Sonic Foundry and Meeting Professionals International Foundation Partner on First Comprehensive Research on Hybrid Events

MADISON, Wis., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the trusted market leader for lecture capture, enterprise and event webcasting, today announced it has partnered with the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation to conduct MPI's first comprehensive research on hybrid events.

Hybrid events complement traditional face-to-face events with real-time viewing over the web. There is currently no comprehensive research about the topic, and this new initiative will provide a roadmap that clearly shows the practices, strategies and emerging trends that will impact the skill set of meeting professionals in the future. The project will dive deep into the steps involved in developing and implementing a digital meeting strategy, focusing on the goals and objectives for why one should implement online components with face-to-face events, the options for taking an event online and the different platforms, tools, vendors and subject matter for planning hybrid meetings.

"This important research into hybrid events will provide credible, relevant and accessible knowledge and tools which will help make meeting professionals more successful when tasked with strategically expanding their organization's meeting portfolio with a hybrid component," said Didier Scaillet, Chief Development Officer of MPI and MPI Foundation.  "We're proud to partner with Sonic Foundry on this important study, and we hope that together we can raise awareness and interest in hybrid events."

MPI is the meeting and event industry's largest and most vibrant global community with more than 23,000 members, and the Hybrid Meetings and Events Research Project is a specific focus area within the MPI Foundation.

"Hybrid events are near and dear to my heart, and I'm glad MPI and Sonic Foundry are diving into this topic. As someone who has produced hybrid events, I know the incredible impact that these events can have on the remote attendees," said Samuel J. Smith of Interactive Meeting Technology, LLC, the lead researcher contracted by MPI to do this study. "This study will help identify the key elements that make a great hybrid event and create a roadmap for planners that want to learn from others' success."

To support this research initiative, Sonic Foundry and MPI invite meeting professionals, participants and supplier partners, regardless if they have produced or attended a hybrid event in the past, to provide their insights in a short 10-minute survey. As a thank you, everyone who completes the survey before March 30 will be entered a drawing for an iPad2.

"Sonic Foundry is proud to partner with MPI to support both its Foundation and its hybrid events research agenda," said Gary Weis, CEO of Sonic Foundry. "We believe hybrid events offer a valuable complement to the physical, face-to-face event, an approach that is increasingly important in today's world of travel restrictions and budget constraints. This research represents an important opportunity to document the latest thinking in what meeting professionals need to know to produce a successful hybrid event and to lay a solid groundwork for the future of meetings which blend both onsite and online engagement strategies before, during and after the event."

About Meeting Professionals International
Meeting Professionals International is the meeting and event industry's largest and most vibrant global community. It serves its 23,000+ members by providing human connections to knowledge and ideas, relationships and marketplaces. MPI and the MPI Foundation work diligently to improve the future of the meetings and events industry. 

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the trusted market leader for enterprise webcasting and lecture capture, providing video communication solutions for education, business and government. Powered by the patented Mediasite webcasting platform and Mediasite Events group, the company empowers people to transform the way they communicate online, using video webcasts to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance. Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.