What are the chances of coming face to face with your favorite celebrity, smiling and personally congratulating you on getting into college?
Pretty good if that college is Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
The college has partnered with a digital media company to deliver alumni Contessa Brewer, MSNBC anchor, and Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, to the desktops of the school’s 300 incoming freshmen.
Incoming students are receiving an email with a customized video message from the two alumni congratulating them on choosing Syracuse, and reassuring them they’ve made the best decision of their lives. Each video begins with Brewer greeting the student by name.
Here is the vide message created for SU
It’s the first time incoming students will receive a personalized video message, instead of a regular email or letter welcoming them to the university.
The customized video messages are the creation of another Newhouse alumnus: Eric Frankel, who is the founder and chief executive officer of StarGreetz. He graduated from SU in 1980 and went to work for Warner Brothers the next day. A few years ago, he decided to try something new and started StarGreetz.
After less than two years, his Los Angles company has 24 employees and produces personalized messages from celebrities for every occasion and nearly every form of media. Consumers and advertisers can choose from a dizzying array of celebrity greetings, eCards, eInvitations, ringtones, voicemail, and personalized Facebook and website videos.
The process involves putting the desired celebrity in a studio where they record a message. Then comes the customization, which can include dozens of variables. In the case of names, the celebrity spends several hours reading about 750 names and multiple generic phrases. That covers roughly 88 percent of the names out there, Frankel said. (Those whose names aren’t available would receive a generic greeting.)
The real magic of StarGreetz comes next, Frankel said.
The company’s system almost instantly puts the celebrity’s separate takes together without help from humans. He likens it to a really smart editing machine. With it, they can deliver tens of thousands of personalized messages.
“The world of celebrities is big and getting bigger… and one size doesn’t fit all anymore,†Frankel said.
The company made the greetings for free for Newhouse. Normally, the cost for similar video greetings is $ 50,000 to $ 125,000, depending on the number of messages.
People are interested in the brand, he said, whether that brand is Lady Gaga, Katy Perry or the Newhouse School.
It might have been that mentality that brought StarGreetz a partnership with Newhouse. Frankel was showing Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham how the technology worked when she asked if it could work for the school.
Frankel credits his successful company to his time at Syracuse, and said he learned one of the most important lessons in his business while at Newhouse.
“The trick is to keep on inventing and keep innovating,†Frankel said. “We haven’t even scratched the surface.â€
Contact Ken Sturtz at ksturtz@syracuse.com or 470-2259.
Tags: alum, computergenerated, created, greet, incoming, Personalized, Syracuse.com, Videos â€"
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