by Basho Mosko | Jul 10, 2013 | Press Releases
Company Announces Major Video Marketing Programs for Global Brands Maybelline New York and Philips
BOULDER, Colo., July 10, 2013 — FlixMaster, a leader in interactive online video, announced it is launching the first interactive videos for iPhone and Android that don’t require an app for viewing. Globally renowned brands Maybelline New York and Philips are using the interactive technology in major marketing campaigns.
“Not long ago, as video content moved online, technology companies were focused simply on how to store and distribute it. No one was paying attention to the quality of the content or what video could become in an interactive medium,” said Erika Trautman, co-founder and CEO of FlixMaster, a Boulder, Colo.-based graduate of the prestigious TechStars program. “The industry solved the distribution and storage issues. FlixMaster’s technology is powering the evolution of the content itself, and a crucial part of this effort is bringing interactivity to mobile users, giving businesses of all sizes a better way to connect and communicate with customers.”
As part of this effort, FlixMaster is releasing groundbreaking interactive video capability for the iPhone and Android. Expanding on successful previous work with clients such as USA Network and HBO’s Cinemax network, FlixMaster’s new collaborations with global beauty brand Maybelline New York and technology juggernaut Philips make them the first to use the company’s iPhone compatible interactive videos. These projects allow consumers to shop, click, and interact with FlixMaster’s cloud-based video technology on their iPhones without the momentum-killing distraction of needing to download an app first.
For Maybelline, the company has partnered with ICED Media on their newly launched #TheGlamourEye video campaign, putting cutting-edge technology in mobile users’ hands and giving the renowned beauty brand a new outlet for communicating with consumers about new products. “Educating consumers on how every woman can pull off the big eyes beauty trend is essential,” said Charlotte Adjchavanich, VP Digital & Communications, Maybelline New York. “By utilizing the actionable and engaging capabilities that FlixMaster provides, our viewers enjoy a unique and customized experience that reinforces our brand’s dedication to innovation, education, and fashion.”
Meanwhile, FlixMaster is powering the first mobile interactive component for global technology brand Philips and interactive agency Ogilvy & Mather Advertising (Duesseldorf)’s upcoming Click & Style campaign. Willem Schungel, digital campaign manager of Philips Global said, “Engaging and interacting with consumers is paramount when it comes to video, and a big component of this interactivity is meeting the demands of an increasingly mobile consumer. FlixMaster has made it possible for us to share product features with our customers in a completely new way.”
As part of their continuing efforts to change the way brands connect with customers through video, FlixMaster is also announcing that they are preparing to rebrand, with the new name and details slated to be announced in the coming weeks.
About FlixMaster
FlixMaster is the creative platform for enterprise online enterprise video. FlixMaster makes online video an interactive experience, allowing creative professionals to produce content at scale that is highly engaging, converts interaction into action and provides significant ROI.
Based in Boulder, CO and a graduate of the highly acclaimed TechStars program, FlixMaster’s cloud-based technology enhances enterprise videos with the click-through power of other web experiences and creates viewer-engaging and revenue-producing assets for retailers, technology vendors, media companies and other organizations.
by Basho Mosko | Jan 23, 2013 | Press Releases
FLIXMASTER SECURES $1.125 MILLION FUNDING TO EXPAND IN ENTERPRISE VIDEO
Company Announces Module for Enterprise, New York-based Golden Seeds Leads Funding Syndicate
Boulder CO, January 23, 2013 – FlixMaster, the creative platform for Enterprise Online Video, today announced it has secured $1.125 million in additional funding from a syndicate of investors led by New York-based investment firm Golden Seeds.
The company said the investment would be used principally to expand sales and marketing efforts, particularly in the corporate enterprise markets. The company also announced it was launching new industry modules for its video editing and deployment platform designed for online retailing, corporate customer service and media markets.
FlixMaster is addressing the growing need for more creative uses of video by corporations and media properties alike. To date, Enterprise Video technology has been primarily focused on video distribution and content management, but as those technology challenges fade, creative professionals are looking for platforms that improve content quality and increase viewer engagement.
“The promise of Enterprise Video has been high engagement that converts interaction into action,” said Erika Trautman, co-founder and CEO of FlixMaster, a Boulder, CO-based graduate of the prestigious TechStars program. “The problem is, most videos simply transfer a conventional TV-like experience to the web, and even though most viewers go to the video first, they’re gone in a matter of seconds.”
“Brands need to produce interactive video experiences that draw viewers in and keep them there. And companies need to be able to produce those experiences at scale and at a reasonable cost. That’s what FlixMaster offers,” she continued.
FlixMaster has enjoyed success in media markets where creativity and innovation is critical, as producers aim to translate the quality of their broadcast shows into dynamic web experiences. The company was recently engaged by HBO to develop an interactive online experience for the newly launched Cinemax series, “Banshee”, that incorporates FlixMaster video technology and makes heavy use of the Player API. The online destination, Banshee Origins, provides audiences with an enhanced viewing experience, driven through interaction with the video player itself, and gives them an opportunity to explore the show and interact with its characters and themes. Last summer, FlixMaster’s technology powered an acclaimed web experience for the USA Network show, “Covert Affairs.”
That kind of viewer investment is exactly what corporate brands are also seeking and why FlixMaster has seen significant interest from major brands that have grown tired of conventional video and want to increase engagement and leverage video as a broader sales tool.
“About a third of all online retailers, for example, have hundreds and sometimes thousands of videos, some of which are productive, many of which are not,” said Ms. Trautman. “We’re delivering capabilities like clicking on products in a video and dropping them directly into a shopping cart or launching product specifications right from the video.”
“The trick is to capture a viewers interest and get them to act without forcing them to another page. This is a subtle but fundamental shift in presenting video as an active medium vs. a passive experience,” she said.
Online retailers constitute about 30 percent of FlixMaster’s enterprise overall customers.
About Golden Seeds
Golden Seeds is an investment firm dedicated to delivering above market returns for investors through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs. Its member angel network, consisting of 240 men and women nationwide, is the fourth largest in the US. Golden Seeds Fund II, an investor in PromoJam, closed in December.
About FlixMaster
FlixMaster is the creative platform for online enterprise video. FlixMaster makes online video an interactive experience, allowing creative professionals to produce content at scale that is highly engaging, converts interaction into action and provides significant ROI.
Based in Boulder, CO and a graduate of the highly acclaimed TechStars program, FlixMaster’s cloud-based technology enhances enterprise videos with the click-through power of other web experiences and creates viewer-engaging and revenue-producing assets for retailers, technology vendors, media companies and other organizations.
by Basho Mosko | Nov 14, 2012 | Press Releases
Easiest and Most Powerful Platform to Create E-Commerce, Entertainment, and E-Learning Projects Available for a Limited Time, Sony Creative Software-Only Promotional Offer
BOULDER, Colo., November 14, 2012 — FlixMaster (www.flixmaster.com), the first user-driven online video platform that radically changes the video experience for producers and viewers alike, and Sony Creative Software (www.sonycreativesoftware.com), a leading global provider of professional editing and authoring applications, announced today that the two companies have partnered to offer Sony Creative Software users exclusive access to FlixMaster’s cloud-based interactive video creation and editing platform for only $19.95/month. For a limited time, Sony Creative Software users can experience the enterprise level power of FlixMaster’s interactive editing platform at a fraction of the cost.
FlixMaster and Sony will offer this special Sony Creative Software group-only subscription rate to its millions of users via its monthly user newsletter, scheduled to be emailed November 15, giving Sony Creative Software users special access to FlixMaster’s enterprise-level, interactive editing platform, which offers the best cloud-based interactive building tools for scalable e-commerce, entertainment, corporate, and e-learning projects. The special rate includes unlimited project building, unlimited views (sharing with others) and 10GB of storage, allowing anyone in the Sony Creative Software group to try for themselves FlixMaster’s unique visual branching video creation tools that make video non-linear, participatory and social. In addition, Sony will promote FlixMaster in a Webinar on Thursday, November 15, at 9:00 a.m. PT.
“If you believe, as we do, that online video is going to be interactive in the coming years, then FlixMaster is the platform that is going to get you in the game, ahead of the curve,” said Dave Chaimson, vice president of Global Marketing for Sony Creative Software. “The partnership between Sony Creative Software and FlixMaster presents our users with the most state-of-the-art means to exercise their creativity in ways never before possible. It will spark project creation that will amaze, and meet a broad diversity of consumer needs.”
FlixMaster is the only interactive editing platform that combines the following features to offer an end-to-end video creation experience:
“FlixMaster frees video producers from the constraints of a linear storyline, and we think Sony Creative Software users will be astonished by what they can do with the platform,” said Erika Trautman, CEO and co-founder of FlixMaster. “We’re honored that Sony Creative Software recognized the ingenuity that FlixMaster put into its platform to drive the next generation of online video, and excited that, for the first time, it’s being made available to the a very broad creative market via this exclusive partnership.”
The FlixMaster platform was adopted earlier this year by NBCUniversal/USA Network for a first-ever interactive online video prequel created for the network’s hit TV series “Covert Affairs.” In October, One Kings Lane, an online home design flash sale site, began using interactive video created with FlixMaster to help consumers learn more about its products in an experiential way and to appeal to a new user base.
FlixMaster’s next-generation capabilities enable producers to create non-linear video with multiple navigation paths, and its player API extends the reach of the video outside of the player to interact with the actual website — creating a new paradigm where the video player can be the main navigation point for an entire website. Its drag-and-drop interface allows content creators to link videos to other videos, add links to outside URLs, and leverage its powerful player API to easily create professional-grade, highly interactive projects that drive engagement and e-commerce ROI. FlixMaster videos can quadruple viewing engagement and increase clickthrough rates by up to 800%, and unlike other solutions that require producers to relinquish creative control by sending their videos to “experts” who complete them according to predefined specifications, FlixMaster allows producers to retain complete control from start to finish. FlixMaster handles all of the transcoding and optimization and can either host the published videos or integrate with the company’s CDN of choice. These dynamic, interactive projects can then be embedded on any website or easily shared through social networks. FlixMaster is built in HTML5 to integrate seamlessly with iPads and other tablets.
About FlixMaster
FlixMaster (www.flixmaster.com) is a pioneering interactive video platform that offers a radically new video creation and viewing experience. With FlixMaster, anyone — from individuals to businesses — can create and share next-generation videos that inspire, engage and interact with viewers. Unlike complex and costly video creation tools, FlixMaster provides a simple drag-and-drop interface that allows the producer to easily create videos that are non-linear, participatory and social. FlixMaster-made videos get significantly higher clickthroughs, engagement and ROI than their standard online counterparts. Finally, video is freed to act as an interactive educational tool, a powerful e-commerce engine, or as the ultimate entertainment vehicle where viewers can create their own adventures and choose their own story outcomes. Headquartered in Boulder, CO, FlixMaster was co-founded by an Emmy Award-nominated producer and a video game designer, and is a TechStars 2011 company.
by Basho Mosko | Jul 17, 2012 | Mobile and HTML5, Press Releases
FlixMaster Launches the Future of Interactive Online Video at Fortune Brainstorm: TECH
First-ever Truly Comprehensive Production Platform Now Offers Free Accounts for All Users
ASPEN, Colo (Fortune Brainstorm: TECH)– July 17, 2012–FlixMaster (www.flixmaster.com), the first user-driven online video platform that radically changes the video experience for producers and viewers alike, made its public launch today at the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH conference, demonstrating its game-changing technology and announcing a “freemium” service that allows anyone to use FlixMaster at no cost. The applications for the FlixMaster platform are nearly infinite, spanning from individual to commercial uses — all made more compelling and engaging by FlixMaster’s unique ability to make video non-linear, participatory and social. The FlixMaster platform has already been adopted by USA Network for an interactive online video prequel created for the network’s hit TV series Covert Affairs. FlixMaster is the only interactive editing platform that combines the following features to offer an end-to-end video creation experience: (more…)
by Basho Mosko | Jul 17, 2012 | Press Releases
First-ever Truly Comprehensive Production Platform Now Offers Free Accounts for All Users
ASPEN, CO — July 17, 2012 — FlixMaster (www.flixmaster.com), the first user-driven online video platform that radically changes the video experience for producers and viewers alike, made its public launch today at the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH conference, demonstrating its game-changing technology and announcing a “freemium” service that allows anyone to use FlixMaster at no cost.
The applications for the FlixMaster platform are nearly infinite, spanning from individual to commercial uses — all made more compelling and engaging by FlixMaster’s unique ability to make video non-linear, participatory and social. The FlixMaster platform has already been adopted by USA Network for an interactive online video prequel created for the network’s hit TV series “Covert Affairs.”
(more…)
