“never.no IS represents 10 years of never.no’s accumulated experience, expertise, and hard work bundled together for the benefit of a wide variety of customers,” said Lars Lauritzsen, never.no CEO. “An expansive, proven toolkit for interactivity, never.no IS ultimately empowers the user to develop his own interactive services. And by making all that capability available in a cloud-based platform, we eliminate a lot of the time, headaches, and up-front costs traditionally required, thus dramatically lowering the entry threshold.”

Today broadcasters of all sizes are experimenting with integrating viewer-generated content like Twitter™ feeds, Facebook posts, and SMS messages into the broadcast infrastructure. Benefits for audience and broadcaster include faster access to information as well as a sense of mutual engagement. Until now, though, broadcasters seeking these advantages had to write custom applications and integrations, an expensive, time-consuming, and potentially error-prone proposition.

never.no IS takes all the functionality of a long line of reliable never.no-developed services, including viewer polls, votes, chat, Twitter-to-screen, and Facebook-to-screen, and bundles them into one package that runs in the cloud. By connecting with more than 70 industry-standard protocols, including social site APIs and broadcast commands, never.no IS gives users everything they need to build, deploy, and maintain interactive services across multiple platforms.

never.no is the award-winning developer of an innovative and advanced interactive platform that modifies broadcast playout, digital screen applications, or any other display type based on user-submitted content or other data sources. With cloud-based never.no IS, the company for the first time enables broadcasters of all sizes to reap the benefits of interactivity and social media without having to make fundamental infrastructure changes, software installations, or a huge investment.

“Diesel took advantage of the multiplatform nature of the publishing experience to blaze a trail in showing how mobile interactive technology makes digital signage alive, relevant, and truly eye-catching,” said Karsten Solaas, Comtech’s managing director. “The technical execution was perfect, and Diesel has been so delighted with the campaign’s success that they continue to showcase it.”

never.no’s Interactivity Suite powers communication between mobile phones and video displays. For the “Be Stupid” campaign, it worked in the background to enable mobile phone users to send photo messages to a short code number for inclusion in a constantly changing mosaic on Facebook, on 8×6-meter projections on buildings in downtown Copenhagen, and on digital signs in Diesel stores in Copenhagen and Aarhus. Because of never.no’s powerful software, the mobile messages could be uploaded and displayed within 12 seconds or less. The images were then stored on Facebook for tagging or viral sharing by other means.

Working closely with Diesel and never.no, Comtech Experience A/S pulled the campaign together with only two weeks lead time. Challenges included Facebook’s restriction of uploads to 10 at once, so that Comtech had to provide continual real-time message moderation.

The never.no Interactivity Suite enables audience participation by modifying the video stream based on live content submissions, either by mobile phone or by computer. In the realm of digital signage, never.no technology allows advertisers to target consumers with individualized offers and to glean detailed marketing information at the same time. For example, it might enable an advertiser to deliver a barcode for a limited-time discount to a mobile phone at the point of sale, or to engage consumers with games and contests.

“Cutting-edge advertisers like Diesel are becoming increasingly excited about the potential of mobile phone interactivity in combination with DOOH,” said Lars Lauritzsen, never.no CEO. “Like us, they recognize the multiple benefits, including buzz and instant customer feedback that interactive participation generates. A successful, high-profile campaign like Diesel’s in Denmark is an ideal demonstration of the technology’s effectiveness.”

UPDATE: Comtech Experience has been awarded the POPAI Best Content Creativity Award for the Denmark Diesel campaign. READ MORE

“For us, a big plus was the installation’s immediate effectiveness in capturing attention and increasing dwell time,” said Don Shaw, Christie’s strategic planning manager. “In fact, that was a major contributor to its success. The crowds lining up to play Boink-O! in turn attracted still larger crowds.”

The never.no Active Mobile Interface enables audience participation by turning any mobile phone keypad into a game controller, mouse, keyboard, or any other interface for playing games, voting, or simply browsing and selecting content. The never.no system is flexible enough not only to work with digital signage, but also standard TV, Web IPTV, and mobile content. And when used in conjunction with the never.no Auto Dialogue System (ADS), the advertiser can follow up the interaction with an SMS message containing game scores, follow up information, and coupons for prizes to establish a long-tail relationship.

“The combination of mobile phone interactivity and a high-profile digital sign results in an unprecedented level of audience participation, engagement, and connectedness,” said Lars Lauritzsen, never.no CEO.

Ideal for a wide range of demanding applications, Christie MicroTiles are the new digital canvas and feature Digital Light Processing (DLP^®) technology with LED illumination. Specifically designed to provide exceptional image quality in high-ambient light environments, MicroTiles are modular and are ideal for signage that captivates and engages passersby.

never.no’s VP or Middle East & Asia, Saad Mouneimne, is once again called upon for his insights for the Digital Production Middle East Magazine.

“Broadcasters today demand universal interactivity. They are much less interested in confined topologies like an STB network or web-enabled TVs. Modern broadcasters want viewers to be able to interact directly with their programming regardless of the make of the viewer’s TV set and or their pay TV provider. No matter what interactive device the viewer chooses – remote control, mobile phone, PC or social network – they should have the same opportunity to influence programming and to connect with the broadcaster and sponsors,”

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Founded in 1999, never.no is the developer of Interactivity Suite, a sophisticated interactive video platform that enables modification of the video stream based on live, user-submitted content. Because it can dynamically modify playout, schedules, and graphics based on viewer-generated and other inputs, the Interactivity Suite works with traditional TV, Web TV, IPTV, digital signage, and mobile platforms, making it supremely useful in the converging digital media market.

Neufeld was recruited by never.no two years ago after a successful stint as head of interactive broadcasting for a dynamic young multimedia organization in North America. His BroadcastAsia presentation is set for 16:00 on Tuesday June 15, the conference’s first day, which is devoted to “Breaking New Barriers in Multi-Platform Content Delivery.”

The BroadcastAsia2010 International Conference features a comprehensive program intended to address the needs of the broadcasting and multimedia industry. It continues through June 18 at the Singapore Expo. More information is at www.broadcast-asia.com

Entitled “Connecting with Customers: Mobile Makes Media Relevant,” the presentation will demystify the mobile marketing process by reducing it to its essentials: opt-in database marketing with well-managed responses, solid customer relationships, and market profiling. Moulton’s presentation will draw from case studies including an iced coffee giveaway, an arena opening, and car sales promoted by text messages.

Moulton has almost 15 years’ experience with interactive media, both as an investor and a developer. In the 1990s, he co-founded Bottle Rocket, which produced the first MTV video and awards ceremony to incorporate audience participation via mobile phone. Today, besides holding an executive position at never.no, Moulton is a partner in Fabian Invest, Norway.

“Just as 10 years ago people began using a URL in all marketing literature, they will soon add shortcode SMS calls to action in flyers, brochures, bus posters, TV commercials, and digital signage,” said Moulton. “In my talk I will highlight, in particular, the role of coupons, barcodes, and vouchers in the context of the mobile phone’s ability to facilitate commerce directly within the media, as well as its potential as a powerful digital vehicle for loyalty programs.”

At Screenmedia Expo, never.no will also provide advanced interactive services to support participants and exhibitors. For example, visitors who text the word “stand” and an exhibitor’s booth number to a designated short code — e.g. STAND H5 to 60155 — will receive in response immediate information and links about the exhibitor. Busy delegates can thus get information for later perusal without having to collect an unwieldy stack of leaflets. Meanwhile, the exhibiting company can use the texts to create a database of potential leads.

In addition, never.no interactive technology will enable attendees at various sessions to send messages to a screen from which the speaker can review and answer them. never.no is a Screenmedia Expo exhibitor, and will showcase the company’s technology at Booth H5.

“Real interactive TV—going beyond ‘press a button to vote’— has been long promised. Norwegian never.no’s Participation TV is the real deal. The company’s Interactivity Suite lets viewers interact with the content and with each other, including the ingest of user-generated content, on both synchronous and asynchronous broadcasts via Flash or Silverlight interfaces.”

- Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, Editor Streaming Media

“With SWRV, Music Choice has taken dynamic scheduling and playout based on user interaction to a level never before seen in broadcasting,” said Stu Farber, Music Choice vice president of engineering, operations, and information technology. “The technical considerations were extremely complex and ambitious, and we took very seriously the task of finding the right partner to help us. In the end, we determined that never.no’s Interactivity Suite was the best selection, based on its ability to combine the power, flexibility, and reliability we needed to make SWRV a reality.”

Based in the United States, Music Choice is an award-winning, multiplatform video and music network. In partnership with Cox Communications, Music Choice is making SWRV available to Cox Digital Cable customers on Channel 900 in New England and Virginia. All Cox broadband subscribers nationwide can stream the network live at www.swrv.tv. In the coming months, SWRV will continue to be rolled out by multiple providers to millions of homes nationwide.

Key to Music Choice’s selection of the never.no Interactivity Suite for SWRV was its Dynamic Content Scheduler (DCS), an advanced tool for configuring, deploying, and scheduling interactive automated TV graphics.

Within the context of SWRV’s floating dynamic schedule, the Interactivity Suite performs a complicated array of tasks, including scheduling content based on voting results and handling user-submitted text, images, and various types of metadata-to-screen by effecting control of broadcast equipment like video servers and graphics systems. In addition, Interactivity Suite manages dynamic video squeeze-back and automatically controls audio volume for parallel video signals. Many of these features are broadcast-industry firsts.

“Music Choice had a bold and ambitious agenda — the creation of a music network with unprecedented options for viewer engagement,” said Lars Lauritzsen, president and CEO of never.no. “In order to fulfill this dream, our technology had to satisfy the demands of a fully automated, 24/7/365 operation. We believe the successful launch of SWRV represents the advent of a new and promising era for Music Choice, for interactive television, and for never.no.”

never.no is a technology company that connects broadcasters, brands, outdoor media owners, and digital screen networks with online and mobile consumers by means of a unique and sophisticated interactive video platform that modifies the video stream based on live, user-submitted opinions and content. The company’s Interactivity Suite is an array of software applications that together empower participation television by enabling viewers both to influence a broadcast in real time, and to interact with one another and the world.

“The easy-to-manage never.no system greatly simplifies both our ability to move content around and our interactive offerings,” said Håvard Myklebust, managing editor and head of acquisition, TV2. “Having this single, unified system is a huge improvement to our efficiency, potentially saves us a huge amount of expense, and also enables us to spend more time doing our jobs well and less time developing broadcast software. The interactivity aspect is increasingly important to all our viewers, especially to the younger ones who want to be able to respond when something is said in the studio.”

At TV2, never.no technology takes incoming feeds from as many sources as desired — internal content, Web sites, databases, or even SMS feeds — and aggregates them on a single Web interface that is viewed by a technician. With one mouse click, the technician can then publish content to its destination, with the system automating every step of the process, including graphics interpolation and formatting.

The automated solution supports streamlined production and efficiency because it eliminates repetitive, tedious, and time-consuming hands-on manipulation of individual items — particularly onerous in fast-changing contexts like news and sports. The number of sources is theoretically limitless, while destination platforms could be the TV2 Web site, a news crawl, an in-studio touchscreen wall, or social media.

In addition, the never.no interactivity suite is flexible enough that TV2 staff can easily change sources and destinations using key words. Currently, TV2 is using the management hub only for sports broadcasts, but decision makers there anticipate the system’s flexibility will be especially helpful when news producers start using the technology this summer to keep up with breaking stories.

Besides the behind-the-scenes use of never.no technology for managing and routing content, TV2 is using never.no technology to enable viewers to use their mobile phones or Twitter to send comments that appear in near real time on the in-studio touchscreen at a live sports talk show. During a recent Sunday night soccer match, for example, a viewer was able to follow up repeatedly with questions for commentators.

“TV2 is leading the way with its phase-in of a comprehensive use of never.no’s technology,” said Lars Lauritzsen, never.no CEO. “This innovative, behind-the-scenes deployment points the way for broadcasters who want to streamline and enhance the efficiency of their operations by automating hands-on tasks. Simply put, to deliver cutting-edge services faster, and save cost in the process. The never.no interactivity products increase the amount of information a broadcaster can monitor and disseminate, while simplifying its ability to utilize timely and effectively all the information on screen, on the Web, and in mobile services.”

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