How to: Plan your content ahead of time using AXIS' variant scheduling

Maybe you have an important release coming up and you want to capitalize on the hype by sharing linked content in the days ahead of its launch. Or, maybe you want to target kids during the day, then revert to sports or entertainment content for their parents to watch after the watershed. Or, maybe you just want to ensure your OTT platform is as dynamic as possible, updating sport or entertainment content served to certain users on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis.

Well, it’s all possible with AXIS variant scheduling. Read on to find out how it works and why it matters.

First things first, what’s AXIS?

It’s our targeted UX management console and suite of multi-reference apps. AXIS has been designed to help content, marketing, and editorial teams (no matter their level of technical know-how) take control of everything an OTT video service user can see and interact with – from design, navigation, and page layout to promotions and content. You can read all about it here.

And what are variants?

Page, row, and menu variants allow operators to dynamically target and serve each user with the most appropriate content based on various criteria. Read on to learn about the different types.

• Page variants: When creating page variants, your users see a version of the page based on applied variant parameters. For example, you could supply multiple languages for the same page, with English-speaking fans only seeing the English language page variant.
• Row variants: Similarly, individual content rows can also have variants. Different variants of the same rows can be tailored, i.e. by different device(s), user(s), language(s), segmentation tag(s), and/or date(s). So, for example, you could show a new German sci-fi film to German-speaking sci-fi fans watching on their laptops within a given time period.
• Menu variants: This option exists when creating Header, Account, and Footer menus. It means your users will see a version of the menu based on the criteria applied to each variant. For example, you could target different menu options at specific user age groups.

So, what’s variant scheduling?

It’s a feature within AXIS Presentation Manager that enables OTT operators to set a date period for content to appear within pages, rows, and menus to ensure relevant content is displayed at specific points in time.

How does variant scheduling work?

Where you have multiple page variants set up, your apps display the first “match” it finds from right to left for device(s), user group(s), languages, segmentation tags, and dates. Once you’ve dictated the date period, the page variants still read right to left, however as we reach the date and time range, the scheduled content springs into action and is accessible to your end-users.

The page variant parameters will always override the variant parameters set at a row level. We recommend scheduling rows within existing pages of content that are already live.

It’s also easy to set up recurrence options. This is a unique feature that’s not only simple to set up, it opens up multiple opportunities for customers. For example, you can schedule children’s content during weekday afternoons, or you could alternate mid-week and weekend layouts to reflect the weekly event calendar for a sporting competition.

To take advantage of this feature and set up variant scheduling, here’s what you need to do:

1. Choose a start date and an optional end date for your row variant. By default, the start date is the current date, and the end date is open-ended (it will be set to “Any”).
2. To pick the start date or date period, select from the calendar picker options and enter your dates. You can also enter the start time and end time in this section.
3. To add a recurring date period, select the “Add recurrence” link to display further options. Add the days and times the variant is enabled, along with the week/s of the month.
4. To remove the recurrence, simply click the “Recurrence: remove” link. To save your changes, select the “Confirm” button.

And there you have it! Variant scheduling is just one way you can create a personalized experience for your sport and entertainment fans. What’s more, AXIS is designed for non-technical users, so these changes can be made in seconds no matter their level of experience.

Do you have any questions for the team or would you like to find out more about how AXIS can help you to drive user engagement and reduce churn? We’d love to hear from you. 

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