2014

service design & digital marketing

sky hdtv

Sky Tip makes browsing the internet the
new zapping

my role

Original Concept, Art Direction, UX and Design Director

about

Sky Tip is a browser extension that gives you suggestions on what to watch on TV based on what you are navigating on the internet in real-time enabling clients to record or buy programs directly from their browser.

It combines a friendly digital tool, the use of online data-bases, an algorithm of artificial intelligence and real-time information to be able to deliver personal suggestions through a simple and intuitive interface.

Sky Tip is an innovative solution that shows how a brand can be present through non-traditional ways in the digital world. The use of data in a meaningful way was crucial to engage and improve the consumer experience with the brand.

awards

Cannes Lions, Shortlist, Innovation Creative Data
Cannes Lions, Shortlist, Cyber Lion
Cannes Lions, Shortlist, Media

what is about

Moving from being not only a distributor
of content but also a curator
of content.

backstage

The internet is dramatically changing the way people consume entertainment and on demand services like Netflix are disrupting the whole pay tv industry.

We believe that to keep being relevant to it’s consumers SKY TV need solutions that help them to move from being only a distributor of content but also a curator of content.

Or original insight to help SKY TV was based in what the psychologist Barry Schwartz calls The Paradox of Choice: with so many options to choose from, people find it very hard to choose at all. It’s not about selling more and more channels anymore, but instead helping people to find what they really wanted to watch. 

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To drive recommendations for users, SKY TIP first uses a web crawler robot (A) to collect the SKY program schedule from the next seven days provided by an API connected to the SKY EPG Electronic Program Guide. For each one of the shows listed, SKY TIP uses a second web crawler robot (B) to enrich it`s content data-structure by searching for additional information like cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries and reviews using API’s from online databases such as IMDB, TMDb and OMDb.
 

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After gathering all this content, the algorithm organizes the information linking keywords for each program - actors and director’s names + title + most relevant words in the synopsis. The Chrome extension is responsible for reading all the textual content from each browser tab opened and searching in real time for a same specific combinations of keywords that will indicate matches with SKY TV program schedule.

So, instead of analysing historical data to try to guess what costumers will like, we are giving suggestions on what to watch on TV based on what people are browsing on the internet in real-time. 
 

The use of data in a meaningful way was crucial to engage and improve the consumer experience with the brand.

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Once the extension has the recommendation(s), it is able to bind it to the unique Sky costumer information. This ensures that it will only offer suggestions that belong to the subscription plan that each customers have.

From there users can record or buy programs directly from the extension. The request is made directly to the SKY TV satellite with the program and the customer ID. The satellite then sends the request directly to the box at the customer's home.

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SKY TIP is proving to be a very effective way to give suggestions because much of what people do on the internet is navigate through things that they are somehow interested. For instance, if you are reading an article about the career of the film director Stanley Kubrick and the algorithm find keywords connecting it to something in the SKY’s schedule, like for example the film "A Clockwork Orange”, it will present the film as a suggestion. Maybe you are a fan of films from the 70’s or just a curious about Stanley Kubrick, but in both cases the recommendation makes sense.

We’ve created a smarter way to watch TV.

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From the SKY TV website or the Chrome Web Store users can easily install the extension on their browser and then sync it to their SKY TV account. It became a relevant service, free and exclusive for more than 5.5 MM SKY TV clientes. It’s a powerful tool for branding and have an important role in customer loyalty.

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Sky Tip is helping improve ARPU (average revenue per user) leves by suggesting pay-per-view programs and package upgrades in a much more efficient way.

credits

Fred Saldanha, Danilo Rodrigues, Francisco Adelano, Fabio del Rio, Tiago Furquim, Paulo Amaral, Victor Brito, Leanardo Golob, Gabriel Pires, Rafael Hengels, Victória Aiello, Nataly Oliani, Renata Bokel, Rafael Castro, Fabiana Franco, Rodolfo Campitelli, Túlio Silva, Fábio Dias, Agrício Silva Melo, Marcelo Miranda, Darwin Oliveira.