Massachusetts State Referee Committee Scores Big, Using Brainshark to Cut Soccer Ref Training Costs in Half

Center is Latest Grant Recipient in Brainshark Non-Profit Program

WALTHAM, Mass. - July 14, 2009 - Brainshark, Inc., a leader in on-demand presentations, today announced that the Massachusetts State Referee Committee (MSRC) reduced the cost of its soccer referee training program by 50 percent and saved 20 percent of its overall annual operating budget through its use of Brainshark. The MSRC, the state referee association for the United States Soccer Federation, provides training, certification and other services for more than 5,000 referees, who officiate more than 350,000 games annually.

Previously, referees participated in a 16-hour, classroom-based training course prior to the season. The MSRC moved half of this initial training program to Brainshark - enabling the referees to instead watch online multimedia presentations at their leisure that incorporated audio, survey/ comprehension questions, attachments and more. This alleviated staffing and materials costs for the MSRC, as well as travel time and expenses for the non-profit organization and referees alike.

In addition to the major cost-savings realized through Brainshark, the MSRC has gained greater consistency in the quality of training content and is able to track training completion using Brainshark's advanced reporting capabilities. The MSRC reports that its referees love the convenience of the online training model and feel the multimedia presentations promote better knowledge retention.

"For a non-profit, saving 20 percent of our annual operating budget has a significant impact and helps us free up money and time for other priorities and programs to serve our constituents," said John Utter, Brainshark administrator, the MSRC. "The positive feedback from our students - as well as from the players, coaches and fans they then work with - has been overwhelming."

A Brainshark training presentation used by the MSRC to address player equipment can be viewed at http://www.brainshark.com/massref/law4.. The MSRC is planning to extend its use of Brainshark beyond referee training to include recertification and upgrades; training for assignors, instructors and assessors; and recruiting and retention efforts to help realize even greater cost savings.

"Today's economic climate requires that all organizations cut costs and improve efficiencies wherever possible," said Brainshark CEO Joe Gustafson. "By leveraging a technology like Brainshark's, organizations such as the MSRC can move their live interactions to an on-demand environment, reducing costs and improving the effectiveness, efficiency and convenience of communications."

About the Massachusetts State Referee Committee

The Massachusetts State Referee Committee (MSRC) is the state referee association for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). It provides referee training, certification, assessment, and all around education for soccer officials engaged in youth, adult, amateur and professional and International soccer matches in Massachusetts.

About Brainshark Inc.

Brainshark is the leader in on-demand presentations, transforming static business content into high-impact communications. Delivered via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Brainshark enables audiences to access and engage with business content when and how they want. Users also can access the Brainshark Content Network, the premier online marketplace for on-demand, user-generated business content. More than 1,000 companies - including a third of the Fortune 100 - rely on Brainshark software and services to help sales, marketing, training and HR experts cost-effectively deliver measurable results to their organizations. For more information, visit www.brainshark.com.