Spotomate Makes Agency-Quality Creative Possible For $75 Or Less

A new online DIY service called Spotomate makes it possible for operators of digital signage networks to produce agency-quality advertising and messaging video spots for $75 or less.

Spotomate enables anyone with basic web-browsing skills to produce, in just a few minutes, full-motion advertising and messaging videos, and then download HD versions for use on screen networks, kiosks or online.

Some three-dozen video templates are already available on Spotomate – tuned to auto dealers, retailers, restaurants and other vertical markets – and more templates are being added weekly. The most expensive templates on Spotomate are just $75.

“Anyone with experience in the digital signage business will tell you the biggest remaining pain point is the cost of feeding the content beast. Keeping ads and messaging fresh on screens can easily cost five and six figures annually,” explains Dave Haynes of Vertical Media Consulting Group, which runs Spotomate. “With this service, we’re dramatically reducing costs for network operators, and also speeding turnaround times. The idea that you can get an ad that looks like it could cost as much as $10,000, for $75, is a little mind-blowing.”

Using Spotomate is simple. Customers browse and preview video templates, and using a selected template in a pop-up browser window, they drag and drop images into designated areas and add text to specified message boxes. The template engine steps users through the video sequences, and when done, users get an email that includes a link to a streamed draft version of the video.

If users like the results, they can buy the final version online and get a download link for an MP4 HD video file. Or they can return to the pop-up window to do some fine-tuning. No fees are applied until users upgrade to a paid version that removes the watermark.

The system takes full advantage of the latest cloud video rendering and storage capabilities, and the template engine and output are mapped to motion graphic project files built in the creative world’s most used platform, Adobe After Effects.

The magic behind Spotomate’s rendering engine is Shakr Media, a Seoul, South Korea start-up that runs a service focused primarily on the online video display market.

“We realized early there was a business opportunity for us in digital signage, but it’s not an industry we knew much about. So partnering with Dave – one of the best connected and most respected people in digital signage – is an ideal way to enter the market,” explained Shakr CEO/Founder David Lee.

“Shakr is just flat awesome,” says Haynes, “but it has a challenge in that there’s so much on there that’s great for online and for personal messages, but not so much for the digital signage industry. So what Spotomate is doing is curating the templates and providing a digital signage portal. We’re also building and populating Spotomate with custom templates that address specific gaps in digital signage, like corporate and education messaging.”

Motion templates and automated video production systems are not new to digital signage, Haynes concedes. Many software companies have libraries of templates available to clients, but they are tuned to entry-level users and necessarily generic by design.

“The real difference here is the creative quality, and the turnaround time. If you have the images you want to use ready, and also have your thoughts together on the messaging, it’s possible to build and generate a gorgeous video in 10 to 15 minutes,” Haynes notes. “You can go from idea, to live on a sign network, in an hour.”

While Spotomate is designed for end-users, Haynes expects many software firms, integrators and creative firms will use the service to speed production times and trim costs. “I don’t think creative companies should be alarmed by Spotomate’s price point,” says Haynes. “For them, it will be a great resource and tool to respond to customers who want work done fast and on a tight budget.”

Spotomate is also already speaking with production firms about re-purposing templates or dormant archive material to be used on Spotomate, with the producers receiving royalties on sales.

The early release version of the service is available online at Spotomate.com. Haynes says the service will be refined based on industry feedback and interest.

About SPOTOMATE

Spotomate is a DIY creative service used to produce great creative, quickly, at low cost … without compromising on quality. The company is based near Toronto, Canada.

About SHAKR MEDIA

Shakr.com lets you create your own great video ad creative for free or less than $100. In 15 minutes. It’s as easy as starting a blog. The company is based in Seoul, South Korea.

About Sixteen:Nine

Vertical Media Consulting Group Inc. is based in Burlington, Ontario, outside of Toronto. Businesses under the umbrella of Vertical Media include the Sixteen:Nine tech blog and meetingroomsigns.biz