AI is everywhere: in headlines, conferences, and product roadmaps.
Yet for many businesses, it's still an abstract concept, powerful but difficult to implement.
We created Hollr to change that. It enables organisations to generate personalised video messages using generative AI, turning complex technology into a simple, scalable solution for smarter customer engagement.
At Sputnik, we're always looking ahead to future technologies and how they can benefit both us and our clients. Hollr makes AI-driven personalisation simple, helping businesses integrate tailored video content into their workflows without the usual technical hurdles.
Background
Audiences today expect content that is clear, concise, and relevant. With attention spans shrinking — particularly among younger demographics — the effectiveness of long-form written communication is diminishing.
Hollr addresses this shift by enabling organisations to deliver personalised video messages that are easy to understand, engaging and accessible.
Whether it's an insurance quote, an appointment reminder or a subscription renewal, Hollr helps businesses communicate with clarity and impact.
Potential use cases for personalised video:
Insurance Quotes
Loans & Mortgages
Investment Updates
Chasing Late Payments
Appointment Reminders
Welcome Messages
Flood Warnings
Product Demos
The Journey
We approached Hollr's development by mapping the complete user and system flow. This included external service integrations, approval workflows, and message delivery triggers. By visualising dependencies and potential bottlenecks, we optimised both performance and maintainability.
User actions
Request a video
Form populated for video generation
Middleware
A key element in building Hollr was creating a single piece of middleware that connects external services, decision points, and system processes.
This enables Hollr to remain agnostic with regards to the text-to-video integrations, future proofing it as the LLM landscape continues to evolve.
The middleware allows for fast, reliable mobilisation and integration with a wide range of systems, de-risking the implementation of personalised video messaging at scale.
Result
Video generated result page
Middleware
Middleware
A key element in building Hollr was creating a single piece of middleware that connects external services, decision points, and system processes.
This enables Hollr to remain agnostic with regards to the text-to-video integrations, future proofing it as the LLM landscape continues to evolve.
The middleware allows for fast, reliable mobilisation and integration with a wide range of systems, de-risking the implementation of personalised video messaging at scale.
Endpoint Validation
Sample Video Endpoint Check
Code Validation
Check Codes Sheet for validity
Insert Request
Insert into Dynamo DB Videos Table
Request Video Creation
Create Video
Insert message into check queue
Insert into SQS Check Queue with initial timeout value
Creating Video Result
Return Video Creation Result
Result
Video generated result page
Engineered for success
AI agnostic platform providing flexibility in a changing LLM landscape.
End-to-end service, including design, data ingestion, video generation and delivery.
Demonstrable Proof of Concept and MVP removes uncertainty around feasibility and cost of delivery.
Trackable KPIs to measure business impact.
Project Takeaways
Prices
The AI avatar mispronounced prices, especially those including 'pence' or very high figures. We initially tried spelling out the numbers in a more human way, like 'forty-three pounds' instead of £43, but this was hit or miss. Ultimately, rounding all numbers to two decimal places (e.g., £43.00) resolved the issue.
Dates & Names
We humanised dates so instead of 'Your renewal is due on the 25/02/01', Hollr says 'the first of February'. We also ensured that trickier names like 'Strauß', 'Göring' and 'Siobhán' were pronounced correctly.
Sentiment
The AI video's sentiment often appeared 'angry' or had strange facial expressions for certain phrases, so we adjusted the script to avoid emotive words that triggered stronger speech and odd facial expressions.
Product Demo
As a new service, it's understandable that businesses are skeptical of the feasibility, quality and accuracy of personalised video. To overcome this, we built a 'Try it free' feature, allowing users to generate their own video to experience Hollr first hand.
Dynamic Scripting
It's not as simple as 'mail merging' variables into a script. In order to reflect a natural language flow, the script itself needs a number of variations depending on the data for each case.
Discover hollr
Experience AI-powered personalised video messaging, visit hollr.io and try it end-to-end.
Visit hollr.io
Let's work together.
Call our Managing Director Andy on 0800 680 9777 or fill in our to discuss how we can help.