Tempus Genesis
Page 4
“At a time when money for fun is an ever reducing luxury, you know and I know that the climb for increased ARPU is becoming steeper and steeper. I am here today to provide the board of Emap with a proposal that will create something completely new and so compelling that the mobile phone user will not be able to resist joining in, and in turn spending more and increasing revenue for this company.”
Oliver unbuttoned the jacket of his suit and pressed the remote to reveal the second PowerPoint slide. He took a drink of water, placed down his glass and smiled warmly at the Board members. The Board room of Emap was a vast expanse with floor to ceiling windows on both sides. On one side Oliver could see the most fantastic views across London Docklands and towards the City. Almost as impressive on the other side the window overlooked a four storey atrium, with walkways and balconies connecting classy office accommodation and meeting rooms. The whole set up communicated success and reflected Emap’s status as a FTSE 100 company, a highly profitable world leading multimedia publishing house.
“What is more this will appeal to every mobile user who takes a car journey, everyone of them across the globe. Think of the profit margins in this new income stream. We all know the mobile phone is a modern day miracle of communication, but we also know it is pretty much dead in the water, 3G, Bluetooth, video, downloads, music, yes they make money but new money? More money? No. What I spend on my phone and my friends on their phones is pretty much static, there is some recycling but the industry is like two dogs gnawing on either end of the same bone. To make money now I would put to you, young men and young women need a new reason to pick up their mobile and make a call. Put simply we need a craze ladies and gentlemen, a fad, something that will be all the rage and we will want to be on board. I present to you CarTalk.”
Oliver was blown away that his invention had got this far, the Board seemed warmed up and as much as he tried to resist it, he had a good feeling today. Oliver was encouraged by the smiles from his silver haired tanned sponsor, Jack Splinter. Jack was not a full Board member but the head of the motoring group within Emap.
Oliver had first met Jack eight months ago, pitching the idea that CarTalk could flourish if targeted at the modified car community. Oliver had set out his idea of using the Fast Car magazine to ‘place’ the CarTalk product within a specific community, it could grow from there. Modified car enthusiasts were obsessed with the whole scene and the specification of their cars and their hi-fi systems and the girls. It was their culture and the opening of a new line of communication, with its underground feel, would seize the imagination of the modified car enthusiasts. Jack Splinter and his team were so taken by the innovative and novel invention, in fact blown away by it, Jack recommended it to his CEO for a full company wide launch. It couldn’t have been better placed as an idea backed by the well regarded Jack Splinter.
Now all Oliver had to do was convince the fifteen board members staring at him from around the giant modern glass and beech wood table.
Oliver continued, “So what is the essence of CarTalk? What would be its brand? This is an invention that opens the door to a new culture of on-road and on the move communities. Emap has a strong brand image with the aim of bringing people together at its heart. CarTalk shares that aim and the service provided connects people in a novel and groundbreaking way.”
Oliver thought he might be talking like an American. He had never pitched for anything before and in his head Americans pitched for things. An American accent might be a good thing he thought, yanks are always so confident and today was a day to be brimming with a confident sell.
“Given the potential global scale of the impact of this invention, it needs a large media partner to provide the platform for the exploitation of this proposed product. This invention presents an opportunity for mobile phone users to connect, make friends and communicate across on-road communities. This invention exploits a global market place as yet unrealised by mobile phone and service providers, media providers and mobile phone users. Think of where we are now. The web chat environment is full to bursting. Why not establish between cars, an on road chat room environment? That is what CarTalk creates in essence.”
Oliver took another sip of water and then using the remote moved on the presentation into an impressive, well timed, rolling slide show. He took the board through the simple process behind his invention. Through creating a database and web based registration process CarTalk users could sign up to the service. Once signed up the users’ car registration would be linked with their mobile phone number using a call ID database. Put simply a user could dial up another user’s car registration plate and chat with the occupants between cars whilst out on the road.
“This invention brings together two of the worlds continually expanding user essentials, the car and the mobile phone and adds the ingredient of the need to belong and the need to be witnessed. It is a fact that car usage and time spent on the road has vastly increased in recent decades, with more than 100 million more cars on the road worldwide since 1991 and over 600 million cars currently in circulation. This figure may well exceed a billion in the next decade. The number of mobile phone users is expected to reach 2.6 billion in the next few years. The car is an essential extension of our every day lives. From the mundane of the daily shop, through to the weekend break, for holidays, for sporting events and rock concerts or for the youth just to cruise, from single occupancy to groups of friends and whole families, the use of the car presents vast opportunities for CarTalk. This invention answers the question ‘With all those cars and all those people with phones, passing each other every day in their car without connecting, what are the possibilities if they could communicate with ease, with each other?’”
Oliver flicked his remote to show a slide with algorithms which set out how his product linked people between vehicles.
“As I have said earlier in simple terms the license plate is dialled with the use number option and CarTalk’s database connects the user with the registered passenger or driver in the car they wanted to call up. Registering this identifier in this way protects all users from giving out their actual mobile number, protecting privacy. It also adds a safety factor connecting the caller to an identifier i.e. the license plate. It further creates a sense of anonymity, a chat room mood if you like, that will increase an individual’s confidence to engage in the process. This is MSN chat on a motorway, in a traffic jam for a rock concert or on the way to a football match.”
Oliver checked the room, looked at each board member briefly, lots of nods and warm smiles. This could just be working he thought. Older chap over there, sat furthest away looked a bit puzzled Oliver thought but nothing that couldn’t be sorted through questions. Jack Splinter was nodding lots and seemed to be engaged, he was confident looking. Surely he was getting through. Oliver felt he had got the possibility across, the main point was the possibility, the doors it opened. Time to sail this baby in he decided.
“This will be a vast market place that brings the attraction and reward of chat rooms, dating and friendship services and the nineteen seventies phenomena of CB radios, into the modern age of communications and out on to on-road communities. The marketing potential is expanded upon in your papers. In the CarTalk environment it will facilitate connection between people driven by key aspects of human nature; think of the possibilities for forming friendships, dating and relationships, flirting, humour, sharing music and interests, motoring enthusiasts, sporting events.” Oliver looked up and gave his biggest smile of the day.
“Finally, I will share with you where this started,” Oliver adopted a more personal tone, as if recounting a story to an old friend, “I was at the V festival last summer, you sponsored it, it was great, I had a great concert, with three mates, the event was awesome, a blast of a day. It’s midnight and I am in a queue that will take three hours to reach the motorway and a further two to get us home. For over one hour my car was driving in parallel with the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. For all
that time we exchanged glances, a few warm smiles and without speaking I think we connected. After one hour her lane went left, mine right, never saw her again. I have never seen her since. If CarTalk was around I could have simply called her up. Who knows? We could be together today.”
Oliver joined his hands together somewhat symbolically, but he thought it worked. He definitely was speaking with an American accent.
“I’d like to thank you for your time and for listening to me today, many thanks,” Oliver opened his arm towards a final slide with CarTalk emblazoned large across the screen and its slogo below, smiling once more he stated simply, “CarTalk.”
And with that Oliver stepped back and held his breath for the response of the Board. Jack Splinter smiled at him, slightly nervous in the silence that now fell over the Board meeting.