Ogilvy & Mather Unveils IBM Designed Digital Video Archive

Market Wire, 20050229

IBM and top-ten advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather announced today the completion and installation of a turn-key video asset management system. The system will eventually contain a digital copy of every commercial the advertising agency has ever created since its inception in 1948. This cost-effective digital archive is built on core IBM Content Manager software and application software from IBM technology providers. The system delivers quick, easy access to digital assets, saving both time and money.

This new technology gives Ogilvy's award-winning creative directors, producers, and account executives new digital tools, right on their desktops. Ogilvy's staff will also have the ability to deliver video spots electronically to conference rooms and over the Internet to client locations. The network allows video to be transcoded into various formats and bit rates, delivering all digital "Play Lists," effectively eliminating the use an editing bay for video reel production, which delivers a substantial time and cost savings.

"The archive will allow Ogilvy's employees to find and reproduce spots for internal research as well as facilitate collaboration with Ogilvy's clients on current projects - accelerating the production process, improving speed to market and quality of creative, by finding the right content, and accessing it in a timely manner," said Lynn Roer senior partner, co-director broadcast productions at Ogilvy & Mather. "As a result of the increased speed and accessibility, the agency's content creators will be empowered with the ability to make changes on the fly, a key competitive advantages in today's advertising climate."

One of the first commercials that founder David Ogilvy ever produced, the famous, "one quarter cup of moisturizing cream" Dove commercial, has already been ingested into the system. The new digital archive will also be used for the preservation of such award-winning advertising campaigns as the American Express Rewards program from American Express Green Card, Good To The Last Drop commercials from Kraft Food's Maxwell House, and The Look and Feel of Cotton campaign from The Cotton Board.

The system was integrated with an existing archive, and began with 15,000 commercial spots. Eventually, thousands of pieces of the agency's Intellectual Property will be transformed from analog, manual systems to quick, all-digital, online, desktop access. The network is beginning with video will also include audio files upon completion. The digital archive is being implemented in stages, initially 1200 employees in the New York office will have access to the digital archive, with all of the agency's North American office, thereafter. World-wide availability, totaling more than 8,000 employees is expected.

First Turnkey Solution

IBM, and its technology providers delivered to Ogilvy their first joint, all-in-one, turnkey media asset management solution for encoding, indexing, organizing, storing, viewing and distributing of video content. The system works by integrating IBM's powerful Content Manager, DB2, and VideoCharger technology with technology from - Ancept, Telestream, and Virage Inc. Other IBM technology used to complete the archive included Tivoli Storage Manager, xSeries 342 rack mounted servers, and an automated tape library. IBM Global Services was also deployed for system architecture, project management, and installation activities.

"In a marketplace where agency revenue and profits are under unprecedented pressure, Ogilvy has taken a leadership role by adopting digital technology that will enable them to repurpose their key content assets through an efficient turnkey solution," said Marianne Caponnetto, vice president , IBM Global Media and Entertainment Industry. "This out-of-the-box solution will help them cut operational costs, improve productivity and client satisfaction, and exploit new revenue streams. All of this adds up to a significant competitive advantage for Ogilvy in today's challenging environment."

The system works by allowing employees to execute specific search criteria. For example, if an Ogilvy employee selects a topical search (ie: American Express ads), the system pulls up thumbnails, allowing for the appropriate clips to be previewed. Those clips can then be selected and made available for streaming. Specific video and broadcast data is stored and displayed through a user-friendly interface. The user can then select high-or-low resolution versions of the clips desired for specific use.

The O&M Digital Video Archive -- System Highlights: - The system can speed accessibility. For example the agency was able to receive a video commercial from Australia in 1 hour at half the cost. - The system delivers desktop access. Many Ogilvy staff members are now able to view any O&M video commercial directly from their PC or Mac desktop, instead of having to visit an editing bay. - The system is a total digital solution that helps simplify the process of moving, managing and accessing media assets - from source to destination. - The system delivers complete video manipulation, from encoding, transcoding and indexing to searching, streaming and distribution. - The system is easily integrated, because the solution is modular, scalable, and built on open architecture, it integrates with legacy systems, and is easily upgradeable to meet future needs. - IBM, Ancept, Virage, and Telestream together developed the essential core technologies used in the system, and have teamed to offer this technically proven, replicable and reliable end-to-end solution.