The Latest in Rich Media Technology
ClickZ, November 12, 2004
By Rob Graham

I first looked at Oddcast a few years ago, and thought it was a fun product but with limited use as an online marketing tool. This week, I took another look. I'm very impressed with how the product has evolved into a truly dynamic marketing approach. And it's still fun!

According to Oddcast CEO Adi Sideman, the company currently has 2,200 customers who use the technology to assist with online marketing. Uses ranges from simple, in-page talking-head help assistants to fully dynamic viral programs that allow users to modify characters on the fly and share the results with others.

Oddcast's technology creates Flash-based virtual characters that can reside on Web pages. They greet customers, answer FAQs, or explain product lines. Virtual characters can easily be made using Oddcast's VHost Studio program. It can convert photograph headshots into a vector-based art file. Add a voice track, either recorded or generated by a voice engine that coverts text to voice, and it's automatically lip-synced with the head shot. The result is a clever person (or animal or object) who communicates with customers 24/7. These characters can be used in Web pages, e-mail, and rich media banners.