Launching at TechCrunch Disrupt this afternoon, VideoGenie aims to transform the way consumers and brands connect with each other using video.
Text-based interaction between brands and consumers is inadequate, the startup claims, because a palette of 94 ASCII characters doesn’t provide people with enough flexibility to express the full spectrum of human emotion. A better way, they say, is videos.
Videos that show people providing companies with a spontaneous, authentic testimonial that wasn’t pre-written by their brand marketers. Videos that show people enthusiastically reviewing a product or service. Videos that show real people expressing their opinion, in essence.
VideoGenie automatically creates compilation videos that allow companies to solicit customer sentiment. Marketers can use the service for video-based testimonials, reviews, suggestions, and corporate communication.
The three pillars of the product: easy and time-constraint video capturing, simple content management tools and single-click distribution.
The startup’s technology provides marketers with an affordable, efficient way to create, collect, manage, and distribute compelling video content without the expense, training, and software traditionally required.
VideoGenie is located in downtown Palo Alto, California, and has raised an undisclosed round of angel funding from Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Daniel Zumino and Tomorrow Ventures.
Feedback and Q&A:
Philip Kaplan: Wow, Eric Schmidt! I’m wondering what the goal is of the whole thing, e.g. for Starbucks to sell more coffee, or to get more content for their website?
Chris Fralic: Nice flow, good story. It’s very campaign-specific and ad-related. One of the things you need to address is the moderation and reviewing of videos, will you do that for the brands?
Reaction: most brands know their messaging better than we ever will. We think we will leave it to them.
Jeffrey Bussgang: Nice job, good pace. Interesting mechanism for capturing user feedback. Make it shareable and searchable.
Reaction: working on both.
Josh Williams: what is it going to be like for first-time visitors? The user experience has to be just right, that’s key.