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| | MessageCast, Inc. REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA
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MessageCast, Inc. creates broadcast messaging systems by using real-time networks and Really Simple Syndication (RSS). The company’s LiveMessage solution is one of the first real-time broadcast applications to operate over the MSN® Alerts network. With LiveMessage, enterprises can deliver scheduled or RSS-based messages through desktop alerts, cell phones, e-mail messages, or personal digital assistant (PDA) devices.
Opportunity & Innovation
E-mail response rates continue to decline due to overcrowded inboxes and spam. Unfortunately, some e-mail filtering programs can exacerbate the problem by blocking up to 40 percent of legitimate in-house e-mail lists. The LiveMessage solution solves this challenge by delivering these messages through the real-time MSN Alerts network. By using this authenticated, Web-based broadcast application, enterprises can tell where customers are on the network and deliver scheduled, event, or RSS-based message alerts to any device. Because MSN Alerts are managed over an authenticated network, there is no threat of spam. LiveMessage offers robust reporting tools, administrative controls, system logging, and more. The solution’s user-friendly, browser-based interface enables any employee to manage even the most complex broadcast campaign with a single mouse click—eliminating the need for additional IT resources. Because the Microsoft®-based solution offers immediate compatibility with RSS and is easy to set up with legacy systems, customers can deploy LiveMessage in hours. The simple, cost-effective deployment process is virtually automatic, including support for Microsoft .NET Passport.
L’Oreal, a global provider of cosmetic, hair care, and skin care products, partnered with MSN and MessageCast to deploy a custom, real-time alerting mechanism for its beauty alert service—a personalized messaging platform that boosts brand awareness and customer loyalty. With the MSN-powered LiveMessage solution, employees can track customer activities online and deliver custom beauty alerts based on specific customer requests. In just six months, the solution delivered astounding results. L’Oreal United Kingdom received a campaign response rate of 24 percent, while L’Oreal Germany achieved 35 percent—a significant improvement from the company’s typical e-mail response rate of just 1 percent. “The L’Oreal results are representative of the kind of performance MessageCast customers are getting,” says Royal P. Farros, CEO and Chairman of MessageCast, Inc. “By using Microsoft technologies, MessageCast is helping to define the next great innovation in e-marketing communication.”
Microsoft Partnership
“The Microsoft partnership gave MessageCast a powerful technology platform and an incredibly deep sales channel,” says Heidi Roizen, Managing Director at Mobius Venture Capital. “From an investment perspective, this is an ideal partnership.”
MessageCast continues its ongoing partnership with Microsoft, focusing on joint technology and sales efforts for LiveMessage. The company has partnered with MSN to provide LiveMessage to companies such as FOXSports and Gillette, and the solution is available through more than 30 MSN divisions around the world. MessageCast is a Microsoft Certified Partner.
Download MessageCast's success story in PDF format.
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Document Published 2005