Improvements to Virtual Demo Videos

The first product we ever built at AutoPlay was our Virtual Demo Videos – and they’ve served us well over the years.  We are now working on improving our Virtual Demos by converting them to MP4 format.  This means that they will display better on mobile devices on both vehicle display pages AND on Live Leads eDM’s.  Right now we are looking for dealerships keen to switch over from our old Silverlight videos to the new MP4s.   We will be restricting this to a few selected customers at first, before looking to migrate everyone in the coming weeks before the end of the year. 
 
Moving to the new video format won’t cost you any extra and opens up several new options.  We are keeping our ‘Branded Scripts’ which play on your existing videos in absence of a personalised recording.  However we are now layering these over backing music.  Don’t like your existing Branded Scripts?  You will now be able to opt for a music only version of the video if you prefer.   The new video format will also work for personalised or professional audio recordings and will prompt your video to be built as soon as you save your audio.
 
The new videos also feature better transitions and animations with slide out panels giving the viewer the key information about the video including Fuel Saver and Safety Ratings if available.  Combined with the new music this all adds up to an improved presentation of your vehicles that your customers will love. 
 

• Soft release to selected Virtual Demo customers initially
• If branded scripts are set up, we will automatically build videos with your existing audio over backing music. If no branded scripts exist, the music only option will become the default.
• All Live Leads we send on your behalf will use the new format – whether or not you also have a Vehicle Display Page with AutoPlay.
• Videos will be standardised to 10 images with pre-set slide out transitions. If too few images the video will repeat images up to the 10 photo threshold.
• There will need to be at least 5 photos minimum in order to have a new Virtual Demo Video. Less than this will not trigger the video to be built.
• Audio is 40 seconds minimum. If shorter the music will play until the end of the video.  If the audio is longer than 40 seconds, the video transitions will slow down to suit.

 
This represents the first part of the improvement of Virtual Demos.  The next stage will be to utilise our extensive audio library to automatically generate unique audio for each vehicle video automatically.  This will have a positive impact on streamlining the creation of Live Leads emails.
 
There is still some testing required before we are ready to roll over to the new video format.  You can preview the video below.   Please note the music tracks are for preview purposes only - we are still searching for the music tracks we will use when we go live.  If you are interested in being one of the first clients to have access to the new Virtual Demos over the coming weeks, please email matt@autoplay.co.nz