The Domus Digital News Vault is an off-the-shelf, ready-to-go product that you can start using immediately for your next news release. If you already have the resources in place to create your press materials, Domus, Inc. can take your files and build your Vault within 24 hours. If you are new to PR, Domus has a large staff of PR professionals who can help with your media strategy as well as your media relations.

An overview of the product’s main features follows. To experience a working News Vault for yourself, check out our demo Vault at domus.PRVault.com.  Then contact Bob Vogel at bvogel@domus1.com or 215-772-2183.

Loading The Vault

The PR professional determines what information to post inside of The Vault. Because all of the information is distributed electronically, the Vault can hold substantially more information than would be practical to include in a conventional press kit. For example, journalists can be offered a larger library of product photos from which to choose, greatly increasing the likelihood that a photo will be picked up and used. In addition, the Vault can hold larger amounts of background resources that the journalists can tap into to supplement and support their reporting.

Password Protection

Once the Vault is loaded with the press materials, the PR professional compiles a targeted list of journalists who will be provided access to the Vault. The Vault can be configured to require individual user names and passwords for each visiting journalist, or set up a common user names and passwords . Journalists who forget their passwords can request that one is sent to them at the e-mail address on file. Visitors who do not have a user name and password can register for one, and the Vault can be configured to automatically and immediately grant access, or to delay authorization until the visitor’s affiliation can be verified.

Shopping Cart Functionality

One of the unique and powerful features of the Domus Digital News Vault is the “shopping cart” model used to give journalists the ability to build their own customized digital press kits.

As soon as the journalist logs in, the primary press release is displayed in the main window of the Vault. The user interface provides an at-a-glance summary of the information that is available in the Vault, clearly organized into categories. Such as Corporate Info, Product / Service Info, Market Info, etc. The journalists can click on any item listed for a quick preview of the document or image, and then determine whether or not the information is something they want to retrieve.

Another unique feature is the opportunity for journalists to select the file format(s) they want their information sent in. The Vault has the capacity to set up individual preferences for each visiting journalist which, once set-up, automatically picks the right file format for future downloads.

Individual items can be easily added or removed from the press kit.

Rapid Delivery

When the journalists are ready to have their customized digital press kits delivered, the kits are automatically compiled and compressed. A unique name is assigned to each digital press kit, and the total file size is displayed. At this point, the journalists can decide whether they want to immediately download the press kits directly onto their computers, or they would prefer to have the files sent to them as an attachment to an e-mail.

Reporting

The Domus Digital News Vault includes a reporting function that helps the PR professionals keep better track of which journalists have received what information, and when it was received. This allows for a more intelligent and efficient follow-up program.

Publishing

An embargo date is posted in each News Vault, which indicates to the journalists how long the information will remain in its pre-released status. Once the embargo date has passed, some or all of the information in the Vault will be transferred to the main corporate web site of the company.  That corporate website is often inside of an e-news room managed by Domus, Inc. as part of its more comprehensive Digital PR Service.