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KODAK Gallery Launches Animoto's Video Slideshow Creator
KODAK Gallery, which has 75 million users, has begun offering Animoto's video slideshow creator via an API, enabling users to build their own slideshows within the KODAK site. For those not familiar with Animoto (which recently raised $25 million), its service allows users to upload photos, short video clips and music which are then packaged into slick video slideshows. Animoto's CEO and co-founder Brad Jefferson gave me a quick overview of the partnership and a company update yesterday.
The KODAK Gallery partnership (which was originally announced in last March and is Animoto's largest to date), addresses a key challenge for Animoto of how to attract new users to create video slideshows. As Brad explained, reducing the time required to seeing a slideshow or preview is a key objective, and since users have by definition already uploaded photos to the KODAK Gallery, they have a head-start. KODAK Gallery users just need to pick an album and a song and Animoto creates a 30-second slideshow preview which can be expanded into longer versions.
KODAK is offering the videos at 3 price points, $2.99 for a mobile-phone quality slideshow video, $4.99 for TV-quality and $9.99 for HD. The KODAK one-time fee model differs from the subscription approach Animoto offers on its own site, with a free, introductory tier, followed by plans at $5/mo and $40/mo. Brad said that KODAK and other pending partners are able to use the Animoto API to implement models that align with their larger business objectives. Animoto receives a share of the revenue generated.
The KODAK partnership is bound to give Animoto far greater visibility and usage. Animoto is tapping into the proliferation of photos and short videos being captured by amateurs with smartphones. What to actually do with all of these digital memories inevitably becomes a pain point for users. Rather than have them sit in the equivalent of digital shoeboxes, Animoto's simple and affordable tools look well-positioned to bring them to life, ready to be shared via social media.
Categories: Partnerships, Technology
Topics: Animoto, KODAK Galler
