How to Package a Brand for AI Video Platforms: Delivering Logo Animations and Metadata

Hook: Your brand needs to be found by AI — not just seen

You launched a small business, hired a designer, and got a lovely logo — now what? In 2026, discovery isn't only about search engine rankings or TikTok virality. AI-powered vertical video platforms and recommendation engines are becoming primary discovery paths for local and niche brands. If your logo and brand assets aren’t packaged for these systems, your business will be skipped by automated recommendation models and by viewers who form preferences before they search.

The short answer: what platforms actually need

AI vertical video platforms — think mobile-first episodic services, social-video recommendation engines, and branded channel feeds — need three things from brands to surface and recommend content reliably:

• Technical deliverables: correctly sized and encoded animated logos, masters with alpha, vector source files, and closed captions.
• Creative systems: responsive logo variants, short stingers, chaptered assets (timestamps + micro-thumbnails), and a concise style guide.
• Structured metadata: titles, descriptions, entity tags, chapter metadata, transcripts, and a manifest JSON so AI models can index and classify your content.

Why this matters in 2026

2025–26 saw major funding and product launches for AI vertical video platforms (for example, industry reporting on firms like Holywater highlighted big rounds and product scaling in Jan 2026). Those platforms prioritise mobile-first, episodic, and highly structured content. Search and discovery are now entity-driven across social, search and AI answers: consistent, structured brand inputs help platform models recommend you to the right audiences.

“Audiences form preferences before they search.” — a 2026 industry trend: discoverability is a system across social, search, and AI-powered answers.

Core deliverables: a checklist every small business must supply

Below is a practical, actionable checklist you can hand to a designer or use to prepare your brand package. Treat it as the minimum viable bundle for AI video platforms.

1. Master source files
   • Editable vector: .AI and .SVG (ensure SVG is optimised and responsive).
   • Print-ready PDF and EPS for legacy systems.
   • Figma or Sketch source for responsive/logo-system variants.
2. Animated logos
   • Animated master with alpha channel: ProRes 4444 MOV (master, 24/30fps).
   • High-quality web delivery: MP4 H.264 (1080x1920 vertical), WebM VP9 with alpha where supported.
   • Lightweight vector animation: Lottie JSON (Bodymovin export) for in-app animations and fast rendering.
   • Short stinger versions: 0.75–1s (stinger), 3–5s intro, 3s outro/bumper. Provide loopable versions if needed.
3. Still assets & thumbnails
   • Vertical cover image 1080x1920 (webp and JPG)
   • Square logo 1080x1080 and 512x512 favicons
4. Chapters & micro-content
   • Timestamped chapter list (SRT or JSON) with short micro-headlines and 1-line descriptions.
   • 1–3 second micro-thumbnails for chapter previews (vertical crop).
5. Metadata & transcript
   • Canonical title, 140–200 character short description, 500–800 character long description.
   • Transcript in .SRT or .VTT and plain-text for indexing.
   • Entity/taxonomy tags and a topic list (see template below).
6. Packaging manifest
   • One JSON manifest describing files, versions, safe-area specs, and metadata for platform ingestion.

Animated logo specs: exact technical recommendations

Deliver both masters for post-production and platform-ready assets. Platforms and recommendation models prefer predictable inputs.

• Master animation (archive)
  • Format: ProRes 4444 MOV with alpha (or DNxHR 444 for non-Apple workflows).
  • Resolution: native vertical workspace, recommend composing at 2160x3840 (4K vertical) so you can scale down.
  • Frame rate: 24 or 30 fps. Keep consistent across assets.
• Platform render
  • Primary: MP4 H.264, 1080x1920, 30fps, CBR ~6–8 Mbps for high-quality mobile playback.
  • Alternate (with transparency where supported): WebM VP9 with alpha or APNG for microloops.
  • Stinger: 0.75–1s, small file size, keep motion low for fast cold starts.
• Lottie (JSON)
  • Export from After Effects with Bodymovin plugin; keep compositions vector-friendly (no raster-only effects) and under recommended file size thresholds (ideally <150KB for in-app use).
• Safe area & responsive layout
  • Provide guides: safe margin for vertical full-screen (e.g., 10% top/bottom, 8% sides) and center-markers for avatar crops.

Chaptered assets: why chapters help AI recommenders

Chaptering does two things: it signals content structure to recommendation algorithms and it creates discoverable micro-moments for viewers. AI models use chapter titles, short descriptions, and thumbnails to understand topics and map them to audience intent.

Provide a chapter file in both machine-readable and human formats:

• JSON manifest with timestamp, title, summary (1 sentence), keywords (3–6 words), and thumbnail filename.
• SRT or VTT with chapter markers for accessibility and indexing.

Metadata & discovery optimisation (practical guidance)

AI platforms synthesize many signals. Here’s how to make yours clear and actionable to algorithms and humans.

• Title best practices: Primary brand + concise content signal. Example: "Acme Coffee — How to Brew for UK Mornings (2-min)". Keep main keyword near the front.
• Short description: 140–200 chars. Use brand + content hook + CTA. Include 1–2 main keywords.
• Long description: 400–800 chars. Include structured details, entity mentions (location, product names), and links (website, booking, shop).
• Tags & entities: Use 6–12 tags; include brand name as an entity, category terms, and local signals (e.g., 'Bristol café').
• Transcripts: Provide SRT/VTT with speaker labels and punctuation — AI models favour well-formed text.
• Schema and JSON-LD: For websites and platform pages, include VideoObject schema with thumbnailUrl, uploadDate, duration, transcript link, and potentialAction when possible.

Practical metadata templates (copy/paste and adapt)

Use these templates for consistency. Replace bracketed text.

{
  "title": "[Brand] — [Primary Topic] ([Time])",
  "short_description": "[Brand] shows how to [primary action] in [seconds/minutes]. Tip: [one-line hook].",
  "long_description": "[Two to three sentences expanding the hook]. Chapters: [list]. Visit: [website].",
  "tags": ["brand","category","local-area","product-name","format"],
  "transcript": "[link or SRT file name]",
  "chapters": [
    {"start": "00:00:00","title": "[Chapter 1]","thumb": "chapter1.jpg","keywords":["keyword1","keyword2"]},
    {"start": "00:00:30","title": "[Chapter 2]","thumb": "chapter2.jpg","keywords":["keyword3"]}
  ]
}

Folder & file naming convention — keep it machine-friendly

Platforms and automation routines prefer simple, consistent names. Example convention:

• brand_project_v1_master.mov
• brand_intro_3s_1080x1920.mp4
• brand_logo_2026.ai
• brand_chapters.json
• brand_transcript.vtt

Workflow: from briefing to platform submission (step-by-step)

This workflow fits small teams or freelancers and keeps delivery predictable for buyers.

1. Kickoff & brief
   • Clarify use cases: platform names, vertical resolution, maximum durations, brand tone.
   • Create a content map: episodes, social shorts, chapter points.
2. Design & animation
   • Deliver vector master, responsive variants, Lottie prototype for in-app checks.
   • Review safe-area and avatar crops with client in Figma or InVision.
3. Encoding & QC
   • Render masters and platform-ready files, run automated QC (check duration, frame rate, alpha channel, colour space sRGB).
4. Metadata & chaptering
   • Produce transcripts, title/descriptions, tags, and the chapters JSON.
5. Packaging & manifest
   • Create the manifest.json and ZIP or link via cloud storage with clear folder tree.
6. Submission & monitoring
   • Submit to platforms (follow each platform's developer/creator portal). Monitor recommendations and update metadata based on analytics.

Tools that make this predictable

• Design & vector: Adobe Illustrator, Figma.
• Animation: After Effects + Bodymovin (Lottie), Principle for micro-interactions.
• Editing & encoding: Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, FFmpeg CLI for batch encoding and format conversions.
• Transcripts & captions: Descript (for quick edits), Aegisub for precise SRT work.
• Metadata & manifests: Any text editor for JSON; Postman or platform APIs for submissions.

Accessibility, performance, and AI-friendly best practices

AI platforms penalise poor UX. Make your assets accessible and performant so models can recommend them with confidence.

• Captions and transcripts: mandatory for discoverability and accessibility; provide language tags for multilingual content.
• Low-motion variants: offer reduced animation for users with motion sensitivity or when platforms need low-motion thumbnails.
• Contrast & legibility: ensure logo text is legible at small sizes and over video content per WCAG guidance.
• File size budget: keep Lottie <150KB where possible; platform MP4s under 10MB for quick mobile start — compress with two-pass VBR.

Measuring success and iterating

Packaging is not one-and-done. Use these KPIs to decide what to change:

• Impression-to-click and play-through rates by chapter
• Recommendation lift after metadata updates
• Brand recall & recognition in A/B tests of intro length/stinger
• Search and query matches using entity-based SEO tracking (monitor queries that contain your brand and related topics)

Mini case example (practical, hypothetical)

Local bakery "Crumb & Co" wanted to be recommended to nearby breakfast seekers on a vertical AI platform. By delivering:

• ProRes 4444 vertical master and a 3s MP4 intro,
• Chapters (00:00 Intro, 00:12 How we source flour, 00:45 Best seller),
• Short description and local tags (Bristol, breakfast, sourdough), and
• Full transcript and JSON manifest;

— the bakery increased recommendations for local searches by 46% in four weeks and saw a direct uplift in foot-traffic conversions. This mirrors broader 2025–26 platform trends where structured content wins recommendation-quality scores.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Pitfall: Only providing a static logo. Fix: include animated stingers and an Lottie file for in-app UI uses.
• Pitfall: Missing transcripts or messy captions. Fix: produce clean SRT/VTT with punctuation and speaker labels.
• Pitfall: No manifest or inconsistent naming. Fix: use a single manifest.json and follow the naming conventions above.

Future predictions: what to expect in the next 12–24 months

Looking ahead through 2026 and into 2027, expect:

• Greater adoption of structured manifests and platform-specific metadata endpoints (APIs for bulk ingestion).
• More platforms accepting Lottie and vector-first animation to reduce bandwidth and improve personalization.
• Recommendation models that use chapter-level semantics and micro-thumbnails as primary signals for surfacing content.
• Automatic re-mix tools that stitch brand stingers into user-generated content — making standardised stingers and short logos even more valuable.

Quick packing checklist (one page)

• Master vector: .AI, .SVG, .PDF
• Animated master: ProRes 4444 MOV (vertical)
• Platform-ready MP4 (1080x1920) + WebM if needed
• Lottie JSON
• 3 x stinger lengths: 0.75s, 1s, 3s
• Thumbnails: vertical cover, square, favicon
• Transcript: .SRT/.VTT + plain text
• Chapters JSON + chapter thumbnails
• Manifest JSON and README with naming conventions

Final actionable takeaways

• Make an assets checklist before you hire: it saves time and cost in the long run.
• Deliver both source masters and platform-ready files — masters enable future edits and platform-specific renders.
• Structure metadata as machine-readable JSON so AI recommendation engines can index and attribute brand signals.
• Chapter your content — chapters are discovery hooks for AI and viewers alike.
• Measure and iterate — track recommendations and adjust tags, titles, and chapters based on performance.

Call to action

Ready to make your brand discoverable on AI video platforms? Download our free Brand Packaging Checklist or request a custom packaging quote from our team at designlogo.uk. We’ll audit your current assets, produce the full manifest and renders, and deliver platform-ready bundles that increase recommendation potential and viewer recall.

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