Scaling love and inclusiveness: How Hallmark leverages Accedo One to delight its loyal audience

Rooted in a deep connection with the brand’s values of love, inclusiveness and heartfelt storytelling, Hallmark fans are part of a community that celebrates meaningful moments and authentic connections - and they all share an enjoyment of uplifting content that inspires hope and togetherness. 

The Hallmark community doesn’t just consume content - they actively engage in the experience. They organize watch parties, buy merchandise, and connect with each other through Hallmark events and initiatives. Their commitment to the brand makes Hallmark not just a network, but an active part of their daily lives. 

Meeting their loyal fans’ expectations on content and quality is exceedingly important to the whole Hallmark team. Following a period of in-house app resourcing, Hallmark chose to partner with OTT SaaS provider Accedo One in 2021 to bring their desired user experience for their fans to life. 
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The challenge: Scalability with in-house resourcing 

Prior to outsourcing development, Hallmark faced challenges in providing a consistent user experience across various devices and platforms. Maintaining a high standard was difficult, prompting Hallmark to start their collaboration with Accedo. 

“Maintaining a consistent and high-quality experience across various devices and platforms was difficult to do with in-house resources. By working with Accedo, we’ve been able to tap into expertise that we didn’t have in-house, improve scalability, and enhance the overall user experience of our SVOD while keeping costs down.”

Overall, the partnership has resulted in a lower total cost of ownership.
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The solution: Efficiency and growth with Accedo One  

With Accedo One, Hallmark was able to tap into the expertise of a specialized OTT technology team, as well as into the scalability benefits that a versatile product platform such as Accedo One brings to the table: 

• More frequent service updates due to the scalability benefits of Accedo One’s pre-built templates.
• Faster release rollouts have resulted in incremental service improvements. 

Regular check-ins and updates with the Accedo One team have fostered alignment throughout the partnership, positioning Accedo One as an extension of the Hallmark team. In fact, the great collaboration was a regular theme in internal retrospectives following the launch of Hallmark+. 

“Accedo One understands our business needs, our users and technical architecture. Together, this helps us quickly diagnose any issues and create customized and effective solutions – whether it's a bug in production or a new feature idea. “

Notable implementations included the unauthenticated Hallmark+ page, which effectively showcases content and subscription offerings to potential users.
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‍Hallmark+: An integrated retail and OTT offering 

A key milestone was the recent integration of Hallmark’s retail operations with its OTT platform, creating a unified Hallmark+ experience. This integration:

• Enhanced user engagement by combining content and loyalty rewards.
• Reinforced Hallmark’s mission of fostering connections through a seamless retail and digital experience.

By linking the retail and digital offerings, Hallmark has created an experience where subscribers can enjoy their favorite content and receive rewards for their loyalty.
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What advice would Hallmark give to other OTT companies? 

The Hallmark team says it best: 

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, we would say focus on your users – both the subscribers of your  service and your internal team members. 

Choose a partner that understands your users and keeps them at the center of your design and functionality decisions. Part of that will of course be data and making sure you have a solution that offers robust analytics tools.  

Additionally, look for a partner that offers excellent support and is willing to collaborate closely with your team. Their expertise can be invaluable in navigating challenges and  maximizing the platform’s potential.“

Hallmark understands consumers’ wish to connect with brands that resonate with their values. “We plan to stay ahead by leveraging our rich brand story and loyal audience to  deliver heartwarming, original content that embodies the spirit of connection and care.” This is also advice that they would give to other OTT service providers looking to make their mark: 

“For other OTT service providers looking to achieve similar success, embracing the power of  niche streaming can be pivotal. By focusing on specific themes and audiences—much like  Hallmark’s emphasis on connection and community—one can create deeply resonant  experiences that foster loyalty.”

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Hallmark’s journey with Accedo One has been a success story - marked by collaboration, innovation and optimization - and a reminder that choosing a specialized OTT vendor over internal resourcing can open up avenues for development and growth. 

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