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SmartVideo Technology: Product Spotlights 2017

Apryl Casale March 14, 2018
SmartVideo Technology: Product Spotlights 2017

When is the last time you watched a video online?

Whether on the train, in the bathroom (we hear that’s where a lot of video is consumed), at work or laying in bed, it was likely that it happened within the last 24 hours. 

So it should come as no surprise that consumers are becoming more and more video-centric. According to Forrester, US adults spend 6.5 hours a week watching online video. Gone are the days of passive internet searches and static social media updates. Thanks to some of this decades most prominent new comers, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube, the masses are encouraged to consume (read over-consume) engage, and influence with video as the primary medium.

These behaviors are shining an ever-growing spotlight on the importance of video for brands, and the role it plays in accelerating engagement, influencing behavior, and building brand advocacy with the hyper-connected consumer. As the customer journey continues to blur and the breadth of competitive options expand, it’s imperative that marketers build trust with their customers. As such, Fortune 500 CMOs are mandating that video is a core part of their customer strategy and the marketing technology stack.

The message from the top is clear, video is a strategy that can not be ignored.

With that in mind, our product and R&D teams worked tirelessly throughout 2017 to enhance our SmartVideo technology with capabilities that enable enterprise marketing teams to seamlessly execute personalized video, at scale, throughout every stage of the customer lifecycle. Below are a few of those enhancements.

SmartVideo Advertising on Facebook

In 2017 SundaySky became a certified Facebook Marketing Partner and to date we have served over 65 million personalized videos on the world’s largest social platform!  According to Forrester, 69% of US online adults visit Facebook at least once per month. Our SmartVideo technology combined with that audience has seen ROAS results that are 4X better than any other video program on Facebook.

Unlike dynamic display product ads and brand video advertising on Facebook, SmartVideo advertising on Facebook is personalized to the consumer. That means millions of videos are rendered in real-time for each product, category & format.  How does that work? We leverage the data collected onsite, from the brand’s CRM, and Facebook’s WCA audiences to render a dynamic ad used to drive the desired next best action for each individual.

Our clients have seen a ton of success from using SmartVideo advertising on Facebook, click here to learn how SmartVideo drove 193% better than the target CPA goal for Cox Communications.

Advertising Viewability and Fraud Verification Capabilities

If you haven’t yet heard about the ever growing spotlight on transparency within digital advertising, all you have to do is give it a quick Google search to find a treasure trove of information. Industry watchdogs, like the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB,) along with the help of some of the largest advertisers in the world are shining a light on waste within the ads supply chain and demanding change.

We strive to be a trusted partner for our clients and, as such, our product team focused their efforts on strengthening the underlying AI capabilities of the SmartVideo algorithm, which ranks and prioritizes ad opportunities based on the likelihood of the viewer to convert in a brand safe environment, to enhance our Verification capabilities. Although we always bid on the highest quality inventory, there are now safeguards in place designed to ensure maximum Viewability and Reach in a Brand Safe inventory, as well.

We’ve also integrated with industry leading performance measurement partners like DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science in order to provide greater visibility into our end-to-end ad performance and ensure that we provide the best user experience.

Always.be.learning, that’s the SmartVideo Algorithm motto! 

As the Algorithm continues to learn, our team will proactively look to enhance our technology to ensure we are driving value for our customers through trust and transparency.

RaaS API Enhancements

The consumer’s state is constantly changing, why should their video experience be static?

Let’s say you receive a year-end email from your preferred airline provider recapping your travels for the year. After opening and watching the recap video, you get on a plane the next day to Bali. While lounging in the sun (wearing sun block of course), you show your friends the video you recently received. They loved the video – except your trip to Bali wasn’t included.

As data changes over time, videos should change, as well, to contain the most up-to-date and relevant information.

The ability to render personalized videos in real-time is one of the most distinguishing components of SundaySky SmartVideo.

This year our team made significant enhancements to our RaaS (Rendering as a Service) API, which powers the generation and streaming of SmartVideo in real-time. This has enabled SmartVideos to be generated with zero data storage, which allows us to meet various security and privacy requirements that many partners can’t, and has made the viewer experience as seamless as possible.

Adobe After Effects

Finally, we released our Adobe After Effects Extension, which is a plug-in to the industry-standard application, that allows creative partners to design and animate personalized videos on their own. This, along with our Rendering-as-a-Service (RaaS) API, will enable independence in creation and delivery of SmartVideos.

After all, every consumer deserves one-to-one personalized video engagements from the brands they love, and we want to ensure the SmartVideo creation process fits into the equation for brands with all kinds of creative process structures.