HearMe Makes Noise with Multi-Million Dollar Campaign

Internet telephony provider HearMe this week took the wraps off a national campaign aimed to capture the ears, and the attention, of Web developers and consumers.

Although the company said the print, radio, TV, and online campaign would be a multimillion dollar effort, HearMe didn’t reveal specific numbers.

Set in a monastery where monks have taken a vow of silence, the ads show how HearMe brings the surprising sound of a live voice to the Internet.

The television ads show one monk, Bartholemew, who, facing disapproval from his brothers, begins to discover the joys of conversing on the Internet — getting tips for bread baking and gardening. Print and radio ads follow the monastery theme, in which the monks who break their vows represent Internet users enthusiastically embracing live voice technology.

The ads were created by Doremus & Company, a unit of Omnicom Group (OMC), and produced by the award-winning director, Jonathan David.

The company’s television spots started running April 17 on national cable channels and on local broadcast stations in high-tech markets such as New York City, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco.

HearMe’s radio spots began on the same day, and will run in New York City, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and San Jose.

Print ads will appear in business and technology publications.

HearMe says more than 350 TV spots will air during the next three months; radio spots will air 2100 times in the course of the next 16 weeks; and 65 print insertions will appear between now and July 2000.

“HearMe’s vision is to equip every individual, every Web site and every e-business around the world with live voice technology,” said Jeremy Verba, president and chief operating officer of HearMe.

“In this highly competitive environment, it’s not enough to build the most viable, comprehensive and advanced live voice technology company, you’ve got to make noise. And with the launch of this aggressive marketing campaign, we’ll make sure everyone knows that the silence has been broken – and that HearMe is the leader in the new ‘live voice’ marketplace.”