The Filter

Leading recommendation and personalisation engine. Uses complex AI behind an easy-to-use interface and analytics dashboard.

Achieved with CookiesHQ since July 2014

5
national brands on-boarded
500,000+
recommendations generated
20+
development sprints

Changing the way we discover music

It all started back in 2006 when musician Peter Gabriel was introduced to the physicist and entrepreneur Martin Hopkins. Hopkins had created an app that would manage his extensive music collection. The product was designed to learn about Martin’s tastes and serve up personalised playlists and recommendations. Together with Rhett Ryder, the three went on to form The Filter.

Over the next 20 years, The Filter grew and expanded into new markets. They focused on using technology to make retail, video and music stores more exciting and quickly became specialists in providing expertise to merchandising, entertainment and broadcasting teams. They helped those teams make sense of large collections of items and control what to show to their users. Through the use of specialised APIs that trawl through inventory catalogues, they enable retailers to make informed decisions on which products are relevant at any moment, in any context, for their customers.

“Working with the team has been a great experience. The process was well defined, communication was great both ways, and the deliverables were just as expected. Our clients are already seeing great insights using our custom analytics dashboard display and it’s enabled us to communicate our value much more effectively. ”
- Neil Andrassy, CTO at The Filter

Sharing a vision

When looking for a team to work with, The Filter had some considerations in mind. They wanted to collaborate with a local business, as they’d be spending a lot of time with whoever they chose to work with. They wanted a company that would buy into the project and be enthusiastic about it. After a competitive tendering process, they chose CookiesHQ.

Our first project with The Filter was a dashboard that could show their clients the impact of the recommendation engine in real time. Now, when customers make purchases based on The Filter’s suggestions, the data is aggregated and displayed through a simple, accessible interface.

Our second project was rather more demanding. In the past, when clients wanted to change the recommendation settings, they’d have to call up The Filter to do it for them. We created a javascript web app using EmberJS, that connects to The Filter’s .NET API – allowing clients to make changes directly. By placing the vast, complex recommendation system behind a friendly, easy-to-use UI, we massively reduced the time it would take both The Filter and their clients to adjust their preferences.

The Filter were the first company to offer this service – and their clients loved it.

Since our initial discovery meeting with them, our relationship with The Filter has stood the test of time. Each month we work with their team on a roadmap of features to maintain, upgrade and improve their products. We’re proud to be part of their development team and look forward to a long future with them.

Technologies used: EmberJS