The Beginning of an Era
I remember it; clearly, the year was 2016; it was a sunny day in the Bay Area when I had the random idea to start GIF Out Loud. Okay, not random, but the idea came to me like a mac truck; for some reason, I could not get this idea out of my head! The idea was to create a platform that allows users to add their sound to GIFs to communicate their true feelings.
At the time, GIFs were super popular because this was the primary way we millennials communicated; texting took over the phone calls. You see, for me, not talking on the phone and hearing a person’s tone caused many communication challenges. So I figured if I had this issue, my peers were too.
I knew I had to find a way to bring OUR voices and sound back into our daily communication. That’s probably why this idea would not leave me alone. I knew I was on to something special, a game-changer, a fun of communicating for my generation. Thus GIF Out Loud was born.
As the platform grew, I saw users having fun with UGC sound content, realizing audio’s marketing power for brand-audience connections
The 2.0 Evolution
Introducing- GIF Out Loud 2.0 (the dopest GIF and Music Kiosk). Recognizing music’s impact, we collaborated with brands and artists at events, crafting effective branded shareable experiences for activations. The GIF Out Loud experience was customized, simple and super fun- and the result was always the most epic UGC video content using the brand’s sonic identity. Everything was going perfectly; we were connected with more brands, getting ready to kill it in 2020; here comes the pandemic. Quick little side note (it’s all going to make sense in the end)!
Introducing Vidlo
In 2019, I had the idea of creating a SaaS platform for GIF Out Loud (but I just kept it in the back of my head as something we would do in the future). Throughout 2019, a couple of people I connected with would ask me, “What about creating a digital platform for GIF Out Loud”- I would agree and say, let’s follow up on this conversation once we get to that point.
Fast forward to 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, all events and brand activations were canceled (with no date in sight of rescheduling), and our industry halted. It was the perfect time to sit still, connect with others in the industry and figure out how we could still help our customers during this time.
I automatically returned to the digital platform idea (recapping all my conversations in 2019 and early 2020), and I started getting that exciting feeling. That’s when I realized it was the perfect time to introduce a SaaS platform that would allow brands to connect and engage with their audience no matter the circumstances. It was the ideal time, and the market was waiting for this platform; we were solving so many points that I knew the market was ready for US!
Here comes Vidlo– The turnkey solution for user-generated branded video campaigns. Brands, small businesses, and agencies use Viddey to launch branded video campaigns within minutes.
Every brand should create experiences around UGC (specifically video content). It is also essential for us to make UGC campaigns accessible to everyone (small brands, entrepreneurs, bigger brands, and agencies)!
As I was writing this and reflecting on this journey-I am so proud of the Vidlo team and what we have created this far! Our daily mission is to develop and bring the best experience for our customers that generates the best content for your brand! We are so excited for you guys to get started! Are you ready for US?
~Chynna M (Founder)
