A creative content case study

OVERVIEW

One of the keys to ASMBL’s founding in 2011 was a group of talented engineers and software developers who brought valuable expertise to the cutting-edge work being done by some of the largest tech companies in the world. A dozen years later, even as ASMBL begins a concerted effort to transform online retailing experiences, those historic relationships with big tech firms continue to strengthen and deepen. Because so much of ASMBL's work with high-profile, market-leading tech companies is integrated into various proprietary processes, discussing the details of many of the solutions ASMBL provides are trade secrets. Cognizant of that, this case study broadly examines how a small ASMBL team assisted a global online content company in developing an important addition to a service that benefits both content providers and end-users who devour that content.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

With an established track record of solving complex problems for the client, the ASMBL team was asked to work within the client's exclusive software platform to develop an easy way for content creators to quickly create and deliver digital ads and social posts to subscribers of the service. The content creators using the service come in all sizes – from world-famous household names with sprawling management and production teams to undiscovered first-timers who are hopeful that putting their content on the client's service will help push them to stardom. The client wanted these creators to have an intuitive digital on-ramp that allowed them to easily generate assets that aligned with the brand ethos. The ultimate goal for the project was to create an intuitive way for artists to create content and automate ad generation to promote their work.

THE APPROACH

While details of the end product are going to remain under wraps, the process used by the ASMBL team is no secret. Quite simply, after delivering successfully on several projects for the client, the ASMBL team's established record of precise and reliable technical solutions made them an obvious choice to tackle the issue.

"We take the initiative to push forward the client's business needs with the solutions we came up with," said one ASBML engineer. "When you truly embed yourself in their business strategy, when you look as far down the road as possible, when you consistently ask the right questions, that all translates into high-performing tech solutions."

The engineering team at ASMBL had assisted in previous projects with the client and knew how critical it was to create an end product that met the client's exacting standards. The ASMBL team knew what they would ultimately deliver was an extension of the client's unique brand and had to match the look and feel of all other products the client produced.

The project took about 18 months to complete and several times along the way external developments forced the engineering team to change the rhythm of the project, adding and subtracting features. The ASMBL tech team had experience with asset generation, but what the client was aiming for pushed them to expand their capabilities.

In the end, it worked. Since the service launched, tens of thousands of artists globally have generated hundreds of thousands of image and video assets.

"It was a combination of our ingenuity and technical capabilities that saw success," said one ASMBL engineer on the team. "We not only got things done but exceeded the quality in ways the client hadn't thought possible."

THE SOLUTION

Ultimately the ASBML team of engineers delivered to the client a product that:

• Integrates seamlessly into the client's established platform for creator and asset management
• Incorporates more than 1.5 million SKUs and is used by thousands of artists in more than 30 languages globally
• Saved the client more than $20 million in creative production fees.
• Is now the industry standard, used by thousands of content creators every day.
• Is easy for content creators to access and use.
• Helps deliver content from creators to end consumers intuitively.
• Maintains the carefully curated brand feel of the client.
• Helps the client sell content and generates greater exposure for the creators.
• Allows the client to significantly differentiate itself from competitors.

One source of pride for the ASMBL team was a technological breakthrough that significantly reduced the time it took for content creators to generate video and live-motion assets.

"Early on we had the process down to 40 seconds or so," said one ASMBL engineer. "But we kept pushing that envelope and reduced that time by about 80 percent. We brought it beyond what the client even thought was possible."

Although contractually bound to keep the details of the project under wraps, the ASMBL engineering team can't hide their enthusiasm for their work.

"We know people around the world are using what we developed every day," said one member of the ASMBL team. "I wish we could talk about it more. This stuff is so cool."