SmartTV app development with brand catalogue and built-in analytics on Tizen OS

Client

B1 SmartTV is a provider of digital marketing solutions for music, sports, and other industries in Germany. The company focuses on consulting, development and implementation of Smart TV applications.

Challenge

The client approached us to develop a new version of their application and system administration panel. We were to build an updated app from scratch, based on the Tizen OS.

The client's application is a catalogue of brands' advertising pages. Companies and marketing agencies use it to publish information about their promotions and collect users' contact details.

In the administration panel, the users (company representatives) create and edit brand pages, as well as generate analytical reports on their traffic.

The main functions of the app:

Selection and demonstration of brand content, categorised.
Built-in player to automatically generate playlists and watch videos.
Brand pages with detailed information about brands' products/services and marketing campaigns.
Application notification settings, automatic localisation.

Solution

1. Concept

We studied the client's experience and requests based on the previous version of the app, the ready-made UI design provided by a third-party developer, and agreed on the software requirements.

The app's hardware platform — Samsung TVs with the Tizen operating system — calls for the following limitations:

need to implement spatial navigation using the D-Pad;
lack of adaptive screen layout;
integration with Samsung Ads.

The key requirements for the application:

running on the latest and previous versions of Samsung TVs;
ensuring quick response and elaborate UX.

2. Software

First, we developed the client-side of the application, so our client could demonstrate the system to potential customers even before the project was finished.

For the client-side, we used JS frameworks (React/Redux) to make it easier to adapt the application to other Smart TV platforms in the future.

Then we developed the server-side and administration panel. We used node.js and Bootstrap technologies to simplify further development and adaptation of the product.

Outcome

The app integrates easily with Samsung Ads and includes deep links (hyperlinks that lead to a specific section of the app): this opens up new entry points for users.
It quickly adapts to other Smart TV platforms.
The branded content can be instantly added and edited in the administration panel, while the analytics module empowers the app users with some very detailed statistics (custom Google Analytics events are used to gather data and generate reports).

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