User's Guide To Parent-Teacher Hotline
Overview
In this chapter, we discuss the money-making feature of the application: The Advertisements!
An Advertisement is what you might guess -- a commercial-like message that advertises the sponsor's product or service. Advertisement Sponsors are those people or companies that pay you for their Advertisement spot. Advertisement Sponsors may be big corporations, the local PTA, or someone telling about a garage sale or grand opening.
Advertisement Placement
There are a number of places in the tree where you may place advertisements. The Initial Prompt as well as each Branch Prompt and Control Point is capable of playing an Advertisement. If you were to put Advertisements on every Prompt, though, the caller may feel bombarded by ads and hang up in disgust. It may be best to limit the number of ads in your system, as the average caller can tolerate one or two advertisements.
The actual placement of Advertisements is up to you, but here are some placement ideas:
One Advertisement for each Announcement group, placed on the Prompt for each group
One Advertisement on some of the major Prompts and announcements (i.e., those Prompts that are branches from the Initial Prompt
A closing Advertisement on a Control Point designated to hang up the phone
If you have a sporting goods store as an Advertiser, you could place their Advertisement in the Sports prompt.
Advertising Groups
'Advertising Groups' are merely groups of Advertisements in the system. The Advertisements within a group play in rotation, so that each Ad in the group gets equal airing time. Ad groups may contain as few as one Advertisement, or as many as you wish. All Advertisements must be in at least one ad group, however it is possible to have an Advertisement in more than one group. If you want a single Advertisement to play in an area of the tree, you may put it in its own ad group.
Some of this may sound a bit involved, but it is quite simple once you take a look at how Advertisements and Advertising Groups work. In the following sections of this chapter, we discuss the principles and the procedures for creating and using Advertisements and Advertising Groups, and also the ideas behind specialized advertising.
Terms
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Advertisement |
The 'commercial-like' message that a caller hears when they reach an object in the tree which has Advertising enabled. |
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Advertiser |
This is the company, organization, or individual who sponsors advertising on your system. |
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Advertiser ID |
Also called 'Ad ID'. This is the number that the application assigns to an Advertiser and their Advertisement. The Advertiser uses this number to remotely access their Advertisement for recording. |
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Advertiser Password |
This is a number that the Advertiser uses to access their Advertisement. You may assign this number to the Advertiser. |
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Advertising |
The part of the Parent Teacher Hotline application that allows you to play Advertisements that are sponsored on your system by Advertisers. |
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Advertising Group |
This is a group of Advertisements. This Ad Group sponsors a tree object or section when you activate the Advertising controls on a tree object. |
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Advertising Message |
This is the written script for the actual advertisement that the caller hears. |
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Run Time |
Also called 'airing time'. This is the length of time that an Advertiser's ad runs on your system. When the run time is up, You delete the Advertiser's Ad, or the Advertiser pays you for another length of run time. You decide the run time of an Advertisement. |
When discussing or thinking about Advertisements, there are a few things you should think about:
• For each Advertiser, you must create and complete an Advertiser box. In the event that the Advertiser wants more than one Advertisement, you must create and complete the appropriate number of Advertiser boxes.
• Either you add the Advertisement at the computer (or by calling in) or the Advertisers call in to record the Advertisements. You may, however, come across an Advertiser who does not have a touch tone phone. As the system requires a touch tone phone to record a message, they either have to find one to use or you might have to record their Advertisement for them.
• If your Advertiser decides to call in and record their Advertisement, you must create and complete their Advertiser box and give the Advertiser their Advertiser Password and Ad ID. If you do not do these things, the Advertiser will not be able to record their Advertisement.
• Don't forget to determine a price for each Advertisement, as well as a run time. In other words, how much does it cost to run an Ad on your system? How long does that Ad air on your system? Do you have different rates for shorter or longer duration Ads?
• Where in the system tree should you place the Advertisements? How should you group them? You could place Ads all over the tree, but the callers may become quite frustrated.
The Advertiser List Box
This box contains a listing of all Advertisers in your system. The Advertiser List box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 79:
Figure 79 - The Advertiser List box
This box allows you to add, modify, and delete Advertisers and their corresponding Advertisements. The parts of this box are as follows:
Advertiser List - All of the currently available Advertisers appear in alphabetical order (A to Z) in the Advertiser List. To perform an operation on an Advertiser, you select the desired Advertiser with the highlight bar. If you have more Advertisers than can fit in the list, a vertical scroll bar appears to allow you access to all of the Advertisers in the list.
Close button - This button allows you to close the Advertiser List box when you finish working with it.
Add button - This button allows you to add a new Advertiser to the Advertiser List. Also, the Advertiser box appears, and you may enter the added Advertiser's information.
Modify button - This button allows you to access the Advertiser box of the currently selected Advertiser so you can edit that Advertiser's information.
Delete button - Clicking this button deletes the currently selected Advertiser from the Advertiser List. A deleted Advertiser is no longer in the system, and therefore can no longer be used.
Advertiser: - This field displays the name of the currently selected Advertiser. This field also allows you to add the name of a new Advertiser.
Status Line - This is the gray rectangle at the bottom of the Advertiser List box, and it displays information pertaining to the item that the mouse pointer is over.
The Advertisers Box
This box appears when you add or modify an Advertiser by clicking the Add or Modify button on the Advertisers List box. The Advertisers box houses the important Advertiser information, such as the Advertiser's personal information, password, Ad ID number, and Advertising Message. Figure 80 shows the Advertisers box as it appears on the screen:
Figure 80 - The Advertisers box
The parts of the Advertisers box are as follows:
Advertiser - This is the name that you entered in the Advertiser List box.
Address - You may type the Advertiser's address in these two fields. This is to bill or contact the Advertiser.
City - This field allows you to type the Advertiser's city of residence.
State - This field allows you to type the Advertiser's state of residence.
ZIP - This field allows you to type the Advertiser's ZIP Code.
Phone Number - You may enter the Advertiser's phone number into this field.
Password - This field allows you to enter the Advertiser's password. This is the number that the Advertiser uses to access their Advertisement when they call in to change it. The Password may consist of one to ten numbers (you cannot use letters or punctuation).
Ad ID - Although this is not a control or entry field, it displays the ID number for the current Advertiser.
Enable check box - This control allows you to enable or disable an Advertiser and their Advertisement. If an X appears in the check box, then the Advertiser is enabled. If the check box is blank, then the Advertiser and their Advertisement is disabled.
Notes - This field is an editor for any notes you wish to include about the Advertiser. This might include the start and end date of the Advertisement, the price that the Advertise paid, and any special arrangements you have with the Advertiser.
OK button - This button confirms the settings on the Advertisers box. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the Advertiser List box.
Cancel button - This button allows you to avoid saving any changes to the Advertisers box and return to the Advertiser List box. You use this button when you've made some changes that you decide not to keep, and you want the Advertiser's information to return to its original format.
Advertising Message - This contains a script editor for the Advertising message text. This is the script that you use to record the Advertisement.
Play button - Clicking on this button allows you to play the Advertisement associated with this Advertiser. This is useful if you want to check the recorded Advertisement.
Record button - This button allows you to begin recording an Advertisement for the current Advertiser.
Adding Advertisers
Adding Advertisers and their information is a procedure you'll become familiar with just by using the application. Each time you get an Advertiser, you add their name and information to an Advertisers box. Then you or the Advertiser record the Advertisement.
Use the following procedure to add an Advertiser to your Advertiser List:
• While viewing the Advertiser List box, move the mouse pointer to the Advertiser: field and click the mouse. When the cursor appears in the field, you may type the name of the Advertiser.
• When you finish typing, click on Add. The Advertisers box appears as shown in Figure 81:
Figure 81 - The Advertisers box
• At this point, the Advertiser box is not enabled, and thus the options appear in gray. To enable this Advertiser, click the Enable check box. Notice that an X appears in the check box, and the options in the box now appear lettered in black. The Advertisers box is now ready to accept your entries.
You may use the mouse to select fields and options on the Advertisers box, and you may also use the keyboard. The v key allows you to move from field to field, and also allows you to select buttons. Pressing the v key moves you to the next field, while using the j+v key combination allows you to move back one field.
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Keep in mind that you must give the Advertiser Password and Ad ID to the Advertiser. Without these, they cannot record or change their Advertisement. |
• The top portion of the Advertisers box pertains to Advertiser information. You may type the information that you know about the Advertiser, such as their full mailing address and phone number. • When you finish with the personal Advertiser information, click the Password field. Type the unique password number in this field. |
• Notice that the Advertisement has an ID number. The application assigns each Advertisement an ID number so that you may remotely access the Advertisement using this number.
• Click in the Notes field, and a cursor appears. You may enter any notes you wish that pertain to this Advertiser. Some useful things to note:
• How long the Advertisement will run.
• The start and end date of the Advertisement.
• The fee you charge the Advertiser.
• Any special arrangements or deals you make with the Advertiser.
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Remember that you may use the arrow keys (wyxz) to move the cursor around the field. The c key allows you to remove text from a line a character at a time. |
• Move the mouse pointer to the Script field, then click on it. A small blinking line appears in the field. This blinking line is called the 'cursor', and it shows where your typing appears when you type in a field. • Now type the Advertising Message for the Advertisement you want to record. • Now you may record the Advertising Message. Click on Record, and the Record box appears as shown in Figure 82: |
Figure 82 - The Record box
• Get your announcer's voice warmed up, then click on Record. The status line displays the message "Please pick up handset", and you may pick up your local phone.
• A beep sounds, and the script begins scrolling up through the Script field (if the Auto Prompting option is enabled). Read the script as it goes by. When you finish recording, click on Stop. The recording stops, and the length of the recording displays above the Speech position scroll bar. You may hang up your phone.
• To hear the new Advertisement, pick up your phone and click the Play button. If you don't like the way the Advertisement turned out or you 'tripped over your tongue', you may record the Advertisement again.
• When you're satisfied with the Advertisement, click OK. Your newly recorded Advertisement saves. Clicking Cancel erases your speech.
• When you finish configuring the Advertiser box, click OK. You then return to the Advertiser List box.
Notice that the name of the Advertiser now appears in the Advertiser List. Each time you add an Advertiser, their name appears here. When you finish adding Advertisers and their Advertisements, you may click the Close button on the Advertiser List box.
Deleting and Disabling Advertisers
This section discusses what to do when an Advertisement's run time expires, when an Advertiser won't pay for their Ad, and what to do if an Advertiser discontinues service for any reason.
If one of these things happens (at least one of them will), you need to know how to deal with it. You have two choices: You may 'Delete' the Advertiser and the Advertisement, or you may 'Disable' the Advertiser and the Advertisement.
Deleting an Advertiser removes the Advertiser and the corresponding Advertisement from your system. This frees up space for other Advertisers, and makes the system neater and easier to work with.
Disabling an Advertiser and their Advertisement allows you to temporarily remove it from the normal flow of Advertisements. You may then enable it at a later date, or delete it. If you disable an Advertiser, then their Advertisement cannot be heard by callers.
Deleting Advertisers
When an Advertisement's airing time runs out, you may wish to ask the Advertiser if they want to renew their Advertising on your system. If they do not, then you may delete the Advertisement. Use the following procedure to do so:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• Click the Advertisers option. The Advertiser List box appears on the screen.
• Select the Advertiser you wish to delete by clicking it. A blue box appears around the Advertiser.
• Click Delete and an Advisory message appears, asking you to confirm the delete. Click Yes, and the Advertiser you selected disappears from the Advertiser list. If you decide at the last minute not to delete the Advertiser, click the No button.
You may use this same procedure each time you want to remove an Advertiser from the application. A deleted Advertiser no longer appears in any Advertising Group.
Disabling Advertisers
Disabling Advertisers is a useful feature if you have an Advertiser who discontinues service, does not pay for their Advertisement, or whose Advertisement run time is up. Although you could delete the Advertiser (and most likely will in the last case), you may also disable the Advertiser until they renew service or pay up. The advantage to this is that you do not have to create and complete an Advertiser box all over again, you simply enable the Advertiser.
Use the following procedure to disable an Advertiser:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• Click the Advertisers option. The Advertiser List box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 83:
Figure 83 - The Advertiser List box
• Select the Advertiser you wish to disable by clicking it. A blue box appears around the Advertiser.
• Click the Modify button, and the Advertisers box appears.
• Click the Enable check box. When the check box is blank, the Advertiser is disabled (i.e., no longer enabled).
• When you finish disabling the Advertiser, click the OK button. You then return to the Advertiser List box.
• Notice that the name of the Advertiser now appears in the Advertiser List as slightly grayish. This signifies that the Advertiser is disabled. When you finish disabling Advertisers, you may click the Close button on the Advertiser List box.
Once you disable an Advertiser, callers cannot hear the corresponding Advertisement in any of the Advertising Groups it may be in. For all practical purposes, disabling an Ad removes it from the loop. If it was in an Ad Group by itself, then no Advertisement plays.
If you later wish to enable the Advertiser (and the Advertisement), simply select the Advertiser again, click Modify, and click the Enable check box. When an X appears in the check box, the Advertiser is enabled once again.
After you create some Advertisers, it's time to group them. This involves Accessing the Advertising Group List, creating some Advertising Groups, then selecting which Ads to put in which groups.
When you create Ad Groups and put Ads in them, you should think about where in the system tree you want the Advertisements to play. You should also consider the number of Advertisers to put in each group. The more Ads that are in a group, the less air time each gets. If you have and Ad Group that contains three Advertisements and a Group of six Advertisements, the one with three would get twice as much air time as the one with six.
Advertisements in an Ad Group 'rotate'. To explain this better, let's talk about an Advertising Group with three Advertisements. When a caller calls in and goes to a tree object configured to play an Advertisement, the first Ad in that group plays. A second caller calls in, and hears the second Ad. The third caller hears the third Ad in the group. When the fourth caller calls in, they hear the first Advertisement. This cycle continues with each caller, so all of the messages in a group play numerous times. In an Ad group with three Advertisements, the recycle rate is once every three calls. An Advertising Group containing six messages recycles every six calls.
The Advertising Group List Box
This box contains a listing of all Advertising Groups in your system. The Advertising Group List box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 84:
Figure 84 - The Advertising Group List box
This box allows you to add, modify, and delete Advertising Groups. The parts of this box are as follows:
Advertiser Group List - All of the currently available Advertising Groups appear in alphabetical order (A to Z) in the Advertising Group List. To perform an operation on an Advertising Group, you select the desired Advertising Group with the highlight bar. If you have more Advertising Groups than can fit in the list, a vertical scroll bar appears to allow you access to all of the Advertising Groups in the list.
Close button - This button allows you to close the Advertising Group List box when you finish working with it.
Add button - This button allows you to add a new Advertising Group to the Advertising Group List. Also, the Advertising Group box appears, and you may add Advertisements to the Advertising Group.
Modify button - This button allows you to access the currently selected Advertising Group so you can edit that Ad Group's information.
Delete button - Clicking this button deletes the currently selected Advertising Group from the Advertising Group List. A deleted Advertising Group is no longer in the system, and therefore can no longer be used.
Ad Group: - This field displays the name of the currently selected Advertising Group. This field also allows you to add the name of a new Advertising Group.
Status Line - This is the gray rectangle at the bottom of the Advertising Group List box, and it displays information pertaining to the item that the mouse pointer is over.
The Advertising Group Box
You use this box to add Advertising to an Advertising Group. Using this box, you may add or remove any Advertiser in your Advertiser List to or from the current Advertising Group. Figure 85 shows an example of how the Advertising Group box appears in the application:
Figure 85 - The Advertising Group box
The parts of the Advertising Group box are as follows:
Advertising Group - This field Displays the name of the Advertising Group you are currently working with. You may change the name of the Advertising Group by typing the new name in this field.
Advertising Group Number - This is a display of the current Advertising Group's ID number. The application assigns each Ad Group a number so you can remotely access the system and modify an Advertising Group.
Advertisers in Group - This field displays a listing of the Advertisers currently in the Ad Group.
Available Advertisers - This field displays a listing of all Advertisers entered into the application.
<-Add button - By selecting an Advertiser from the Available Advertisers field and clicking this button, you may add Advertisers to the Advertisers in Group field.
Remove button - By selecting an Advertiser from the Advertisers in Group field and clicking this button, you may remove the selected Advertiser from the Advertisers in Group field.
<-Add All button - Clicking this button automatically adds all of the available Advertisers to the current Advertising Group. This comes in handy when it would take less time to add all of the Advertisers to the Group then remove a few as desired.
Remove All button - Clicking this button automatically removes all of the Advertisers from the Advertisers in Group field (and therefore from the current Advertising Group). This allows you to effectively 'clean out' an Advertising Group.
OK button - This button confirms the settings on the Advertising Group box. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the Advertising Group List box.
Cancel button - This button allows you to avoid saving any changes to the Advertising Group box and return to the Advertising Group List box. You use this button when you've made some changes that you decide not to keep, and you want the Advertising Group's information to return to its original format.
Status Line - This is the gray rectangle at the bottom of the Advertising Group box, and it displays information pertaining to the item that the mouse pointer is over.
Making Advertising Groups
Making an Advertising Group is a simple procedure. Once you've made an Advertising Group, you may add Advertisers to that group. Use the following procedure to make an Advertising Group:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• When the Advertisements menu appears, click the Advertising Groups option. The Advertising Group List box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 86:
Figure 86 - The Advertising Group List box
You should be aware that the All Advertising Group is always in the list. This Ad Group contains all of the Advertisements in the system. This means that you may select the All group for advertising purposes, and each Ad in the system is included.
• Click the Ad Group field, and type the name of the Advertising Group you wish to make. When you finish, click the Add button. The Advertising Group box appears. If you wish to add Advertisers to the current Ad Group, you may do so.
• If you want to add Advertisers to this Ad Group later, click the OK button. This saves the Advertising Group so that you can add Advertisers later.
Adding Advertisers to Advertisement Groups
Use the following procedure to add Advertisers to an Advertising Group:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• When the Advertisements menu appears, click the Advertising Groups option. The Advertising Group List box appears.
• Click the Advertising Group from the list to which you want to add Advertisers. When the name of the Ad Group appears in the Ad Group field, click the Modify button. The Advertising Group box appears.
• To add a single Advertiser to the Ad Group, select the desired Advertiser from the Available Advertisers field by clicking it. A blue bar appears on the selected item, signifying that it is, in fact, selected. Next, click the <-Add button, and the selected Advertisement appears in the Advertisements in Group field.
• To add all of the available Advertisements to the Ad Group, click the <-Add All button, and all of the available Advertisements appear in the Advertisements in Group field.
• When you finish adding Advertisements to the current Advertising Group, click on the OK button. The Advertising Groups box closes, and you return to the Advertising Group List. (If you click the Cancel button, you may close the Advertising Groups box without saving any additions or modifications you made to the Ad Group).
• When you return to the Advertising Group List, you may Add more Advertising Groups, Modify an existing Advertising Group, Delete an Advertising Group, or Close the Advertising Group box to perform some other task.
Removing Advertising from Advertising Groups
Use the following procedure to remove Advertisers from an Advertising Group:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• When the Advertisements menu appears, click the Advertising Groups option. The Advertising Group List box appears.
• Click the Advertising Group from the list from which you want to remove Advertisers. When the name of the Ad Group appears in the Ad Group field, click the Modify button. The Advertising Group box appears.
• To remove a single Advertiser from the Ad Group, select the desired Advertiser from the Advertisers in Group field by clicking it. A blue bar appears on the selected item, signifying that it is, in fact, selected. Next, click the Remove button, and the selected Advertiser disappears from the Advertisers in Group field.
• To remove all of the Advertisers from the Ad Group, click the Remove All button, and all of the Advertisers in the Advertisers in Group field disappear.
• When you finish removing Advertisements from the current Advertising Group, click on the OK button. The Advertising Groups box closes, and you return to the Advertising Group List. (If you click the Cancel button, you may close the Advertising Groups box without saving any modifications you made to the Ad Group).
• When you return to the Advertising Group List, you may Add more Advertising Groups, Modify an existing Advertising Group, Delete an Advertising Group, or Close the Advertising Group box to perform some other task.
Deleting Advertising Groups
Use the following procedure to delete an Advertising Group:
• While viewing the Parent Teacher Hotline window, click the Advertisements menu heading on the menu bar.
• When the Advertisements menu appears, click the Advertising Groups option. The Advertising Group List box appears.
• Click the Advertising Group from the list from which you want to remove Advertisers.
• When the name of the Ad Group appears in the Ad Group field, click the Delete button. An Advisory message appears, asking you to confirm this delete. Clicking the No button cancels the delete. Clicking Yes confirms the delete, and the selected Advertising Group disappears from the Advertising Group List.
This section discusses the procedures and concepts behind Advertising on objects in the system tree. At this point, we assume that you have some Advertisements and Advertising Groups made. If you don't, you should at least make some practice Ads and Ad Groups (you can delete them later) so you can learn how to advertise in your system.
All of the tree objects that you can add to a system tree allow you to play Advertisements, and so does the Initial Prompt. Since the Advertising control groups for these are identical, you use the same procedure for advertising on each type.
Use the following procedure to use advertising on an object that contains the Advertising control group:
• While viewing the system tree, double click the tree object with which you wish to use advertising. When the box for that object appears, locate the Advertising control group. Figure 87 shows the Advertising control group:
Figure 87 - The Advertising control group
• The first step is to enable the Advertising feature by clicking the Play Advertisement check box. Click the check box, so that an X appears in the box. This means that Advertising is now enabled.
• Now look at the Advertising Group field. This field allows you to choose which Advertising Group to use for this tree object. Click the downward arrow button to the right of the Advertising Group field, and a listing of the available Advertising Groups appears.
• Click the Ad Group you want to use, so that a blue bar appears over that choice. The list closes, and the Ad Group you selected appears in the Advertising Group field.
• You may now click OK to save these changes and return to the system tree.
Now when a caller reaches this tree object, they hear an Advertisement from the chosen Advertising Group. After the Advertisement plays, the application finishes the rest of the tree object's tasks.
This section discusses some of the more interesting techniques that you can use to advertise in Parent Teacher Hotline. These techniques allow you to specifically modify the way your system plays Advertisements, and you may increase your system's advertising salability (and make more money in the process).
Singular Sponsorship
Singular sponsorship means that a single Advertiser sponsors a specific section object in the tree. This could be an Announcement, the Prompt for an Announcement group, or an Advertisement on a Control point. Theoretically, you could charge an Advertiser more for the privilege of singular sponsorship -- after all, everyone who calls in to listen to the singularly sponsored section hears an Ad or Ads from that Advertiser only. This means increased play time for this Advertisement. Instead of rotating with a bunch of other Ads, this Advertisement plays each time a caller reaches the object with this Advertisement.
There are two practical types of singular sponsorship:
¨ The Advertiser sponsors an Advertisement on one tree object, usually an Announcement.
¨ The Advertiser sponsors an Advertisement for an Announcement group, which means that the Advertising is on the Prompt for that Announcement group.
To use this technique, you need to create an Advertising Group with only one Advertisement in it (the singular sponsorship Ad). You may then select this Advertising Group on the tree object that the Client is sponsoring.
Specialized Advertising Groups
This is something to consider when you decide which Advertisements to put in which Advertising Groups. A specialized Advertising Group is an Ad Group that contains related Advertisements. For example, you may be able to divide your Advertisements into 'local' and 'regional' Advertisements. Other relations may be by subject (promotional/sales, public service/awareness, etc.), or by intended audience (adolescents, the elderly, general public).
The benefit of having specialized Advertising Groups is that you may relate the Advertisements to areas of the system tree. For instance, you may decide to place an Advertising Group containing Sporting Goods Shops and products Ads on a Sports Prompt. Each time the caller accesses the Sports Prompt, they hear an Advertisement that relates to the messages they want to hear.
Although you may see specialized Ad Groups as unnecessary or unimportant, it shows callers that you are willing to take extra steps to provide them with a good service. Also, this structure may help you sell a client on the idea -- if you were the Client, wouldn't you want your Advertisement heard by people who are more likely to take notice?
This section of the chapter deals with Advertisers calling your system and accessing it remotely to record or change their Advertisement. Although the Advertiser remotely accesses your system, they use a different form of remote access. While you have the power to do just about everything remotely, the Advertiser may only record or change their Advertisement.
Concepts
If you are recording the Advertisement for the Advertiser, then you may record the Advertisement at your computer. This allows you to perform all of the functions necessary for the Advertising right at the computer.
Another possibility is that the Advertiser may give you a script for their Advertising Message. You could then record this message either at the computer or by remotely calling into the system.
Quite often, Advertisers prefer to record their own Advertisements. Before the Advertiser may call in to record their Advertisement, you must first add and configure the Advertiser box for them. Make sure to write down the Password you assign to the Advertiser box, as well as the Ad ID. The Advertiser needs these numbers to remotely access and record their Advertisement. Appendix D: Advertiser Remote Access Instruction Sheet on page 267 contains an Instruction Sheet for the Advertiser, so that they can call in and record their Advertisement. This sheet also has spaces for you to write their Ad ID and their Password. There is also space for you to include the phone number to your system, and the daily hours of operation.
Procedure
The Advertiser uses the following procedure to record their Advertisement:
• First, the Advertiser calls the phone number of the system at a time that the system is running (you supply the Advertiser with this information).
• During the playback of the System Greeting message, the Advertiser presses #3 on their phone. The system plays the message "Enter Ad ID, followed by pound key".
• The Advertiser enters the number of their Ad ID, then presses #. The system plays the message "Enter Password, followed by pound key".
• The Advertiser enters their Password, then presses the # key on their phone.
• Provided that the Advertiser enters this information correctly, the following menu plays to the Advertiser:
"Press 1 to record a new Speech. Press 2 to play the new Speech. Press 3 to hear old Speech. Press 4 to save the new Speech. Press 5 to discard new speech."
• The Advertiser presses the 1 key, and a message says "Please begin recording after the beep". The tone sounds, and the Advertiser begins recording their Advertisement. When the Advertiser finishes recording, they press any key on their phone, or they may simply stop talking.
• The Advertising menu plays again, and the Advertiser presses the 2 key to hear their newly recorded Advertisement. The Advertisement plays.
• Satisfied with the recording, the Advertiser presses the 4 key. This saves the newly recorded Advertisement, and they exit to the normal Parent Teacher Hotline system at the Initial Prompt. The Advertiser decides to hang up, and the call ends.
If the caller decides to press the 5 key to cancel, their changes are discarded and they return to the normal Parent Teacher Hotline system at the Initial Prompt.