Category Archives: September 2006

September 2006 – Client of The Month – Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare

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Client of the Month

HOLDCOM congratulates the award-winning Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare, located in Rosemont, Illinois, as our “Client of the Month” for September 2006! Since 1996, the Hotel has benefited from HOLDCOM’s professional Message On-Hold services.

As a full-service, upscale, all-suite hotel, the Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare is an ideal destination for those traveling for business or pleasure. Conveniently located near downtown Chicago and just 1 mile from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the Hotel offers beautifully appointed suites and a wide range of amenities to suit the particular needs of their guests.

Through Message On Hold technology, HOLDCOM has helped the Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare inform their patrons of the many amenities to be enjoyed during their stay. In addition, the Hotel utilizes their on-hold program to announce additional services that patrons may not be aware of. “For example,” states Dawn Trandel, Associate Director of Sales, “they may frequently use the Hotel for business meetings, but they may not realize that weddings are also our specialty. The on-hold program is a great way for us to communicate this to our callers.”

The Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare has also consistently used their Message On Hold program to announce special hotel promotions. Trandel cites: “We have used the onhold service to help sell our New Year’s Eve Packages, invite customers to try our new restaurant menu, and alert them of special savings that may be currently available to them.”

In conclusion, Trandel had the following to say about her relationship with HOLDCOM: “My experience with HOLDCOM has been nothing but positive. They prove to be a partner in our success versus a standard supplier. Their expertise, follow-up, and execution are excellent.”

Congratulations once again to the Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare!

Voiceover Spotlight: Liz

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Our featured voice over for September is the talented and compassionate Liz. In a world of increasing globalization, her fluency in European French, as well as 15 years experience in voiceover recording, has opened many opportunities for her.

As a voiceover, Liz says that “I really enjoy the creativity of getting the clients’ message across with only my voice to convey it…I feel as if I’m getting an education, and getting paid for it…I’m always learning and meeting amazing people!”

Liz had been working with HOLDCOM’s Neil Fishman in another capacity for 8 years when it dawned on them that Voice Over Recordings could be another way that they could work together! “Whenever I walk out of HOLDCOM I always have a smile on my face!” explains Liz. “Everyone is great to work with. Professional, AND really fun – what better working environment could there be?”

Alongside her voiceover work, Liz runs a website/business www.caregiverscommunity.com where she shares her personal experiences as a caregiver for her parents and helps other caregivers to deal with the stress caused by caring for an ill friend/relative: “If you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot be an effective caregiver”. Liz goes onto state, “My rallying cry to caregivers is: ‘Yes, you’re allowed to have fun! Yes you’re allowed to have a life, Yes you’re allowed guilt-free joy!’

Liz was also a Trade Attaché at the French Embassy Trade Office in New York and was a freelance French/English escort-interpreter for French business prospectors. Outside of her time as a voice talent and caregiver, Liz enjoys skiing with her husband.

Hospitality Chains: Getting the Most out of Message On Hold

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Attention Hotel & Resort Clients!

Are you getting the most out of YOUR Message On Hold Program?

  • Are you announcing your current promotions regarding room rates and package deals?
  • Have you recently acquired new amenities? Has your facility recently undergone a renovation? Are you conveying these improvements to your callers on hold?
  • Does your on-hold message appropriately cross-promote all of the restaurants, cafes, and clubs affiliated with your hotel?
  • Are you able to accommodate corporate functions, weddings, and other social gatherings? Is your onhold message effectively communicating this information to your callers?
  • Does your on-hold program provide leisure travelers with a list of local sites, activities, and events they may enjoy when visiting your hotel/resort?
  • Does your program provide business travelers with pertinent business-related information, such as meeting space available at your location?
  • What makes your hotel/resort truly unique? Are you expressing this to your callers in your on-hold program?

If you’re program is missing any of this information, contact us to update your Message on Hold script!

Branding With Character (Oddcast)

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An increasingly cluttered online commercial environment has prompted companies to identify and promote their Unique Selling Proposition in more effective and creative ways. Brand awareness and product personality campaigns must now exceed traditional designs and utilize the opportunities provided by new technology.

Constant innovation is the key to survival. If a business is not progressing, it is falling behind.

Enter Oddcast – a company that provides the corporate world with a personality, voice and, literally, a face. By utilizing flash -based technology, Oddcast produces and delivers digital avatars…customized “talking” characters known as VHosts, whose appearance and voices stimulate consumer engagement and interaction. Oddcast VHosts will improve and enhance an otherwise impersonal website by adding creative aesthetic appeal and an interactive experience.

As the leader in voice production, HOLDCOM was selected by Oddcast to manage its online SitePal Voice Talent Store by providing a roster of exemplary voice talent to produce and deliver audio recordings for the SitePal avatars, including the fulfillment of foreign language requirements for global VHost applications.

Oddcast and HOLDCOM provide progressive alternatives that produce positive results and improve the consumer / corporation relationship, creating raving fans by facilitating communication, capturing attention and sustaining interest. And, the effects and necessity of Oddcast’s services are rapidly catching on – In the Wall Street Journal’s July 10th issue, they too tout the effectiveness and exceptional ROI of avatar viral marketing campaigns compared to conventional advertising.

It is no longer enough for a business to merely reach out and solicit customers. Companies must create an attraction and e-commerce experience that encourages customers to come to them. If clothes make the man, then audio/visual presentation makes the enterprise.

HOLDCOM is proud to be the voice behind many great Oddcast projects and invites you to find the VHost that works best for you at http://www.oddcast.com/sitepal.

CBS Evening News

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HOLDCOM was recently the locale for a CBS Evening News segment about the growth and popularity of voice talent services for the booming automated call processing industry. On the morning of August 9th, CBS news correspondent Sharon Alfonsi and her crew filmed a live recording session at HOLDCOM’s studio facility in Glen Rock, NJ. Louanne Frederickson engineered the session with veteran HOLDCOM voice talent, Paul Payton. Interviews were conducted with Paul and Neil Fishman, (HOLDCOM President), and the spot aired that evening on the CBS network. When asked why HOLDCOM was chosen from amongst the many audio production companies in the New York/Metro region, CBS cited the appeal of our website and recognition as an established industry leader.

To view the segment, visit: http://www.holdcom.com/newsletters/CBS_news_video.wmv