Augustine Institute
About
Transforming Formed into a Scalable Multimedia Platform
The Augustine Institute is a leading publisher and media ministry whose digital platform, Formed, serves a diverse user base of parishes, lay-faith communities and individual subscribers. With ambitions to scale content, personalize experience and unlock new revenue models, Augustine Institute engaged Impekable to reimagine Formed as a future-proof, integrated multimedia hub.
Problem Statement
The Formed platform was originally built on Vimeo OTT, but this infrastructure presented clear limitations:
A rigid platform that could not adapt to evolving business needs.
A one-size-fits-all user experience that restricted engagement and retention.
Operational and revenue bottlenecks as parish budgets tightened and subscriber numbers flattened.
Lack of flexibility to introduce advanced content models and scale across devices and formats.
Recognizing that the next wave of growth would require full ownership of platform, content delivery and data, Augustine Institute partnered with Impekable to replace the Vimeo OTT core with a modern, scalable, data-driven system while maintaining service continuity for active users.
The Solution
Impekable collaborated with Augustine Institute to architect and deliver a step-wise rebuild of the Formed platform. Inspired by the “Ship of Theseus” concept (aka Strangler Pattern), our approach replaced legacy functionality incrementally so the live system remained uninterrupted.
Phase 1: A production-ready first release in just two weeks, selectively shifting key Vimeo OTT capabilities.
Phase 2: Complete platform rewrite delivered in seven months, built for scalability, personalization and cross-device support.
Phase 3: Ongoing rollout across web, mobile and TV apps — including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV and Roku — enabling a unified content ecosystem.
Delivered Outcomes
A modern, scalable, integrated multimedia platform that supports Augustine Institute’s entire content catalog.
Superior user experience: higher engagement rates, longer session durations and improved retention.
Growth in traffic and visibility across diverse user segments (parishes, individuals, mobile/TV).
New revenue avenues unlocked via experimentation with pricing and subscriber models.
Reduced dependency on third-party OTT platforms — giving Augustine Institute full control over distribution, user data and monetization.
Enhanced subscriber management: introduction of guest access, personalized content pathways and device-agnostic delivery.
Benefits
With the re-imagined Formed platform in place, Augustine Institute now enjoys:
Business flexibility: Ability to define and iterate on pricing, subscription tiers and content bundles.
Improved customer insights: Direct access to user behaviour data and analytics, allowing informed decisions on content creation and marketing.
Sustainable growth: A platform positioned to scale even as parish budgets tighten and parishioner numbers evolve.
Operational efficiency: Full ownership of platform operations, fewer third-party dependencies and lower long-term costs.
Enhanced user experience: Personalized recommendations, seamless access across devices and a premium feel aligned with the institution’s mission.
Community impact: A strengthened digital foundation that helps Augustine Institute deepen its evangelization and faith-formation efforts in the digital age.
Why Impekable?
Impekable’s expertise in end-to-end digital product strategy and development — across web, mobile and TV platforms — made us the ideal partner for Augustine Institute’s ambitious vision. From rapid prototype to full rewrite and multi-device rollout, the project demonstrates our fluency in turning complex legacy systems into modern, scalable, user-centric platforms.
