Firebox.com launch the Affiliate Video Player!

[nim-b]

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Background

We’ve been putting videos on our site since before the YouTube revolution, and for a while now have been working on a way to let affiliates use this resource.

So I’m very pleased to announce the Firebox Affiliate Video Player, which I think takes video creative to the next level. Its involved a lot of hard work, so I really hope you like it .

Rather than sticking with traditional creative formats and sizes, we’ve gone for something that works in a very similar way to other video embedding systems, but will give viewers a clear push to buy the products featured. More than just creative, this system allows you to play product videos within your site.

The Player

<object width="414" height="351"><param name="movie" value="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=2024&aff_id=512" ></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=2024&aff_id=512" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="414" height="351" flashvars="product_id=2024&aff_id=512"></embed></object>

The video player is flash-based, and all videos will be hosted by Firebox. We’ve invested in the server power needed to support this!

To make it easy to use, we’ve got a page on Firebox where you can grab the code for the video you want to embed.

Firebox Affiliate Video Player page

You simply have to choose the video you want, enter your affiliate id, a click reference (this is optional), and choose the affiliate network you use for Firebox (either Affiliate Window or Affiliate Future). The code below will then adapt so it codes the ‘Buy’ button with the relevant tracking. If you click the ‘Preview’ button it will show a working preview of the player, you can even check the tracking through this.

All clicks and sales will be tracked through the affiliate networks as usual- this has been checked thoroughly!

At the moment I’ve chosen a number of our current videos for the player, but we’re working on lots more. The latest one is for the new PicoZ MX-1 Extreme helicopter, which is the video shown above. If you would like a particular video from Firebox that I haven’t included in the list, e-mail me and I’ll get it setup.

These videos are particularly useful for promoting moving products such as helicopters and robots, which are big sellers for us. Using them will increase your conversion rate, as well as adding a nice bit of content to your site.

If you have any feedback or spot any problems with the player, either comment below or e-mail me.

Launch Competition!

To celebrate the launch of the player, I’ve got a Video Watch to give away.



All you have to do is put a video somewhere on your site, send me the link to it, and I’ll enter you into the prize draw. The competition will run until the 1st of May.

[loquax]

Cool stuff... brilliant content.

Do you have anything that is eco-friendlyish (climate changey related)?

Jason

[Graham@Buyagift]

Hi Naomi,

these look great! Just tried the Video player page and the previews don't seem to work in IE or FF...

Graham

[Cheapdvds]

the micro planes are great , u guys look like you all have great jobs , would love to come and work at firebox.

will be adding these later , great work

[nim-b]

Cool stuff... brilliant content.

Do you have anything that is eco-friendlyish (climate changey related)?

Jason

Glad you like it! I've had a look through all our eco-friendly products, and can't find any really good videos (most of them are customer submitted). I will ask our design team to put the Wattson on the list of videos to make though, its a good visual product. In the meantime, if you like the look of any videos on this list of products (all eco ones), give me a shout and I'll add it.

Hi Naomi,

these look great! Just tried the Video player page and the previews don't seem to work in IE or FF...

Graham

Silly question, but did you click the preview button? We tested the page in lots of different browsers and it was fine. Otherwise I'll look into it.

Thanks
Naomi

[nim-b]

Oh, also wanted to let everyone know what happens if the player goes wrong

This is a very unlikely scenario, but if the player cannot find the right video, an error message appears like this:

<object width="414" height="351"><param name="movie" value="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=9999"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=9999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="414" height="351" flashvars="product_id=9999"></embed></object>

The link to the firebox homepage will also be encoded with your affiliate link.

The only time this might not work is if the server that is hosting the videos goes down. In this case we will probably have bigger problems as it might affect the Firebox site and would probably indicate some massive disaster or act of God. This has never happened before, so I'm confident we can keep the videos running smoothly.

Also, if you find the video is marginally too big for your site, you can change the size provided you keep the aspect ratio the same. I can explain how to do this to anyone that needs it, its straightforward.

[getvisible]

I couldn't preview either. But I just trusted it'd work and posted it anyway.

[befuddle]

I like this and I've already implemented it.

I notice all the urls are appended "?aff=512" but this is not my own 'external_aff_id'. Is this fine?

Cheers,
Ray

[nim-b]

I'll test the preview button- that's a bit annoying.

Ray- yes that's fine, provided your network is Affiliate Window. That is our internal affiliate cookie for that network, so will make sure we track the sales ok internally. Your external aff id will still be used in the tracking. Hope that makes sense.

[Graham@Buyagift]

Hi Naomi,

just realised it only doesn't preview if you have a clickref. The broswer gives an error on line 608, char 4, 'params' - is undefined.

Graham

[nim-b]

Graham- you are a genius. Will get it sorted

[nim-b]

Preview button should now be fixed! It was the clickref. Please note- it just affected the preview, not the embedding code.

Any further queries just shout.

Cheers
Naomi

[eagle8]

This is great. We will try and embed these videos into our gadget site.

Good work firebox!

[hpops]

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-------dooooooossss!

Well thought out, well implemented and just the kind of innovation that the industry needs (particularly love the currently unavailble bit)

[nim-b]

particularly love the currently unavailble bit

I like the way this works too, although I'm hoping it doesn't get shown too much

Also, forgot to mention that the product text will also include special offers and discounts, so for example for the video for the PalmZ Micro Plane....

<object width="414" height="351"><param name="movie" value="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=1735&aff_id=512" ></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?product_id=1735&aff_id=512" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="414" height="351" flashvars="product_id=1735&aff_id=512"></embed></object>

The product text says 'Was £17.95, now £14.95'. Prices etc get taken straight from a live feed, so will keep up with any changes.

Unfortunately my fave Firebox video is for the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, which we're not selling at the moment, but here it is in case anyone is interested.....

<object width="414" height="351"><param name="movie" value="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?video_id=660&aff_id=512"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://videos.firebox.com/flash/firebox_player_ext.swf?video_id=660&aff_id=512" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="414" height="351" flashvars="video_id=660&aff_id=512"></embed></object>