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Viacom explores mobile-first fan experiences, including with Giphy

Viacom?s launch partners for its innovation lab include mobile-first companies Giphy, Airbnb and Citia, which are bringing to life unique fan experiences such as distributing GIFs in real-time for popular shows, booking stays in replicas of locations in movies and live streaming content directly to TV programming. 

In one recent pilot, MTV News saw a 20 percent spike in engagement for content using Citia?s interactive card technology, leading Viacom to expand its use of Citia for instantly rearranging and republishing content across multiple operating systems and social platforms. Citia is one of several mobile-first companies Viacom Lab is partnering with to drive innovation for entertainment content experiences and engagement. 

?Fans now have our content in the palm of their hands, and they expect everything our brands create to be at their fingertips,? said Ross Martin, executive vice president of marketing strategy and engagement at Viacom. ?They don?t just consume Viacom content, they ?use? it, socially, in so many ways. 

?The examples of the impact of our characters and stories in culture, expressed through mobile, are too great to count, and they?re happening every second, all around the world,? he said. ?A lot of attention has been paid to the extraordinary success of MTV and Comedy Central on Snapchat Discover, for instance.  

?The Lab?s new partnership with Giphy, which was announced today, will enable fans to create and distribute GIFs from their favorite hit shows across the Viacom portfolio. Our fans are the ones who are creating the future of entertainment and engagement, and they?re using their phones ? and our content ? to do it.?

Mr. Martin and Kern Schireson, executive vice president of data strategy and consumer intelligence, are overseeing the lab. 

New storytelling formats
Viacom Lab, which is based at Viacom?s New York headquarters, will work both independently and in conjunction with Viacom?s brands globally. 

Several mobile-first projects are part of the launch initiatives from Viacom Lab. 

The lab has partnered with Giphy, the largest searchable database of GIFs, to continuously create and distribute GIFs from hit shows in real time. 


In another example, Viacom is testing a technology that will enable fans to live stream directly to a live Viacom TV show to create new storytelling formats. 

In an effort to create real-life immersive experiences, fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can leverage Airbnb to book a stay at a replica of the characters? lair in New York to coincide with the opening the latest offering in the franchise. 

The lab is also working on ways to enable fans to bring their favorite characters and moments from Viacom content into the physical world across a broad range of technologies and materials.


Creators-in-residence
Another part of the Viacom Lab is a creators-in-residence program. The first group of residents includes the founder of augmented reality platform Traces, which allows users to leave content such as video in virtual bubbles; the founders of animation and technology company FlickerLab, which has created live animation app Animgram, and a social storytelling artist. 

?Viacom Lab is exploring ways to pioneer new fan experiences on every single platform, and mobile is central to all of it,? Mr. Martin said. ?Lab is working with creators-in-residence as well as teams of content developers, designers and technologists across Viacom and across the globe to ensure we?re anticipating what our fans want before they can even imagine it.?