On Tuesday, we announced our partnership with R/GA. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation with the head of R/GA’s Software Platform Lab.

Tell us a little about the R/GA Software Lab.
R/GA’s Software Platform Lab (SPL) helps brands select software providers from our third-party digital marketing partnerships. The SPL leverages research, reports, and workshops to enable brand stakeholders to make informed partner decisions based on brand impact, user experience, performance, customer service and price.

R/GA guides clients through the process of researching, evaluating, selecting and combining third party technology solutions. Our approach is unique because R/GA is not a reseller: we have one impartial partnership agreement for all SPL partners.

Why is uStudio’s cloud-based video platform interesting for your clients?
The brands we work with are associated with some of the largest companies in the world who use video in a variety of ways across their marketing organizations. These enterprises need and expect a centralized platform from which to manage and distribute video for a variety of use cases. Some need to serve up video directly inside their proprietary websites or apps; others distribute video to third party platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo; the more leading edge video marketers are even distributing video directly inside their CRM or CMS systems. An enterprise video platform, such as uStudio, can provide the flexibility and extensibility our clients require for all their video needs.

Can you highlight the technology requirements each partner in the SPL must meet?
The partners we choose for R/GA’s SPL are on the cutting edge of today’s software development practices. We work very closely with all departments and capabilities at R/GA, to evaluate and identify the best-in-class potential partners for our clients. While enterprise software for video is most commonly evaluated based on price and performance, we also consider brand fit and user experience, since it’s a design choice that can affect the brand. Our proprietary methodology allows R/GA’s clients to choose the best solution for their particular needs.

In the case of uStudio, their knowledge of video management and delivery at both the technical and strategic level is evident in the design of their platform.  R/GA is pleased to have access to uStudio’s SaaS platform and products including its HTML5- player and framework. Our clients need to deliver a flawless and engaging viewing experience anywhere their audience is viewing video. And for our developer team, the REST-based APIs of the uStudio platform create the opportunity for building and extending it in support of a variety of client initiatives.

How has the agency model shifted to support the role of technology?
Over the last 30 years the agency model has evolved, however, for R/GA, the one constant is our commitment to providing the highest levels of the craft. We understand the nuanced complexities of marketing in the connected age, and view technology as a creative discipline. Truly creative digital campaigns can only take place when creative technologists are part of the equation. As technology continues to advance, consumer behaviors will evolve and so will our approach. We designed our team and the SPL to be flexible around the fundamental components of our business – strategy, creative and technology.

Online video is a great example of this shift as brand marketers embrace it as a critical element of content marketing campaigns, superior customer engagements and sales velocity solutions.