Mi-Card - IPO2U.com

D & P	Brochure	Web Site	Mi-Card	Complexity	Time	Resource & Cost
Scope & Definition	Definition of Project, Intended audience, Objectives, Budget setting, Vendor selection, Schedule (printer & distribution)	Definition of Project, Audience broad & diffused, Objectives, Budget setting, Vendor selection, Schedule (launch & marketing, advertising)	Definition of Project, Audience focused & controlled, Objectives, Budget setting, Vendor selection, Schedule (distribution)	Depends on project size, no. of pages, content, fulfillment of objectives, ratio of new artwork vs existing art & web pages	Brochure & web site tend to require more time to define scope than Mi-Card, especially on vendor interaction	Limited free vendor session available for scoping. Trade off between internal & external resources &cost
Requirement & Specification	Ideas, Vision, Expectations, Fulfillment of objectives, Design & print quality & quantity, Color req't, Packaging, Means of distribution	Ideas, Vision, Expectations, Fulfillment of objectives, Site map & navigation, Design quality , No color limit, ISP Hosting selection	Ideas, Vision, Expectations, Fulfillment of objectives, Content navigation, Design quality, No color limit, direct mail or download	Req't definition process can be complex & iterative if project scope is broad & involved with many people. Experienced vendor helps.	Gathering req'ts is most time consuming for web site, next brochure then Mi-Card.	Dedicated internal resources may save time but not necessarily cost. Definition session with several vendors desired.
Brainstorm	Brainstorming with contractors highly desired. Content, Visual, Message, Audiences & Expected impact. Insist on mock-up versions if not too costly.	Brainstorming with web designer & req't holder important. Iterative versions produced by brainstorming valuable.	Brainstorming led by project coordinator sufficient to produce consensus. On-line brainstorming session very feasible.	Brainstorming verifies and improves on the definition & req'ts hence its complexity is directly related to the complexity of the project scope.	Allow at least two sessions to converge conclusions. Experienced vendors bringing samples saves time to reach consensus.	Mi-Card can better reuse past or existing artwork and web pages than brochure and web site can, hence saving resources and cost.
Prototype & Review	Print prototype is generally a mock-up presented and reviewed in a meeting to have interactive feedback	Web site prototype fully functional, can be reviewed by a large number of users & a focused group remotely but presentation desirable.	Mi-Card prototype fully functional like web site, also can be in CD-R format distributed for simultaneous review. Its intrinsic interactive features very helpful.	Prototyping brochure is more complex and costly hence only mock-up presented. Web site & Mi-Card have prototyping advantages.	Multiple versions of prototype reviewed by many users either on-line or on CD-R can be very productive.	On-line prototyping saves resources & cost for web site & Mi-Card. Many tools available.
Production & Maintenance	Production cost is a significant portion of the budget. Color, production volume, inventory, delivery, reprint & reusability limitations major concern. Fulfillment of brochure mailing & feedback issues	Hosting cost is the production and maintenance. Launch needs marketing & advertising. Maintenance contract separate from production. Selection of ISP.	CD replication is the production cost, competitive to other media. Selection of vendor, volume consideration, Call feature & utility maintenance amortized over many clients	Brochure production can be complex, if content and packaging are complex. Paper & ink material, weight in transportation & mailing logistics.	Production schedule is not an issue with web site and Mi-Card. Web site launch needs separate process and schedule.	Production involves subcontracts, Mi-Card replication cost competitive to paper brochure especially at high end complexity.

F & C	Brochure	Web Site	Mi-Card	Complexity	Time	Resource & Cost
Multimedia	Text, image, color, fonts and insertions of scents and audio feasible but expensive. Generally a push media by direct mail or tradeshow.	Text, fonts, color, image, graphics, audio and video. Pull media not a push media. Rely on search engine & other media advertising such as Mi-Card.	Text, fonts, color, image, graphics, audio and video. Focused presentation with Internet telephony. Pull media & a push media. CD & Download distribution big advantage.	Content dictates multimedia complexity. Brochure has intrinsic limitation, web site bandwidth limitation & Mi-Card least limitation.	Original multimedia content requires time to produce. Reuse best strategy. Integration tools very efficient for Web Site and Mi-Card.	Multimedia resources and tools plentiful on-line and off-line. Print world more McIntosh centric. CD sources most compatible with Mi-Card.
Utility	Information, reference, catalog, directory, survey form & document in various formats, book, pamphlet, and flyer.	Information, reference, catalog, directory, multimedia document, interactive form, transaction, A/V broadcast, game, search & rich hyperlinks.	Information, reference, catalog, click & call directory & telephony, multimedia document, interactive form, transaction, fast audio video, game, search & rich hyperlinks. Name card & archive.	Brochure has simplest user interface & requirement but limited utilities. Web & Mi-Card offers rich utilities some are complex to novice users. Internet telephony gained acceptance in quality & ease of use.	New utilities require time for development. Integration of existing utilities are simple to do. Many are free for the picking. Web site & Mi-Card do require Internet.	Mi-Card and web site can take advantage of on-line resources. Clients own utilities tools can be included to increase Mi-Card and web site value to customers.
Content	Visual effect & text content (information) provide value. Sales coupon & inserts may increase value.	Multimedia content (information & edutainment) provide value. e-commerce & transaction, free download including sales coupon add value.	MM high speed A/V and database content (information & edutainment) provide value. Internet telephony & directory, e-commerce & transaction, free download including sales coupon add value. Focused utility tools useful.	Brochure content limited in complexity with obsolescence concern. Web site & Mi-Card highly flexible in update and reuse. Time variant info easily manageable.	Content development for web site can be very time consuming if fresh and varied look desired. Brochure has shortest "useful life over development time". Mi-Card longest useful life.	Hyperlink and search engine are the greatest values for information dissemination. Mi-Card compliments with web site in extending its use and persistence with users.

C & D	Brochure	Web Site	Mi-Card	Complexity	Time	Resource & Cost
Material	Paper, Ink, Color Film, and other accessories are costly with price increasing with time.	Server, network access and bandwidth are increasing in performance while lowering in price with time.	CD, CD-R & DVD & server, network access & bandwidth are increasing in performance while lowering in price with time.	Raw material availability & transportation logistics rather than production processes are the issues, hence making brochures less competitive.	Nature/seasonal dependence and environmental issues make material supply sensitive with time. This applies to most industries.	Paper depends on lumber & forest growth. Chips and plastics are less limited resources.
Packaging	Envelope, cover, and protective packaging for distribution are necessary items some require design effort.	No packaging issue.	Mi-Card takes advantage of the CD and DVD industry maturity.	Brochure has the most complexity in Packaging, design, vendor selection and labor handling.	Additional time must be included for allowing packaging design.	Web site requires no physical packaging. Mi-Card uses standard templates for CD packaging design & uses the low cost standard packaging available for high volume CDs.
Distribution	Distribution logistics, weight in transportation and increasing price of postage are challenging issues. More labor involved in brochure distribution.	No direct distribution issue but its marketing and advertising in paper media face the same issues.	Download used as an alternative or complimentary distribution means. Its light weight & simple packaging makes direct mailing and tradeshow distribution more cost effective.	Labor handling and transportation logistics are the main complexity in distribution for brochures web site advertising.	Express delivery of 2-3 days is the limiting factor for distribution relying on postal or package delivery. Over night delivery too costly.	FedEx & UPS have made package delivery efficient but cost is still substantial for bulky & heavy printed material.