The Black Tomato Travel Group has launched a new interactive video service, BLACKWIRE, a joint venture between its content division, Studio Black Tomato, and leading interactive video technology company, WIREWAX.
Studio Black Tomato is a content creation and marketing agency which produces content and media campaigns for some of the biggest brands in the world. Black Tomato Travel Group also owns a multi-award-winning incentive and motivation travel company, Black Tomato Agency.
The BLACKWIRE platform combines Studio Black Tomato’s expertise in shooting video content which brings destinations, and the properties and experiences they offer, to life, and combines it with WIREWAX’s leading interactive video technology.
BLACKWIRE integrates calls to action and hotspots within videos that viewers can touch, click or interact with, allowing them to switch camera views and uncover real-time insights or determine the video’s path and outcome. The two partners claim BLACKWIRE can provide grants brands with “a more subtle, authentic marketing approach” which enriches content and interest, rather than trying to control the user’s experience.
The result is a content offering where viewers can uncover details beyond the images they see on screen. It means they can discover more about destinations and book experiences within the video they are watching, without having to leave the video player.
For example, built-in geo-intelligence and live pricing could allow audiences viewing a video of a travel destination to simply hover their cursor over a hidden hotspot and discover live weather data on a destination, prices and hotel availability, as well as uncovering behind the scenes details.
The two partners say that live interaction of this sort can bring brands to life, double dwell time and produce more memorable long-term results than the short-term benefits associated with a traditional non-interactive video.
Tom Marchant, co-founder of the Black Tomato Group, says “The immediacy of interaction opens up incredible opportunity and there are hugely powerful benefits here for our clients and their consumers”.
Dan Garraway, co-founder of WIREWAX, observes: “Viewers have come to expect to touch every screen they use and this new partnership with WIREWAX and Studio Black Tomato truly maps the landscape for how brands can monetize in meaningful, creative and experiential ways with their consumers.”
WIREWAX is an award-winning technology powering 90% of the world’s interactive video. WIREWAX helps brands, agencies and broadcasters take ordinary videos and make them interactive.
Black Tomato Agency is a member of the Institute of Promotional Marketing, the owner of www.promomarketing.info.
