Skype released this video to the U.S. and Canadian press for editing into nightly news reports. It has (a) sound bites by a Skype executive (the new payment plan), (b) a finance counselor (saving money is a good thing), and (c) a user (staying in touch with family is good. especially when it doesn't cost you as much.)

I'm posting this less because it is newsworthy than the contrast in brand notes. On the one hand you have Don Albert emphasizing Skype's value added features, how it improves communication and is qualitatively different from phone calls. On the other hand, you have Skype's Unlimited Calling plan coming in at a disruptive 10% of comparable plans from AT&T, Verizon, Vonage et al. Which message comes through stronger? Savings.

Skype's biggest challenge? Getting people to understand this is $X per year, not per month. When you hear $40, you say "I'm paying about that now, what's new about that?" But I pay $40 monthly to AT&T long distance for flat rate service throughout the US (not sure about Canada). I may just pocket that.

Does adoption rise when people pay? The big win here is framing Skype as comparable to existing services, and a very low cost alternative. People are angry, scared, frustrated, and desperate over their communication bills. I don't have any teenagers at home and I spend about $60 on mobile, $80 for local and dsl; about $2200/year with long distance thrown in.

I'm sure the money will look very good come April's investor conference call, and will set a pattern for other regions.

I'd love to see Skype carve out discount programs for K-12 schools and teachers.