Ryff™, a pioneer in intelligent image technology, today emerged from stealth and announced a new AI-driven video platform called Placer™, which enables dynamic, real-time manipulation of products, people, backgrounds and images in live or pre-recorded video – all modified to individual viewer preferences.
Currently, product placements in video are just like images in desktop publishing – infinitely adjustable during pre-production, but the second it is transmitted it becomes ‘flattened’ and an unchangeable part of the video frame contents.
Ryff’s intelligent image technology enables content objects to be as dynamic as data and offers creators and advertisers a new, flexible platform to seamlessly change, alter or totally replace any object, person or background in a video frame. Intelligent images can be changed at any time so different audience segments can experience different product placement packages in the same narrative story.
All of this is done in real-time to different viewers – Placer considers narrative, product placement and measured consumer behaviors when making its changes. For example, a Coke® can on a desk can be replaced with a Pepsi® can in a live TV show, based on user behavior and preferences; or an antiquated mobile phone could be replaced with a state-of-the-art Apple® iPhone® for iOS™ users or a Google® Pixel® for Android® fans.
“Where previously a car company might put a single model into a scene, and that would be fixed forever, they can now offer different models for different viewers in the same show at the same time. So, a family might see a sedan and a single person a coupe,” said CEO Roy Taylor. “Similarly, Studios can form a symbiotic relationship with individual viewers by offering them tailored placements fitting to their local tastes and customs.”
Ryff's proprietary Placer platform applies AI capabilities to identify and convert existing and new media elements in the video stream into intelligent objects that can be tailored to the individual while scaled across millions of viewers instantly.
The Ryff production workflow solution turns flattened media elements (MELs) into separate interchangeable entities, which can be seamlessly edited, deleted and added as needed. These new intelligent-images become programmable content where product placement can be updated in real-time across targeted audience demographics and platforms to efficiently optimize yield across the lifespan of streaming programming.
Designed for OTT (Over the top) streaming, Ryff dramatically disrupts existing methods of screening, editing and updating content while offering new monetization opportunities for existing and new inventories of ad content.
Ryff expects to disrupt the $2 Trillion digital content industry and $23 Billion product placement business by applying multiple, testable scenarios to scene creation without adding incremental cost or time. The new intelligent-image industry gives fine-grained control to content holders to re-monetize existing inventories, while future-proofing new productions and saving cost due to accidental brand and copyright infringement.
Ryff will also include a marketplace to match Placer-created inventory markers with approved product image database, where companies participate in the connection between the marketplace participants. This also includes a yield-optimization tool where Ryff matches inventory to brands and lets participants bid on insertion where the production company has flexibility. Ryff expects to offer brands and Studios multiple resale opportunities for their products and content.
Ryff also announced today a strategic partnership with Endemol Shine Group (Amsterdam), the creators of world-class content for all platforms including global hits Black Mirror, Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Humans, Hunted, MasterChef, Peaky Blinders, The Island, The Brain, Tin Star and Your Face Sounds Familiar. Ryff is also partnering with digital transformation leader Tech Mahindra (Mumbai, India) for their cloud expertise.
“Working with Ryff has opened up some really exciting conversations about how we can redefine product placement,” said Lisa Perrin, CEO of Creative Networks at Endemol Shine. “Endemol Shine Group are at the forefront of innovation and we are continuously exploring the latest technologies, which have the potential to revolutionize how we create our content.”
“There’s so much tremendous untapped potential in how creative industries and advertisers integrate product into highly targeted and programmable intelligent-images,” said Mark Turner, Ryff COO. “Our founding team is confident that we are at the first stage of a monumental shift in how we program content. The initial level of interest has shown us that we are not alone in our aspirations.
Ryff.co is a new platform that makes images intelligent. Ryff is the world’s first image technology company using AI and visual computing to change the way we experience entertainment.