Manning Global meets Chris Roebuck, CEO and Founder of Clicktivated – the first technology company that has successfully monetised video for retail and travel, as well as lifestyle brands such as Adidas and GMC. Clicktivated is an IP-protected interactive video platform that enables viewers the ability to interact with individual products/items within the video; creating a more immersive and customised video experience by connecting viewers to the products and information they want in videos within a click. As digital video becomes more prominent in our everyday lives, the need for simplicity becomes stronger. Chris is disrupting the space with his technology, creating a more seamless process for all parties involved.
Please, could you give a brief summary of your career journey that led you to become the Founder of Clicktivated…
Marketing has been a part of my background since the beginning of my career. After college, where I received my degree in Advertising, I started my professional career working for an agency in Detroit. After a few years of identifying countless opportunities for improvement within the marketing space, I left the agency to tread my own path.
A few years into my journey as an entrepreneur, I identified what I believed (and still do today) to be the largest opportunity in marketing: a way to directly connect consumers to products and information inside of a video.
The idea for Clicktivated came from my own personal frustration with seeing products in videos that I wanted to purchase and having to go through the frustrating process of trying to find them on my own. This is when I set out to solve the issue of in-video monetisation and viewer engagement by creating the solution that would finally connect viewers to whatever they were interested in and give brands a new way to engage their consumers.
With video expanding, being able to monetise this represents the largest growth opportunity video has ever experienced.
What’s the most important aspect of your role as Founder of Clicktivated?
Setting an example for my team! When starting a company it is inevitable that you are going to experience failure and challenges, but what I have learned is my failures are not what define me; how I learn and grow from these challenges ultimately helps my team grow and learn as well!
Please, can you tell our readers more about Clicktivated: your structure, how you operate as a company, plus how your business model differs to other video platforms…
Clicktivated is the number one choice for interactive videos that enable viewers to directly engage with products/items through a single click. Our company operates as a collaborative team. Everyone’s voice and opinion is heard on every major decision that’s made. Without the team we would not be where we are today!
First tech company to successfully monetise video for retail, travel, and lifestyle – what were the three steps you put in place to achieve this?
The first step was to create a team full of motivated and experienced individuals in the technology field. My Co-founder and I knew what we wanted to achieve when we created Clicktivated, so we knew we had to find other individuals with the same dream and determination that we had.
The next step was to evolve our technology. Our product is incredibly simple to use, but the advanced tech behind the scenes is what truly sets us apart from the rest. Our UX is simple and offers unlimited product placement, same day turnaround and a new set of data that provides brands with a unique and deeper view of what their consumers are interested in.
Finally, the last step was to go out into the world and start marketing ourselves and our technology to brands that we knew we could help. We had to stay determined and get used to the failure because we knew ultimately our success would come.
What makes Clicktivated unique among other interactive video platforms on the market?
The video industry is growing more and more every day which means so is our competition. We understand that in order to stay a market leader, we need to always be pushing the boundaries of what is possible and unique, which we do through three key ways:
- Clicktivated owns substantial IP in the interactive video space that limits competition
- We have kept the UX clean, by removing any intrusive overlays, our product appeals to most consumers and industries
- We pride ourselves on our platform and distribution capabilities, allowing for multi-channel integration. Clicktivated videos can be distributed within hours to minimise time to market and maximise the impact it can have
We love your catchy tagline: ‘See it. Click it. Get it.’… however, is it really that simple?!
Yes! We built our company with a ‘consumer-first’ mindset. We knew in order to be successful we needed to create a product that the end viewer/consumer would want to use. If you over complicate the UX or make it intrusive, people will naturally turn away. Our UX gives control back to the viewers.
Finally, what’s next for Clicktivated?
Any screen… any device… live or recorded video: The future of commerce is going to be Clicktivated!