So, there’s a lot of sexy tech out there right now; there’s
AR, AI, VR and mixtures of the three - all of which are making our inner nerds’
wildest sci-fi dreams into reality. But there’s a lot to be said for the tech
that’s not in the most alluring get up. Sometimes taking time to discover
something beautiful underneath the surface is the difference between
short-lived lust and long-term love…
Sadly, I’m not talking about the future of singles on Tinder
but about ad delivery. Sure, it’s not the sexiest topic in the ad industry, but
don’t underestimate its impact on your efficiency, output, and general emotional
well-being.
Delivery is always considered to be the end of the creative
process but it isn’t necessarily where creativity must stop. By thinking
creatively about what users really need, and using the latest technology to
build new tools, it’s possible to remove friction from the process, and improve
workflows.
Until recently, it was just accepted that delivery
interfaces were the final obstacle in the race to get an ad on air, on time and
at the best quality. It was a disjointed workflow consisting of numerous
programmes, bodies and spinning plates. The last-minute flurry to export the
spot was followed by the inevitable discovery that, in the haste to send,
there’s an error in the file. The only option was to wait for the file to
upload again and then plead to jump the queue, and pray that this time it would
pass.
You pretty much had to be versed in the dark arts to
successfully get a file from timeline to transition first time round.
While the adrenaline rush did have a certain thrill, the old
system is obviously deeply flawed. I’ve seen innumerable relationships sour due
to delivery disasters. By the time ads are due to be delivered, the hard work
should be done and the team should be relaxing. Instead, the delivery can be
the most stressful part of the entire process. Creatives, who should be
focusing on the next big idea are instead doing battle with the delivery
technology and fuelling their ever-waning work-life balance.
At Honeycomb, we believe that ad delivery is a critical (but
often-overlooked) part of the creative process. It’s ripe for innovation. Sure,
it’s not flashy, but a decent ad delivery tool will save creative teams, post
houses and broadcasters valuable time (and headspace) which they can spend
elsewhere.
If you want creative inspiration, you need to give yourself
time to achieve it. Improving your workflow is the best way to do that because
budgets sure as hell aren’t getting any bigger.
With today’s technology we can build systems which make
current processes easier, and will be ready to handle the challenges of
tomorrow. With the advent of programmatic advertising, deliveries are going to
get far more complex and numerous, so delivery tech, as well as the industry at
large, has to be ready. The current antiquated system just isn’t ready for the
targeted nature of programmatic - and neither is your budget.
So, we believe that modern, reliable tech should be
implemented wherever possible to improve speed and quality. It’s the Dyson hand
dryer which saves you a minute every time you spend a penny, or the Oyster card
which makes every bus ride that little bit faster. The small stuff adds up -
and makes a big, important
difference.
Did you know it’s perfectly possible to QC check and send
numerous HD ads in seconds, rather than hours, for example? For the person
responsible for handling your deliveries, that could save days every month.
At Honeycomb, we know what a difference this makes. We’ve
built a superfast, reliable ingestion and QC system which delivers results
almost instantaneously, identifying any issues quickly and making it easy to
get them resolved. Of course, we also do manual QC if our clients want it, but three years down the line, and with thousands of HD masters
in the system, we’re confident that if your file passes our QC, broadcasters
will play it.
What’s more, the system as a whole is built with enterprise
software, so when new technology comes out - UHD for example - we’re ready for
it.
As for transcoding, before you finish this sentence 180
files could have been transcoded and be on their way to the broadcaster. Long
gone are the days of 10MB leased lines; today a major European broadcaster can
receive 100+ HD files in 15 minutes.
It may not be as sexy as AR Super Mario in Central Park or
channelling Space Odyssey with AI, but it’s certainly something that can free
up the time and money you need to be more Don Draper. In advertising, what’s
not sexy about that proposition?
Craig Russill-Roy is Head of Broadcast Technology at Honeycomb TV
Learn more about
future tech at Honeycomb’s first ever HiveLive event on 18th July. Craig will
be speaking about everything UHD with DPP’s Andy Wilson. More info and free
tickets here.