The traditional method of TVC delivery and storage has always been relatively prone to human error, management inefficiency, security issues and, last but not least, cost. Digitalised footage had to be transferred to Beta SP tapes and shuffled between production, post-production and audio companies, which entailed progressive image quality loss as tapes had to be copied over and over again.
Physical delivery of finalised tapes by messengers to the broadcasters was not only time-intensive but also potentially compromised security. Then there was the possibility that broadcasters would load the wrong TVC version. All in all, it sometimes could get rather messy.
Enter Carmine Masiello, an Italian-born industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the international arena. An entrepreneur with intuition, ingenuity and - most importantly - initiative, he developed his brainchild eBUS from scratch with the view of finally archiving traditional tape management on the dusty shelf of history.
Partnering with industry icons Michael Orton, Ian Watson and Robert Skinner, he introduced his web-based eBUS system in his chosen new homeland of New Zealand in 2005, where it almost immediately attracted strong interest among agencies and production companies. eBUS renders tape machines obsolete, ensures better image quality than Beta SP, enables an efficient workflow between production house and advertiser and, thus, less man hours, facilitates lightning-fast digital delivery, negates the need for physical tape delivery and eliminates human error.
There are no costs for the broadcaster partner, nor is any investment required from either agency or production house. New customers simply open an account with the company, install the system on their existing IT network and all is set. eBUS works with easy-to-use interfaces and provides different system versions specifically adapted to suit the needs of all customer segments.
Fully digitalised transfers of a typical TVC can take as little as 50 minutes and broadcasters can put the submitted material on air immediately without having to go through another conversion process. Submitted commercials can be stored on the company’s server almost indefinitely to be accessible to any authorised party at any time. There are no licensing fees for using the software. Instead, the company charges a certain fee per transmission.
“In New Zealand, the eBUS system has delivered [since its introduction in 2005] over 32,000 television commercials to leading broadcasters, who are now such strong supporters of digital delivery that TVC distribution [in the country] is completely tapeless,” asserted Masiello.
The company opened its first offshore office in Singapore in 2007 and moved into Thailand’s capital Bangkok in November last year. The Advertising Association of Thailand (AAT) indicated early support for the system’s introduction and together with the company organised a series of workshop and orientation seminars that were attended heavily by all leading agencies, production and post-production companies and broadcasters.
AAT president emeritus Chaipranin Visudhipol said “the high-level support from leading broadcasters in Thailand shows that the industry is taking a giant leap towards tapeless delivery.”
The product was launched in Thailand which is an important hub in the Asia-Pacific region for the creative and advertising industries. Numerous international TVC productions use Bangkok’s state-of-the-art facilities for their post-production work.
As such, eBUS has already secured commitments from some of the largest broadcasters, both terrestrial and cable- or satellite-based.
“We have installed [the system] and trained staff at leading broadcasters such as Channel 3, Channel 5, MCOT (Channels 9 and 11) and VGI, while others such as TrueTV, are also keen to adopt the technology,” said Noppakorn Thongman, general manager of eBUS (Thailand).
“The eBUS digital TVC delivery system is another step in the progression of Thailand’s media industry,” he added.
The company also plans to open an office in India later this year where it expects the eBUS system will be welcomed with open arms, primarily because of the subcontinent’s sheer vastness and particularly large industry.
“India is a very large market with tens of thousands of commercials being produced each year. Distribution [to the broadcasters] is extraordinarily difficult because of the country’s geographical size. We believe eBUS will bring enormous efficiency benefits to India’s agencies and production companies,” Masiello concluded. ASIAIMAGE Carmine Masiello eBus Founder and CEO
After starting a software development and IT consultancy firm in the 1980s in his native Italy, Carmine Masiello launched and nurtured two multimedia and post-production companies, Digigraf and Bluedit. Both became leading players in their respective markets. After selling off both companies in 2002, he sailed out from Italy with his family for a world travel experience, along the way “discovering” New Zealand, where they decided to settle. After some consulting activity for a business incubator firm and mentoring a start-up company in Auckland, Masiello founded eBUS in early 2005.
In 2007, Masiello won a Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Gen-I NZ Incubator Awards and, in 2008, succeeded in raising capital from Movac & Sam Morgan (TradeMe) to support his brainchild’s further international expansion into Thailand and India. Masiello holds a First Class BS Engineering degree from the University of Naples and has extensive management experience both in Italy and New Zealand. He is also a past and present member of several entrepreneurial and investment organisations both in New Zealand and Italy.
Contact details: New Zealand: eBUS Limited 29 Hargreaves Street St. Mary’s Bay, Auckland 1011 Tel: +64 9 550 0810 Fax: +64 28 891729 Website: www.ebus.tv
Thailand: eBUS Limited Level 29, The Offices at Central World, 999/9 Rama I Rd. Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel: +66 2 207 2327 Fax: +66 2 207 2337
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