Sharing and reflecting on life moments is an integral part of Facebook. The end of the year is always a natural time for looking back and nostalgia. So we created a personalized video that allowed users to look back on their Facebook memories from 2018.

In the past these types of videos had been a simple fill in the blank approach but this year we designed the video to be built in a modular way -- so the actual visuals of the video were customized based on the types of memories they shared throughout their year.

Facebook has over 2 billion users all over the world. To touch the hearts and minds of this many varied users, we not only had to make sure our creative idea resonated around the world but that our videos allowed for a level of specificity that makes them meaningful. To achieve our goal of increased personalization and variety, we implemented a modular system where each film pulled the most relevant modules for each user out of a pool of potential modules. The modules were supported by data queries such as check ins for vacations, engagement announcements, or the addition of a new job on profile. As a result, content was more tailored to users based on their activity and each user’s video was slightly unique.

The creative device of flipping through the pages of a book allowed us to apply this modular approach seamlessly, while still creating something that would be interesting for people with vastly different cultural backgrounds. The visual device of exploring these surreal worlds in each page helped our visuals be interesting without relying on cultural cues that might not make sense to a global audience. CG Animation was a natural fit for this approach.

This film took around 6 months to product and integrate into product. In addition to the creative, we also invested in better ways to identify and filter negative memories on the product side.

This film was successful and met or exceeded our initial goals. We created unique personalized films for over 1 billion people. We were able to hit a larger audience than any of our past personalized Year in Review films, as well as exceed our past average watch and share rates for these types of videos.