Vontoo V2 in action
Among the more popular gimmicks of the digital marketing space is the integration of the personal information into a campaign — either in the form of an invented news story or as part of a celebrity appeal. Examples of this include a campaign for the Gonzaga University women's basketball team, whereby a coach is depicted in a video calling the team's most important supporter — and the viewer receives that "phone call" in real-time.
And a recent video effort featured Celebrity Apprentice's Donald Trump, who, on behalf of client Lifelock, totes a placard with the name of whomever has been entered into a form filled out beforehand. The intention of the video was to make Lifelock's identity protection service seem personally relevant, while giving users the thrill of being "acknowledged" by Trump.
To make it easier to integrate these personalized engagement experiences, voice marketing firm Vontoo released Vontoo V2 (Voice + Video). The service enables marketers to combine online video with custom phone messaging.
"We've combined two technologies which, separately, are both good, but together they make for a jaw-dropping experience," said CEO Kim Graham Lee of Vontoo. "The unique combination of video and phone is such an unexpected and smart way to engage users and successfully obtain customer opt-ins."
With Vontoo V2, clients are able integrate a recorded phone call experience into a video message, much like the experience users had with the Gonzaga University campaign, while quietly collecting a permission-based database of users willing to receive future brand messages.
Before the video begins, viewers are asked to provide a name and phone number. The name is integrated in print somewhere within the video, as was the case with the Donald Trump/Lifelock effort, and at some point s/he also receives a phone call, ostensibly made by a celebrity personality or other on-screen character.
The technology was implemented by the Golden State Warriors for a recent season tickets promotion dubbed "Nellie and Captain Jack Can't Do It Without You!"
"The personalized video allowed our fans to interact with Head Coach Don Nelson and guard Stephen Jackson in a fun and unexpected way," chirped Warriors President Robert Rowell, proclaiming the functionality "a great personal touch for our fans."
In addition to automating phone messages and video, marketers are furnished with analytics tools to measure ROI per-campaign or across multiple ones. The company also stated its technology remains compliant with FTC regulations.
Those inclined may view Vontoo V2 demos at the company website.
