Can data-driven video fix the content relevance problem? Idomoo says yes

The Mobile World Congress presents a monster challenge for the enterprise reporter. If you can wade through 90,000 attendees while avoiding the mesmerizing proximity to Mark Zuckerberg, you just might find some great disruptive stories.  To be honest, I wasn't sure my meeting with Danny Kalish and Dan Shamir of Idomoo would qualify.

Despite being a purveyor of video content myself, I'm pretty cynical about the so-called "personalized" videos I've seen on my Facebook stream and on YouTube streams. When it comes to the content relevance problem, Kalish (Idomoo's founder and CTO) didn't mince words:

We only want relevant information; this is really a crisis. I only want information that matters to me. Why should I get the same ad Dan is getting? And I don't want your long documents. I don't want you to talk to me like you are speaking a different language. I want you to speak my language and solve my problems.

Kalish says this personalization disconnect causes a huge user experience gap that too many brands are falling into. The cost? A breakdown in trust as consumers ratchet up their BS filters, gravitating towards brands that deliver a better experience. Shamir (Idomoo Innovation Director) pulled up this slide to bring the point home:

Idomoo sees video as a solution to that  "impersonal document" problem, a primary source of user disconnect. Fine - but personalized videos? I've received my share of "personalized" emails that simply swapped my name out and then, the same old generic spiel (Yuk). Idomoo's process is different. Pulling data from a range of data sources, they serve up a video with dynamic content on the device or consumption option the user prefers:

But it's the actual content of the video that surprised me. During the demo, Idomoo showed me a financial services use case where your personal name is just the beginning. The video is also populated with your own retirement data. Ergo, the numbers featured in this screen shot would be your personalized retirement figures:

I'd be pretty surprised to see this level of personalization when I pushed "play." So how do viewers respond. Shumar:

When someone sees a video like this, they are surprised, but it also brings them closer to the brand. They think: 'Somebody made this video just for me. Their relationship with that company changes. This is a new way of storytelling.

Kalish sees this as a way to move beyond clunky segmentation. But what about becoming too personalized? Crossing lines a consumer doesn't want you to cross? Kalish believes that this problem is solved by giving the consumer the content they choose without forcing it upon them: "People appreciate that this content was tailored to them."

How does Idomoo do it? Their secret sauce is the platform that pulls the data sources together and contextualizes it in the video. Companies can still hire their own video producers and distribute to the channels they choose. Two guiding principles: video quality must be outstanding, and the tech "must be open." They conduct their operations from offices in Tel Aviv, New York City, and London. Enterprise projects in the field today include scenarios for retail, insurance, banking, utilities, telecommunications and health care.

As for results, Idomoo has a few numbers that show their model is working. They cite these numbers from recent projects:

• Increased loyalty - up to 37 percent churn rate reduction
• Increased customer satisfaction - 24 point increase in NPS
• 500 percent increase in portal sign up
• 33 percent increase in conversion rata
• 593 percent increase in click through rate

Though click through rate is not my favorite engagement stat, if you can cite 600 percent increases, you may be onto something. Kalish also sees buy-in at the top: "CEOs love our stuff. They might have two million customers - what if they could get out their own personal video message to each one of them?"

At the end of our meeting, Kalish walked me through his hierarchy of business success: winning customer trust and retention was at the top, below that was achieving a strategic goal, and below that was achieving a practical goal. He believes that video can actually achieve the top goal of achieving or solidifying customer trust. Given that most Internet advertising is tactical success at best, if not an outright fail, Idomoo has a market opportunity to make their case.

Image credits: all images are copyrighted by Idomoo and were provided for exclusive use on diginomica by Idomoo.

Disclosure: diginomica has no financial relationship with Idomoo. Their PR firm sent me a pitch and I reached out to set the on-site appointment. I was able to attend Mobile World Congress based on SAP funding my air travel and hotel expense, however, I set my own editorial agenda for most of the conference.