When interactive video meets environmental impact

8 years ago two people walked into a bar in Dublin. Nothing about the evening was particularly special. It was Ireland, so it was probably raining. Or, about to start raining. There was a cobblestone street not too far away.

The two people struck up a conversation. They both worked in video related industries, and got to talking about things in their heads. The conversation led to an idea that would alter the course of both their lives. 

What if you could interact with video? Like really interact with it. Act on the content itself, in a way that opens possibilities of what video means to people.

The idea seemed simple. It was. But it also wasn’t. So, Claire McHugh and Daragh Ward founded a company called Axonista. 

Fast Forward

Now the company is 8 years old. So much has happened in the world of video: technologically for sure, but also in our world’s relationship with video. 

Even with all the progress, the industry is still struggling to define

1. what interactive video is,
2. what it can and should be used for, and
3. how it can be best used to engage audiences.

These are points our team are very very opinionated about. It’s the reason we work with companies from QVC to the Irish Film Institute—launching video products for commerce, brand experience, and education.

Even with our past successes, there is still a sense of confusion in our industry about what exactly interactive video is. Every once in a while, we get extremely lucky with our partners and customers. We get a chance to do something extremely ambitious, but also with potential for massive global impact. 

Enter The WaterBear Network

Over the past year our team has been working closely with the team at Off the Fence on their plans to launch the WaterBear Network, the world’s first video-on-demand platform dedicated to “our future on this planet”. 

The premise is simple. Take high quality environmental series and documentaries, and create an ecosystem where viewers can dig deeper into issues that matter to them and—most importantly—take action.

Action will take different forms as the product grows—some participatory, others through supporting causes viewers care about. With WaterBear’s launch partners World Wildlife Fund, Sea Shepherd, Tusk, and African Parks, there will be a direct link to viewers, the issues, and the mission-driven organizations leading the charge.

This week we jointly announced our partnership, just as our internal teams are hitting the ground to make this vision come to life. 

Why it matters so much to us

We’re lucky. We get to work with some amazing companies. We also get to see our prospective and current customers’ eyes light up when they see what implementation of interactive video actually can mean to them, their content, and their video business. 

This partnership matters so much to us because of how their team’s ambitions align perfectly with ours. It is, in many ways, the perfect expression of what interactive video can and should be.

“The WaterBear Network is one of the most inspiring and ambitious companies we’ve worked with” Claire McHugh, Axonista CEO 

It’s also an incredible opportunity for our product team to optimize for this level of impact. Ediflo is a video technology platform that enables digital brands to grow, engage, and convert audiences on OTT devices. 

With this partnership, Ediflo will be the technology that facilitates the impact the WaterBear Network will achieve. Our team is taking this very seriously, and we’re thrilled to have this kind of opportunity.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this work with the WaterBear Network. And get in touch with our team to start a conversation about how interactive video can impact your brand.