M e d i c i n e A ve 2 t ate a mood that will engage the viewer's multiple senses, leaving little to the imagination In days gone by, the presenter's skill at spellbinding a client, coupled with the breadth and depth of a client's imagination, were the key factors in achieving the "sale" of a new idea. Great sums of money were spent on oversized boards—with the new concepts enlarged to poster size to dramatize the impact of the new messages, campaign manuals with collections of presentation slides, etc. Today, presentation programs such as PowerPoint enable the creation and production of digital slides quickly—sometimes in just a few hours—eliminating the need for acetate sheets, overhead projectors, 24-hour slide production houses, and many other remnants of an earlier age. With computers, agencies can assemble minimovie presentations complete with sound, video, and crisp graphics to create a mood that will engage the viewer's multiple senses, leaving little to the imagination. However, one drawback to the use of computers in the development of more sophisticated presentations is the erosion of personal presentation skills. As communications theorists know, there is a point in the presentation of complicated messages where the human element is essential. And there are few advertising messages in the pharmaceutical world that are not complicated. Another potential drawback is that less- sophisticated clients may be led to believe that the electric speed of production and transmission also applies to the creative process, which it does not. Recognizing and communicating that difference still remains a critical element of agency-client relations. Computers and the Internet also have been used to eliminate the need for face-to-face presentations, substituting videoconferencing or Web-casting via programs such as WebEx to eliminate huge travel budgets for marketing teams. 104
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