About The Idea
Sky Tip is a browser extension that suggests what to watch on TV based on what you are navigating on the internet in real-time, enabling clients to record or buy programs directly from their browsers.
It combines a friendly digital tool, the use of online databases, an algorithm of artificial intelligence, and real-time information to deliver personalized suggestions through a simple and intuitive interface.
Sky Tip is an innovative solution that shows how a brand can be present through non-traditional ways in the digital world. Using data meaningfully was crucial to engage and improving the consumer experience with the brand.
Moving from being not only
a distributor of content
but also a curator of content.
How did it work?
To drive recommendations for users, SKY TIP first uses a web crawler robot (A) to collect the SKY program schedule from the next seven days provided by an API connected to the SKY EPG Electronic Program Guide. For each one of the shows listed, SKY TIP uses a second web crawler robot (B) to enrich its content data structure by searching for additional information like cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, and reviews using API’s from online databases such as IMDB, TMDb, and OMDb.
After gathering all this content, the algorithm organizes the information linking keywords for each program - actors and director’s names + title + most relevant words in the synopsis. The Chrome extension is responsible for reading all the textual content from each browser tab opened and searching in real time for the same specific combinations of keywords that will indicate matches with the SKY TV program schedule.
So, instead of analyzing historical data to try to guess what customers will like, we are giving suggestions on what to watch on TV based on what people are browsing on the internet in real time.
Using data meaningfully was crucial to engage and improving the consumer experience with the brand.
Once the extension has the recommendation(s), it can bind it to the unique Sky customer information. This ensures that it will only offer suggestions that belong to the subscription plan that each customer has.
From there, users can record or buy programs directly from the extension. The request is made directly to the SKY TV satellite with the program and the customer ID. The satellite then sends the request directly to the box at the customer's home.
SKY TIP is proving to be a very effective way to give suggestions because much of what people do on the internet is navigate through things that they are somehow interested in. For instance, if you are reading an article about the career of the film director Stanley Kubrick and the algorithm finds keywords connecting it to something in the SKY’s schedule, like, for example, the film "A Clockwork Orange,” it will present the film as a suggestion. Maybe you are a fan of films from the 70s or just curious about Stanley Kubrick, but the recommendation makes sense in both cases.
We’ve created a smarter way to watch TV.
Users can easily install the extension on their browser from the SKY TV website or the Chrome Web Store and then sync it to their SKY TV account. It became a relevant service, free and exclusive for more than 5.5 MM SKY TV clients. It’s a powerful tool for branding and has an important role in customer loyalty.
