day and CD authoring companies were springing up like mushrooms after a rain shower. Most of them are gone today. Once again, the CD was offered as an adversarial technology touted to replace printing. It was rarely, if ever, integrated into a complementary program.

Where we are today...

CDs did not go away after the multimedia fallout. They did, however, recede into the background. Most CDs distributed today are gimmick pieces given away at trade shows and usually represent a glossy summary of old marketing materials. The authoring software itself is largely to blame for this. Most CDs are written in Director, PowerPoint, or HTML for displaying in a web browser.

All three of these authoring programs have serious shortcomings. First, they generally involve some re-invention of existing materials. Second, they do not display type very well. Third, they do not maintain design integrity from printed materials. Fourth, they are not always cross-platform. Finally, the learning curve on the software is too high.

These shortcomings often make CD production a grueling, drawn out and expensive task. In addition, the final product is usually a hodge-podge of compromises. Although it may look slick, it rarely has much graphical tie-in to existing printed publications.

A new approach...

By using the page layout programs used to create your printed pieces, the design can be preserved intact, unlike HTML. We can modify the pages into a custom design that may not duplicate your printed pieces, but which follow the overall look. Unlike programs like Director or PowerPoint, type always remains crisp and readable even when magnified. Data such as tables, usually done in small type, stay readable. We can incorporate sound and video clips. We can include extensive libraries of information. And its all platform-independent-- our CDs will run on Macintosh and Linux computers as easily as they do on Windows machines.

The biggest impact is cost. Since we are using common page layout programs as the source material, there are no special programming fees or extensive testing and de-bugging. Our CDs start out as Pagemaker, Quark or InDesign files-- programs that we've been using for years to produce printed materials. In fact, virtually any program that will print out to a postscript laser printer will work as source material. This means we can use files that you may already have, saving you the cost of inputting text and composing pages.

An integrated system...

Our CDs go beyond being just CDs. As part of the Intermedia Information System, our CDs are designed to offer on-site printing of information to the viewer, making information retrieval more convenient for the user and less expensive for you to distribute. By incorporating "hot links" into the design, the CD can be kept current by linking various parts of the CD presentation to fresh data on the web. Updates are simply a click away on any internet-enabled system. In addition, these web-savvy CDs are interactive-- forms can be filled out on the CD and transmitted to you via the internet. Instead of being a static, inactive piece of fluff, your CD can be the centerpiece of an interactive information distribution system that has on-going value to your clients.

Whether your CD is a stand-alone presentation or part of an Intermedia Information System, Terrapin Design can design and produce a CD that fits your needs and your budget.