News - August, 2006
BEAM Initiative Officially Launches in Time for the School Year
Organization re-brands its initiative providing projectors and multimedia tools to students and schools
BEAM Initiative has successfully re-branded itself just in time for the fall semester. Formally known as Blazing Arrow, Inc., the company principals decided to undergo a total company makeover, re-thinking its brand and undertaking a new logo design with Logobee.com. BEAM Initiative is designed to provide teachers the use of multimedia LCD projectors to assist in curriculum and content delivery to students. With the business model fully-developed, BEAM Initiative is rolling-out its programs and services nationwide into schools within the next year.
"BEAM Initiative is a great name, and I think the new logo and brand will carry us very far in our marketing efforts" said Jason Rider, President of BEAM Initiative. "Interestingly, BEAM is also short hand for our slogan, 'Business, Education & Media.' It's the intersection of these three faculties that allows BEAM Initiative to provide teachers with our resources."
LogoBee has been helping BEAM Initiative on the name change and re-design, and has recently put the finishing touches on the logo desiogn. The updated design will be branded everywhere from the projectors themselves to portions of screen displays, in addition to their marketing and promotional materials. It's a strategic effort designed to attract business partnerships and gain needed exposure / recognition among schools.
Research has shown that effective use of projectors and multimedia tools can greatly improve teacher-student communication through the use of PowerPoint presentations, online queries, streaming video and live software demonstrations. However, such equipment is costly to procure and maintain, and it has been found that these tools need to be used on a regular basis in order to be most effective.
BEAM Initiative relies primarily on the help of community and corporate sponsors to keep their services free to schools. In order to help cover costs of the projectors, a small portion of the projector screen is dedicated to BEAM Initiative's sponsors. "The reality is that most schools are under-funded for this type of equipment" said Jason Rider of BEAM. "But it shouldn't mean that they should simply go without. That's where we come in."
Beam Initiative has been successful in working with a early adopters, piloting the project in a number of high schools in Northern Colorado. They have also obtained initial sponsorships from organizations such as The Afterschool Alliance, LogoBee Design and the Denver Zoo.
"We're really excited about these new developments. As an educator I look forward to making a difference in the way curriculum is delivered in schools using content-rich media" concluded Rider.