ZEFR is a video platform that creates data-driven stories with YouTube content. When YouTube users create content involving a brand, ZEFR can identify it, analyze its impact, and monetize it effectively. Effectively, this uses the video giant as a social network, and creates engagement between brands and users.
That’s a big deal for advertisers, and explains why the company is reportedly valued between $250 million and $500 million, raising $30 million this year alone. And with the September acquisition of social influencer startup Engodo, ZEFR is now poised to expand beyond YouTube.
Why would I use ZEFR? Can’t YouTube tell me when my content is used?
There’s no shortage of content on YouTube, yet for every video from a brand’s official channel, there are ten more user-generated videos about that brand. YouTube’s internal Content ID system can look for ripoffs and copyright issues, but not how much people actually talk about a brand.
That’s where ZEFR comes in. Through its platform, brands can identify related UGC, analyze it, compare it to a brand’s competitors, and then monetize it. ZEFR understands who’s talking about a brand, how, and who’s listening — but also allows the brand to take control of its own story.
ZEFR isn’t just a social listener. Its marketing platform can launch a campaign toward those engaged users, enabling brands to buy against media that’s already related to them. That’s a moneymaker for brands like Universal and Sony Music, but more importantly, it’s a meaningful connection between a brand and its fans.
What are the implications beyond YouTube?
ZEFR’s platform goes beyond pure analytics. By evaluating content, ZEFR can show a brand which pieces of their content have traction, and what those fans look like. Brands can use that information to mold their content strategy across social to better leverage those conversations. By clearly identifying what fans respond to and where they spend their time, ZEFF enables brands to create better-crafted, better-received media campaigns at a potentially unprecedented level.
Lastly, through its acquisition of the influencer-focused Engodo, ZEFR can understand how brands’ video stories permeate across multiple channels — and vice versa. And once a brand knows the story, it can write the next chapter.
Image: TechCrunch
