Over the years, advertising has evolved with technology. From the printing presses of yesteryear to today’s pop-up ads on the Internet. From TV and radio spots to commercials using artificial intelligence (AI). Change happens over time. Massive change. But the premise behind the ad. The activity or occupation of producing advertisements for commercial products or services. Not necessarily different. Evolved is a better descriptor.
One company at the forefront of this evolution is AI video creator Waymark. The company generates personalized commercials for local businesses in minutes and makes them available for immediate download.
Waymark CEO Alex Persky-Stern said: “We first brought the technology to market earlier this year.” Video was considered a big trend, but it was still very difficult to access. As soon as some of the new generation technology started to wane, we realized it was an opportunity. And we took the opportunity to create a platform with quality videos accessible to any local brand or merchant. ”
“Basically, our platform creates videos based on information we find about these local businesses online,” he explained. “Although the AI technology is different, we got the right visual components, wrote the test scripts, picked assets from our online presence, created the narration and voiced it, all in one big coherent effort. If you have a limited online presence, you can simply enter what you want technology to know about your business or product.”
Waymark’s generating AI video platform enables local businesses to generate high-quality TV commercials with expert narration in less than 5 minutes. This process is described in three stages. 1) Import your business information (enter your business and location to get the platform up and running). 2) Waymark creates videos and scans the web for local business data to create videos based on your brand. 3) Finish your video. Within this immediate timeframe, with last-minute adjustments, you can download the video and publish it wherever you see fit.
“We are often tapping into people who couldn’t afford video before,” says Hayden Gilmer, Waymark’s vice president of sales. “Small businesses typically cannot afford high-end custom production. , broadcast and digital, we are giving you a way to advertise everywhere, with high quality video.”
“We have all the licenses so that you can use these videos anywhere. “Each commercial is now available for immediate download.”
According to Waymark’s Alex Persky-Stern, more than 100,000 companies have generated more than 300,000 videos since the product was launched earlier this year. And last month, Gray TV and Waymark signed a deal to roll out Waymark IP to all of Gray’s local stations nationwide. Gray Television owns and operates 113 local TV stations nationwide (representing 36% of US TV households)
“Waymark’s easy-to-use platform has allowed us to focus more on video marketing in our local market. We’ve used it with great success,” said Pat Raplatney, president and co-CEO of Gray Television, in a statement. “We are already fortunate enough to see the benefits of his Waymark platform across our nationwide organization.”
In February, Spectrum Reach, the advertising sales arm of Charter Communications, partnered with Waymark for real-time, ready-to-air commercials in television and streaming TV advertising campaigns.
Spectrum Reach senior vice president of marketing Michael Gass said in a statement: “Waymark’s introduction of its new AI narration platform underscores our commitment to constantly seeking new innovations, products and partnerships to better position our business for growth and success.”
TV commercials over the years
In the past, national and local promotion of products and businesses was done via traditional spots on radio and terrestrial television, where catchy advertising slogans and advertisements competed for audience attention. I was. There was no digital. There were no cables. There was no social media; And while the world’s first official television advertisement was his 1941 with his 10-second spot on Bulova’s watch, in the early days of the media a single company would sponsor an entire show (broadcasting). It was common to announce sponsors before and after).
Digitally, the first ads outside of traditional linear platforms appeared on the Internet in 1994, when HotWired began selling space on its website for banner ads. Digital advertising grew significantly when companies realized that this marketing technique could be easily targeted and customized for specific user groups. Then came AI, which could use machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data (past commercials, target audience preferences, market trends, etc.) to generate new ideas and scripts for commercials. I was. The result is a commercial that is produced quickly and is easy to resonate with your target audience.
“We believe generative AI will have a huge impact on advertising,” said SimulMedia CEO Dave Morgan. Founded in 2008, his Simulmedia pioneered a data-first approach to TV and video advertising to help brands target, plan, activate, measure and optimize promotional plans across both platforms. Did.
“One of the obstacles to leveraging ad-hoc data about audiences, purchase intent and targeted media placements is the lack of flexibility in the actual advertising itself,” he said. “AI-driven ad creation like Waymark enables brands to quickly and easily create hundreds or even thousands of different ads tailored to specific audiences, media publications and environments.”
Increase profitability and streamline production
Traditionally, the process of creating television commercials has often been a daunting task. First, there was concept development. Then there was scriptwriting, casting, shooting, editing, and post-production, all of which often required significant time and money. Not to mention the potential for massive staffing. With the advent of AI, many of these tasks have been automated, making them even more efficient and collaboratively effective. And with AI-powered facial recognition, you can instantly analyze thousands of images and videos in seconds.
“AI will not only write the commercial visuals, but it will also write the script that accompanies the visuals, and you will be able to choose from a variety of artificial voices,” said Waymark’s Alex Persky-Stern. “Right now we are in charge of the video, we are not doing the audio only thing. But the radio company has also started selling streaming his placements and is using Waymark to do that side of the business. We are also putting effort into
Waymark recently signed an agreement with Beasley Media Group, a national advertising and digital marketing solutions provider, to deploy Waymark’s generative AI technology at 29 Beasley-owned radio stations. This includes stations in Augusta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Detroit, Michigan, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The agreement with Beasley Media Group marks Waymark’s first major step into the radio space.
“Local advertisers are looking for more effective and cost-effective ways to stand out and engage customers across multiple media platforms,” said Kevin Rich, vice president of operations for Beasley Media Group, in a statement. . “Our partnership with Waymark allows us to help local advertisers achieve this goal, maximizing the audience that sees and hears their messages.”
There’s no doubt that Waymark saw an opportunity in the AI space and seized it with this cost-effective commercial creation model. And early results show that this newly discovered model represents a new era in advertising. But that doesn’t mean traditional formats will die out anytime soon.
Simul Media’s Dave Morgan said, “I don’t think the traditional 30-second spot is outdated.” “Standardization has allowed the TV and video advertising market to operate at massive scale with little friction, but I believe the creation of these spots will need to be automated. There are a lot of possibilities that can help, and Waymark is taking advantage of that.”
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