Here’s the official notice: Shakr is taking on video ads, and we’re not looking back.

Video advertising has always been the exclusive domain of big businesses. While small businesses are responsible for about half of all ad spending on Google and other online ad platforms. High production costs have been an insurmountable barrier to entry for video. By creating a marketplace for motion graphics designers, and pairing it with our drag-and-drop simple video editor, we’re taking a jackhammer to that barrier.

Some of the top talent in motion graphics, including designers who regularly do work for big brands like Samsung, Nike, and some of Asia’s top broadcasters, are already working with Shakr to create video styles like “High Voltage“, the one at the top of this post.

Working with the best designers in Korea and North America has unlocked our ability to scale up quickly, but with unbeatable quality. We’ve already found great success in Korea with videos for important personal events. Our next move takes us beyond Korea, with the idea that small businesses should help other small businesses.

Our model creates a greater sense of trust and belonging, because a large portion of what our customers spend goes directly to the designers (who are also small businesspeople). And we tell our customers this, directly.

The result: For an average price of $100, a startup founder, storeowner or restaurateur can make a highly effective video ad.

Last May, Shakr won the top prize at Seoul’s BeLaunch conference, which coincided with our public launch. At that point, Shakr only had about a dozen video styles. Now, thanks to a proven model of empowering third-party designers, Shakr has increased that number more than tenfold, while also boosting the quality of video styles. That’s incredibly exciting.

Unlike simple video slideshows, Shakr’s video styles come with storylines. Instead of formulaically feeding a few photos through the same transitions over-and-over again (fade-through-black, swipe left, dissolve), Shakr transforms pictures and videos into beautiful stories and effective ads.

Shakr’s gains go beyond increasing its number of designers and video styles. We’ve also made improvements to its user experience with easier edits, in-line text support and the ability to finish a video later.

Try making a video with High Voltage yourself:

https://www.shakr.com/en_US/theme/autos-high-voltage

Shakr’s video styles are incredibly versatile. Here is a sample of our High Voltage video style used for a Hyundai Tucson ad. This ad is good enough to go on TV.

Here’s the same video style used again to promote 500 Startups, one of our incredible investors.