By sabina | May 13th, 2011 | No Comments | Digital video, Our stuff, Tools

Since everybody’s been quite busy playing with CreateStation, we didn’t get the chance to give you more details about the relaunch of our interactive video platform BrainStudio.

The new version comes with an improved look & feel that make it easier than ever for you to spot different buttons and settings and understand how it all works. We’ve kept the same layout, with the video on the top of the page, the library on the right side and the timeline at the bottom. This way you don’t get confused and find everything right were you were expecting they would be. The library is now better organized in 8 categories of layers from polls & questionnaires to social sharing interactive elements. By clicking on them you only need to follow a few steps and set your preferences and that’s how you end up with an interactive video, really. And it only takes a few minutes.

Here you have a few screenshots so you can get an idea of what the BrainStudio looks like. In order to register you have to click here.
Oh, one more detail: we’ve also made it completely free so there’s nothing standing in your way to go and create cool interactive videos.

By sabina | March 30th, 2011 | No Comments | Buzz, Digital video

It was less than a month ago when here at Brainient we were talking about the fact that the future is interactive. Because we love being busy , we’ve spent the past few weeks working on the next big interactive thing: we are now ready to take live streaming to the next level by providing interactivity at the GeeknRolla by TechCrunch Europe conference today.

With a little help from our magic platform Brainstudio, we have created some special features that will allow viewers to interact with the live stream at TechCrunch’s event.Some of these cool elements include a live Twitter feed, more information about the speaker and an interactive agenda that will show what’s up next.

GeeknRola is the annual conference that brings together Europe’s technology startups to network with investors and talk about how they create and build themselves. It is taking place today, March the 30th at Park Plaza Victoria. Major guest speakers at this year’s conference include Dave Mcclure, founder 500 Startups and well known super-angel, Josh Williams, co-founder & CEO of Gowalla, Iain Dodsworth, founder & CEO of TweetDeck and Tariq Krim,  founder of Jolicloud.

If you don’t have a ticket for today, enjoy the interactive live streaming of the GeeknRolla event and feel free to drop a line and tell us how you liked the experience.

By sabina | March 3rd, 2011 | No Comments | Digital video, Fun, Innovation

Most people skip ads. And if they don’t click the skip button on Youtube, they will check their Facebook profile, will send e-mails or text messages while the annoying ad is running. We’re all familiar to this scenario: watching TV and switching the channels when commercials pop up on the screen. Even though people didn’t like it, the only solution was to get up and refill the popcorn bowl or take a quick shower. However, things have changed and viewers are not just spectators, they’ve become users and their expectations are higher: people want to interact with the content.

Hotspots are cool, Facebook and Twitter buttons that allow us to share stuff are also great. But remember that Tipp-Ex ad called ‘A hunter shoots a bear’. Now that was really amazing. Still not convinced? Then check this incredible Citroen ad out!
Now imagine sitting in your comfortable seat at the cinema, eating your nachos and waiting for all those boring ads to finish in order for your ‘shoot’em bang-bang’ to commence. What if there were some magical 3D glasses with a tiny button that would allow you to interact with the big screen? It might sound like I’m talking sci-fi here but at Brainient we are used to dreaming big and wanting to change the video advertising world

By sabina | January 21st, 2011 | 4 Comments | Digital video, Innovation, Trends

It was last week when I was rather impatiently trying to find out where could I watch a live streaming of the Golden Globes awards ceremony. I was quite disappointed because after approximately 30 seconds of searching I still didn’t have a clue whether there’ll be a live streaming and who was going to do it.

You might find yourselves in the same situation: wondering how a major event could NOT be streamed live so we don’t have to wait until the next morning to read about the winners or get to comment the outfits.
The good news is that progress is being made in this department. Brightcove will bring the Sundance Film Festival online so make sure you check that out and share some thoughts about the experience.
Live streaming will soon be everywhere because people want to be able to watch not only film festivals, movie premiers or awards ceremonies. They also want to discover touching stories brought online like the annual ‘Nick’s Marathon‘ or really cool & innovative initiatives like the ‘HP ePrint Live‘ event- HP has partnered with YouTube in order to live-stream an improvisational comedy show.

Reading about DKNY and their first webcast of the Spring 2011collection on biglive.com reminded me that Burberry were testing the waters last year when streaming their runway show live in different stores around the world and assistants were taking orders on iPads. The first trench coat was sold within minutes.
But live streaming isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Interactive live streaming. I don’t really have the time to go to a Burberry store in order to watch the show and maybe order a piece that I like. I want to be able to do it from the comfort of my own desk, on my own iPad or laptop. And I also want to be able to discuss the options with my girlfriends via social network channels and have all the details about the products.

When I think about the Facebook live streaming of the Sex and The City premiere last spring, the only thing missing was an option allowing me to scroll over Sarah Jessica Parker’s dress and get more details about it. I had to wait until the next day to find out it was actually Valentino, not Versace as I would have thought.
By now, you should have gotten really curios and excited about this whole live streaming idea, so if you want to see more magic, innovation and interactivity than before, keep an eye on Brainient.

By sabina | December 7th, 2010 | No Comments | Digital video

The figures that eMarketer predict after tracking the ad spending seem to be really good news for the future of online advertising: 10.5% increase in US online ad spending in 2011 and a double-digit growth annually until 2014 when spending will hit $40.5 billion.

It might be the economic turmoil that influenced a shift from traditional media to internet advertising which people regard now as being safer and more stable. In a way, it was a inevitable change because advertisers cannot discount anymore the fact that internet plays such an important role in people’s lives.
Although TV remains the main competitor of online advertising, this will not affect the latter’s growth since users are continuously looking for faster, better, more rapid and more engaging (interactive) experiences. The user today is not just a viewer, he wants to have greater control over the choice of running ads he is subject to and he also want to interact with the video content.

eMarketer forecasts that total media ad spending  will raise by 1.2% in 2011, reaching $185.5 billion in 2014. This growth will also entail digital ad spending which will increase from 15.3% of total US in 2010 to 21.5% by 2014. However, growing online spending is set to exceed the total media one.

By sabina | September 16th, 2010 | 1 Comment | Digital video

For some of you it might have been a slow summer, but the world of video advertising never takes a vacation. A lot of cool stuff happened during the hot season and for those of you who were away on a deserted island, here’s a short list of the most interesting news&articles.

July 13th: How the web and social media efforts are paying off. Read about Foursquare and the Domino’s Pizza promotion on Mashable.

July 20th: The Times loses 90% of online traffic. We’ve blogged about this as well. You can read about it here.

August 5th: BrightRoll launches Oonline Video Ad Exchange. Find the article here, on Beet.TV.

August 6th: How the Scott Pilgrim trailer got interactive.

August 18th: Almost 3.6 billion video ads watched online in July 2010. Read about it on IABUK.

August 23th: Pay-TV industry suffers first subscriber decline on record.

According to the UK Online Video Advertising Market Report from Web TV Enterprise, the investment into the online video market will grow in the few months left of this year as well as in 2011.
While you’re getting back to work (or ready for the London Fashion Week) check this newsflash: Twitter will include Photos and Videos to messages . Pretty cool, isn’t it?

P.S. Don’t miss the movie of this season, “The Social Network” and enjoy its interactive trailer. Yes, you got that right: interactive trailer.

By sabina | August 26th, 2010 | No Comments | Digital video, Strategy

By sabina | August 13th, 2010 | 1 Comment | Buzz, Digital video

By sabina | July 26th, 2010 | No Comments | Digital video

By sabina | July 16th, 2010 | No Comments | Digital video