AlphaFund: Thank you for joining us today. Can you start by giving our readers an overview of what your company does?
True Sync Media: Absolutely. True Sync Media is a technology company focused on bringing interactivity to digital video. Our patented computer vision and machine learning technology automatically detects products and brands in videos and dynamically inserts clickable hotspots over them. This allows viewers to get more information or purchase items directly from the video.
AlphaFund: That’s really innovative. What led to starting the company and developing this technology?
True Sync Media: The co-founders saw the massive growth in digital video consumption but realized the viewing experience was still very passive. We wanted to make videos more engaging and shoppable. At the same time, brands were looking for better ways to drive conversions from their video marketing spend. Our interactive video technology bridges that gap.
AlphaFund: It certainly seems like an effective way to monetize video and increase ROI for brands. Can you share some examples of how major companies are using your platform?
True Sync Media: We work with some of the biggest brands and publishers in areas like entertainment, sports, news, fashion and consumer products. For example, Disney uses our technology to make their movie trailers and clips shoppable by detecting things like clothes, accessories and toys that viewers can click to purchase. Sports leagues like the NBA use it to make highlights and replays interactive by detecting players’ jerseys and sneakers. News outlets use it to make current events coverage more informative by allowing viewers to get background information on people, places and objects detected in videos.
AlphaFund: Allowing viewers to get more context and shop directly seems like a more seamless experience. What have been some of the results you’ve seen for your customers?
True Sync Media: The results have been really impressive across the board in terms of engagement, dwell time, click-through rates and conversions. On average, we see a 700% increase in click-through rates and a 12x increase in conversion rate compared to standard pre-roll video ads. One luxury brand saw a 37% conversion rate from shoppers coming from our interactive player. Those types of metrics show how well our technology resonates with consumers.
AlphaFund: It’s clear you’ve had great success so far. What’s next on the horizon as you continue scaling the business?
True Sync Media: A key focus is expanding into new verticals like television, streaming platforms and live events where our technology can create highly immersive, shoppable viewing experiences. We’re also enhancing our platform to automatically inject greater contextual information like statistics, scores and insights based on what’s detected in the video. The growth potential is tremendous as video becomes more prevalent across industries.
AlphaFund: It’s great to learn more about True Sync Media’s innovative technology. Can you share a bit about the background that inspired becoming entrepreneurs?
True Sync Media: The co-founders didn’t initially set out to be entrepreneurs. One had a career in investment banking after getting an MBA from Stanford. But there was a realization of wanting to build new things and bring innovative ideas to life instead of just advising on deals.
There was rising curiosity in video and computer vision technology during the early days of YouTube, with fascination around the potential of making online videos more interactive and enhancing the viewing experience. That curiosity led to tinkering with machine learning approaches to automatically detect elements in videos.
After proving out the core capabilities, the co-founders decided to launch True Sync Media to fully realize the vision. It’s been an incredible journey so far, but we’re really just scratching the surface of what’s possible.
AlphaFund: That entrepreneurial pivot clearly paid off. Before we wrap up, any final words of wisdom for aspiring founders out there?
True Sync Media: Our advice is to be bold and take calculated risks to turn your vision into reality, but also be prepared for an extremely humbling experience. There will be countless obstacles and near-death experiences along the way. You have to develop a thick skin and unwavering resilience.
Most importantly, surround yourself with incredible people who compliment your skills and who you can trust. Having an amazing co-founder and building a phenomenal team has been the biggest key to our success so far. With the right people and mindset, you can accomplish remarkable things.
FAQ on True Sync Media and Interactive Video
What is interactive video technology?
Interactive video technology allows viewers to engage directly with digital video content by clicking on hotspots or interactive elements overlaid on the video. This could include links to purchase products, view additional information, navigate to other content and more.
How does True Sync Media’s platform work?
True Sync Media uses computer vision and machine learning to automatically detect products, brands, people, objects and other elements in video content. It then dynamically inserts clickable hotspots over these detected elements so viewers can interact and take further action.
What are some common use cases for interactive video?
Interactive video is commonly used for shoppable videos to drive ecommerce, making video ads and marketing content more actionable, enhancing instructional or educational videos with supplemental information, and creating interactive experiences around live events, sports and other video programming.
What types of customers use True Sync Media’s technology?
The technology is utilized by major brands, publishers, broadcasters, sports leagues and more across industries like entertainment, news, consumer products, fashion, sports and live events.
How does interactive video benefit companies?
By making video content interactive and shoppable, brands see significant increases in viewer engagement metrics like click-through and conversion rates. It provides a more seamless path for consumers to learn about and purchase products showcased in videos.
What results have customers seen using True Sync Media’s platform?
On average, customers see a 700% increase in click-through rates and a 12x increase in conversion rates when using True Sync’s interactive video capabilities compared to standard video ads. Luxury brands have seen conversion rates as high as 37%.
How is interactive video different from standard video advertising?
Rather than just promoting products before or during a video, interactive video allows consumers to learn more and directly purchase featured items with just a click. It’s a much more seamless ad experience aligned with the video content itself.
What are the technical requirements for using interactive video?
Interactive video can be enabled across desktop, mobile web and apps. On the back-end, artificial intelligence models are used to detect elements in each video and dynamically insert interactive hotspots. No manual inputs are required.
About AlphaFund
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