Helping content creators capture online inspiration with a simple browser extension

In 2022, BENlabs recognized the extensive research content creators conducted online—from competitor analysis to tracking industry trends and content performance. Seeing an opportunity to simplify this process, it developed a browser extension to streamline research and data collection.

An example image of the BENLabs browser extension

What BENLabs was doing in the present

BENLabs had a solid business that centered on product placement. It was great at partnering with brands and helping them connect to audiences through TV & Film. However, it also had a growing influencer marketing business.

Where BENLabs saw itself in the future

The influencer marketing business had allowed BENLabs to grow a huge database of creators, content metrics, and audience behaviors. It believed that this data could be a boon for itself as well as creators and brands alike. A rising tide that would lift all boats.

A new vision was being formed for the company. BENLabs was envisioning itself becoming a central player in the creator economy. It believed that influencer marketing was set to explode and wanted to be at the epicenter of that explosion and a driver of the creator economy.

An image of a new SaaS platform BENlabs was developing.

How BENLabs planned on transforming itself

BEN believed that it had to fulfill two key objectives in order to transform itself. First, it believed it had to develop its AI and ML capabilities to take advantage of its deep stores of data on creators, content metrics, and audience behaviors. Second, it believed that it had to make this data and AI and ML capabilities available to both content creators and brands alike. If it could achieve these two objectives, BEN believed that it would become an essential partner in the creator economy.

Example images of an "audience insights" feature. These insights were produced using ML algorithms.

Discovery

My team and I were brought together to imagine a better way for content creators to capture online inspiration . We were to research, ideate, and develop a solution, integrate it with AI/ML services, and connect it to a new 0-to-1 SaaS product in development.

GOAL

How might we become an integral part of a content creators workflow?

GENERATIVE RESEARCH

I interviewed a series content creators with varying audiences sizes to understand their motivations and behaviors. I took notes, mapped findings, and generated a list of patterns and insights.

IDEATION WORKSHOP

Ideation workshops were held to generate a broad set of ideas. They were challenged, championed, and hotly debated. In the end, a vote was held and the most popular ideas were selected for advancement.