HOW SAVOIR MÉDIA CREATES ACCESSIBLE AND UNIQUE VIDEO CONTENT

JESS R on January 8, 2025

Founded in 2019, Savoir média is a Canadian-based nonprofit organization, primarily supported by Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education. The organization produces and broadcasts a diverse selection of 100% Quebecois, ad-free programming. As Savoir média continues to grow, it remains committed to delivering engaging content while providing an exceptional user experience.

MOVING AWAY FROM A COMPLICATED PLATFORM AND MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS

Before partnering with Brightcove, Savoir média relied on a complicated, unintuitive platform made up of multiple solutions. This setup resulted in a platform and user experience that felt outdated and unprofessional. Additionally, the lack of mobile app availability significantly impacted audience engagement.

As part of its mission to educate and connect viewers through tailored Quebecois content, Savoir média sought a video solution that had the following attributes:

  • Ease to use
  • Modern user experience
  • Robust French language support
  • Enhanced content discoverability

PRIORITIZING USER EXPERIENCE AND SEAMLESS DELIVERY

After reviewing several video solutions, Savoir média chose Brightcove for its comprehensive and cost-effective offerings, tailored to the needs of a small team. With Brightcove, Savoir média prioritized improving the user experience and scaling its programming capabilities.

At the beginning of the project, we were very concerned about the discoverability of our content on the Internet. We presented structured data models and the development team added them to the project, which greatly contributed to the SEO of our content on the web.

Marie-Josée Lestage
General Manager and Executive Producer

FAST IMPLEMENTATION AND DEDICATED SUPPORT

As streaming continues to be a popular way for viewers to consume content, platforms must deliver a user experience that meets or exceeds industry standards set by giants like Netflix. With Brightcove’s support, Savoir média launched a modern, easy to use platform in just five months. This included launching mobile and Roku apps to ensure users could easily access videos and content.

Given Savoir média’s mission to connect with Quebecois viewers, robust content discoverability was critical to standing out online in an already crowded market. Brightcove’s advanced metadata management and structured data capabilities significantly enhanced web discoverability, ensuring viewers could easily find and engage with the content most relevant to them.

“At the beginning of the project, we were very concerned about the discoverability of our content on the Internet. We presented structured data models and the development team added them to the project, which greatly contributed to the SEO of our content on the web.” — Marie-Josée Lestage, General Manager and Executive Producer, Savoir média.

EASY INTEGRATION AND ACCESSIBLE ANALYTICS

Savoir média is a small team, currently made up of 15 people. Because of this, it was essential that the new platform and video solution were easy to manage and integrate with the current workflow. As an existing Brightcove user, Savoir média experienced a seamless integration with Brightcove Beacon. Brightcove’s API allowed for efficient data sharing with Savoir média’s data warehouse.

A PLATFORM BUILT TO SCALE AND EXTEND REACH

Brightcove provided Savoir média with a solution that not only met its immediate needs but also positioned the organization for future growth. With Brightcove, Savoir média can work towards its goals, which includes reaching a wider audience by continuing to improve its searchability and expanding content offerings.

Since implementing Brightcove, Savoir média has achieved measurable success:

  • 41% average video completion rate (up from 21%)
  • 7.5% growth in video views
  • 4% increase in time on platform

These results—achieved over the course of a single year—validated Savoir média’s decision to modernize its platform with Brightcove. The organization is confident in its ability to scale further, reach new audiences, and continuously improve the viewing experience.

BUILDING A HOME VIDEO STUDIO: 5 ESSENTIALS

JESS R on December 17, 2024

The past few years have seen a trifecta that’s made video a top priority for businesses.

Today, everyone has the opportunity to create personalized, high-quality video content that achieves key business objectives right from a home video studio. Salespeople in particular can benefit from leveraging this kind of personalized outreach. However, they need to deliver quality if they want to engage buyers and close deals.

Fortunately, with just a few key components and some planning, you can create a setup that supports the growing demand for video while achieving consistent results. There are many variables to consider, including budget and experience, but let’s take a step-by-step look at the five essentials when building your in-house studio.

1. LOCATION

The location you decide to set up as a home video studio will serve as the foundation that everything else is built upon. Though you don’t necessarily need a dedicated production studio, a well-thought-out setup can make all the difference in creating professional video content.

First, think about the angle and direction you’ll be shooting. You’ll want to make sure you have some depth behind you, so avoid sitting directly against a wall. Giving yourself this extra depth will help create visual separation and make you the primary focus for the viewer. You’ll also find that this will give you more flexibility when it comes to lighting so that you can illuminate both yourself and the background independently.

Second, don’t shoot directly into a window. While natural light can be great, facing a window can make your lighting too harsh, create unpredictable shadows, or even silhouette you entirely.

Finally, think about what’s in your background. A plain wall may feel safe, but it can also be uninspiring. Adding furniture, wall art, desk items, and plants will help you create a clean, organized, and visually appealing background. Think about the tone and content of your videos and lean into the aesthetic that best complements them.

As you design your background, pay particular attention to your framing and which objects in the background might be cut off or blocked. For example, you wouldn’t want a floor lamp where viewers only see the pole and not the lamp, or a wall picture that’s partly visible.

2. LIGHTING

Good lighting is nearly as important to a home video studio as location. In fact, poor lighting can make a perfect space look amateur.

For those on a budget, start with the basics. At the very least, you’ll need one light positioned in front of you to illuminate your face. If a ceiling light is your only option, try pulling in a floor lamp or use a small clip-on light designed for laptops or desks. Just be mindful that front-facing lights can cast unwanted shadows on the wall behind you.

For those going for a more polished look, consider upgrading to a two-point light system on stands and position them at 45-degree angles to your left and right. Just keep in mind the two functions they serve.

  • Key Light. This is your primary light source and should be at a 45-degree angle to one side of your face. It will be the brighter of the two, but just bright enough so that you can clearly see one side of your face.
  • Fill Light. Your fill light should be dimmer than the key light and will be important to help soften any shadows. Place it at a 45-degree angle on the opposite side of your face.

Once you’ve decided on your lighting setup, you may still need to refine it. One thing to consider if you have ceiling lights is whether to keep them on. Depending on the additional lights you’re using, ceiling lights can either improve or detract from your setup. Experiment to see which combination works best for your studio space.

You’ll also want to think about the color temperature of your lighting, since it will affect how your video looks. For example, if you’re using a ceiling light with a floor lamp, use the same type of lightbulb in both fixtures to avoid clashing tones. Also, avoid “soft white” light bulbs, as they may make the room look too yellow on screen. If you’re using professional lighting, set all lights to the same color temperature for consistency—a good starting point is 5500K.

To take your lighting to the next level, add some dim backlighting (assuming you have some depth behind you). This could include a small table lamp on a shelf or accent lights behind items. For more versatility, add some small rechargeable RGB LED light panels and experiment with placement and colors.

NATURAL LIGHT

While natural light from windows is beautiful, it likely won’t be consistent with the rest of your lighting. It’s best to use blackout shades to block out external light entirely and rely on your controllable light sources.

If you prefer natural light, just keep in mind that the time of day, shifting clouds, and the angle of the sun can affect your video. Also, remember that this only works with windows in front of you or to the side—avoid windows behind you.

3. CAMERA

The camera you choose is going to determine the overall look, feel, and quality of your content. And there are a variety of options available for starter studios to suit different budgets and experience levels.

  • Mirrorless Camera. These cameras deliver exceptional video quality, but they also come with a high price tag and a learning curve. Some camera experience may be required for setup, shooting, and managing.
  • Webcam. Today’s webcams have come a long way in terms of video quality and modern features like auto-tracking and zoom. They’re easy to set up, require minimal experience, and may be the simplest choice for most home video studio setups.
  • Smartphone. If you own a smartphone from the past few years, then you already have an in-house video production tool at your fingertips. It should produce better quality video than an internal webcam on your computer, and it’s a reasonable compromise to working with professional cameras.

Important Note: Before shooting with a smartphone, open your camera settings and make sure you’re recording at the highest quality available and that HDR (High Dynamic Range) is turned off. HDR content only displays correctly on HDR-supported devices and platforms, so it can create compatibility issues—particularly with lighting. If your laptop, editing software, or any other platform you use to upload videos doesn’t support HDR, your footage may look overly bright or dull.

Whether you’re using a smartphone, webcam, or mirrorless camera, make sure you have a sturdy tripod and position your camera at eye level. If possible, place the tripod on the floor rather than on your desk to prevent vibrations and shaking.

If circumstances require that you mount a webcam on a laptop, use an adjustable laptop stand so you can raise the camera to the right height. Alternatively, an adjustable desk mount can give you better flexibility to raise or lower its height as needed.

4. SOUNDPROOFING

Viewers may forgive occasional less-than-perfect visuals, but poor audio can easily make your content feel unprofessional and even unwatchable. However, before you buy a ton of expensive audio gear, you need to reduce the echo and background noise in your home video studio.

Start by soundproofing the floor, particularly if you have hardwood or tile floors, and place soundproofing mats under your chair and slightly in front of you. Next, place a soundproofing panel on the wall behind the camera or hanging from a stand. This often-overlooked spot can create an echo by reflecting the sound of your voice back toward your microphone. Finally, for advanced soundproofing, add sound-dampening panels on the ceiling and side walls, depending on the size of your room.

If you don’t have the budget or space for professional soundproofing, you can replicate the above steps with everyday items like rugs, blankets, and heavy curtains.

5. AUDIO

The right audio equipment primarily depends on the quality of the soundproofing in your in-house studio.

If you’ve soundproofed all points around the camera, mount a shotgun microphone on a stand just above your head and out of frame. However, if you don’t mind having the mic in frame, a dynamic microphone placed on your desk can be a good alternative for high-quality sound with minimal setup. The audio would be recorded through the camera or an external audio recording device.

For those who can’t fully soundproof around the camera, wireless lavalier (or lapel) microphones are the most practical choice. They clip directly to your shirt, and you can also find options with receivers that plug into mirrorless cameras, laptops, and smartphones. Most importantly, they’re more forgiving in noisier rooms than other mics and will provide clear sound while reducing background noise and room echo.

Pro Tip: Avoid using bluetooth earbuds or lapel mics using a bluetooth connection for audio. While convenient, their sound quality rarely meets the standard needed for professional content.

Creating a space for home video studio productions might seem daunting, but with some planning and the wide choice of equipment available, it’s easily achievable. Ultimately, an in-house studio is an investment in how you and your business present yourselves to your network, colleagues, or customers. Just remember to start small, experiment with what works best for your space, and gradually upgrade as needed.

HOW VITAS HEALTHCARE STREAMS THE IMPACT OF HOSPICE

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

VITAS Healthcare is the largest single-source provider of end-of-life care in the U.S., with over 10,000 professionals caring for more than 19,000 patients daily. Their mission is to preserve the quality of life for those who have a limited time to live by delivering the highest quality hospice and palliative care services.

VITAS uses streaming video to advise their patients, train their employees, and to create that all-important human connection. Healthcare is about connection—the human touch—and this hospice provider has found that the right story delivered through video can bring you even closer.

REMINDING RECRUITS ABOUT THE MISSION OF HOSPICE

For a company like VITAS, recruitment is more than just filling open positions. Recruiting means educating, inspiring, and reminding medical professionals why they entered the field in the first place.

“Lots of people who go into healthcare, they go in for the excitement of it,” says Ron Sas, Senior Creative Director at VITAS. “But as they go through school and understand what hospice is, they always say, ‘This is somewhere where I’d like to be at some point in my career, just not now.’”

We want to make sure our staff are being productive. With Brightcove, we’re able to do that.

RON SAS

SENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT VITAS

This makes it crucial for VITAS to add an authentic human element to their videos. “We’re able to tell very passionate stories of our healthcare professionals working with patients, working with families, working with each other, and working through that team that VITAS supports in that environment.”

Videos produced by VITAS showcase the contrast between working in hospice and other areas of the healthcare industry. For example, hospital RNs may see more than 20 patients a day for 10–15 minutes at a time. But a VITAS RN can spend over an hour of more meaningful time with each of the five patients they attend to daily. These types of videos paint a vivid picture of how VITAS employees fulfill more of that passion that got them into healthcare to begin with.

“If we are able to tell that story correctly, that affects not only professionals, it helps tell that story to everybody that comes across it—to really understand what hospice is.”

EDUCATING REFERRALS ABOUT THE MEANING OF HOSPICE

Healthcare community referrals are a key part of VITAS’s business. However, they’re often faced with common misconceptions surrounding hospice care from physician practices, hospital groups, and other organizations. Through video, they can tell the true story of end-of-life care, that it’s never about giving up on a patient. It’s refocusing care that aligns with patients’ goals and wishes. It’s a quality-of-life benefit.

An intriguing approach that VITAS uses is a human-centric perspective. Whether patient, family, or a healthcare professional, they see everyone as sympathetic individuals looking out for the best interest of their loved ones. Each video starts with one simple question: “How would a human look at this?” This helps the videos be much more relatable and resonant as they uncover exactly what it is the viewer would identify with.

INSPIRING THE PUBLIC WITH THE POWER OF HOSPICE

Each year, the video team at VITAS is able to collectively pick a cause that is deeply personal and important for them to work on. These “passion projects” help better serve their communities while also allowing employees to give back in ways that truly make a difference.

In 2022, they focused their passion project specifically on Vietnam veterans, though veterans in general have always been a uniquely special community for VITAS. In fact, they have a saying that “Every Day Is Veterans Day,” which serves as a reflection of their unwavering commitment to veteran care.

Given VITAS’s passion for veterans and their position as an industry leader, this project brought a sense of responsibility. The public needed more education about known challenges like PTSD and Agent Orange exposure, as well as often overlooked issues like moral injury.

The resulting video captured the essence of their mission while serving as an educational tool and spreading awareness about the challenges faced by today’s oldest veteran population. They’ve leveraged it in a number of ways, including social media snippets driving viewers to their website to learn more about their care and commitment to veterans.

EMPOWERING TEAMS WITH VIDEOS ABOUT HOSPICE

To make their content available to various teams and employees, VITAS relies on Brightcove’s award-winning streaming technology. “Brightcove gives us a lot of control,” notes Sas. “In the past, we didn’t have control of our videos or what our teams and staff were doing.”

Through Brightcove Gallery with SSO (single sign-on) enabled, VITAS employees are able to easily log in, find the videos they need, and even request them for presentations. More importantly, they can do this no matter where they are. Whether in patients’ homes, hospitals, nursing homes, senior living communities, or a VITAS inpatient hospice unit, they can access the content and share it using their phones or tablets.

Hospice is a community where maintaining the human connection is at the heart of the service provided. Empowering teams with video is helping VITAS make those connections wherever they’re needed. “We want to make sure our staff are being productive. With Brightcove, we’re able to do that.”

HOW WENDY’S FRESH APPROACH TRAINED EMPLOYEES FASTER

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

BRIGHTCOVE HELPS STREAMLINE OPERATIONS, IMPROVE RESTAURANT SAFETY, AND CREATE INCLUSIVE CULTURE

What started in 1969 as a single hamburger restaurant in Columbus, Ohio has now transformed into one of the world’s largest franchise operations. Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, began franchising the restaurant in 1973, opening more than one thousand locations within the company’s first 100 months. Now, 95 percent of its restaurants are franchise-owned.

Effective, streamlined communications is critical to the successful training, aligning, and engaging of Wendy’s diverse workforce, which includes corporate staff, company-owned restaurant employees, and franchise teams. Today, the company uses Brightcove-powered video to drive its internal communications and training programs for all constituencies. By replacing written memos and hard copy learning material with video, Wendy’s is able to rapidly deliver secure, consistent, role-appropriate content and aligned messaging to all.

Also, using Brightcove to distribute Wendy’s training videos has played an important role in reducing the length of employee training time, which has subsequently helped facilitate more effective operations, improve restaurant safety, and create an inclusive company culture.

LIVE EVENT STREAMING & PORTALS CREATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

BEST PRACTICES FOR CORPORATE VIDEO STRATEGIES

GET THE PLAYBOOK

Wendy’s partners with Brightcove to deliver video on demand (VOD) through the organization’s intranet portal, “WeConnect.” The portal, accessible only to Wendy’s corporate employees and franchise owners, features video communications announcing news, updates, and vital corporate information. Chelci Fauss-Johnson, Wendy’s digital media senior specialist, says the company has become more involved in creating and distributing video content through the internal portal, simply because it works better than email or written memos. Plus, executive staff has grown increasingly enthusiastic about it, even requesting more frequent communications to the franchisees, including monthly quiz videos.

Our training videos promote safe behavior and help to reduce the risk of accidents in our workplace.

TIM WICKS-FRANK

LEAD LEARNING ARCHITECT

Wendy’s also makes use of live stream video through Brightcove Live, which delivers off-site viewers real-time video footage of officer and director meetings, employee meetings, general conventions, and the company’s annual Investor Day via the WeConnect portal. The latter event, hosted at Wendy’s corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, covers the organization’s fourth quarter and cumulative year results, attracting over 700 views across the company, primarily servicing those who can’t be on-site. Meanwhile, live stream video of Wendy’s general conventions, which have high physical attendance, garner over 500 off-site views.

To continue driving employee engagement across the Wendy’s organization, Fauss-Johnson says live stream footage is repurposed into VOD assets, which are then posted on the WeConnect portal. “Ninety-five percent of things we do are for our franchisees. That’s really what our main goal is, getting information out to them,” says Fauss-Johnson.

Live stream and VOD not only help boost Wendy’s employee engagement and enhance inclusiveness, but also save the company valuable operational expenses. Fauss-Johnson explains: “If we buy the streaming hours [through Brightcove], it’s more reasonable to go with a live stream versus an operator-assisted call and a WebEx. So, we’ve been using streaming a lot more in the past two years here than we ever have. We like to use video to get people more involved. And I think what we’ve done so far really helps.”

WENDY'S BRINGS EMPLOYEE TRAINING & RESTAURANT SAFETY TO LIFE THROUGH BRIGHTCOVE VIDEO

Wendy’s also uses video for training, education, and HR-related purposes. In fact, HR and operations teams have been heavily involved in creating short-form videos, typically three minutes long, that help explain new products, equipment management, and food preparation. So far, they’ve produced over 300 VOD assets, which are published to the WeConnect portal. These same videos are also uploaded to company’s learning management system (LMS).

As video has become an integral part of employees’ professional development, Wendy’s has seen tremendous results in the way of training and education. Teams from human resources and operations are requesting so much video that production has more than tripled.

“Videos are a great addition to our blended training approach,” says Tim Wicks-Frank, lead learning architect at Wendy’s. “The videos are playing a big part of our overall training program.”

Wendy’s instructional videos, which include pop-up quizzes and other interactive features, have had such a positive effect on employee learning retention, the company has decreased seat time in training courses. Employees are spending less time training and more time being productive in restaurants. Also, the Wendy’s training team has received positive feedback from restaurants regarding the use of training video. Employees have praised the training methodology for helping enhance safe work environments—a good thing for staff and customers alike.

“Our training videos promote safe behavior and help to reduce the risk of accidents in our workplace,” notes Wicks-Frank.

WENDY'S RELIES ON BRIGHTCOVE FOR SECURE VIDEO DISTRIBUTION TO EXTEND REACH

With Brightcove’s easy-to-use technology, streamlined functionalities, and fail-safe security, Wendy’s has pushed video communications front and center. Says Wicks-Frank, “It’s made it easy for us to distribute video for training purposes.”

Brightcove’s integrated file transcoding, in particular, has made content distribution a breeze. The Brightcove platform automatically formats multiple renditions of a single video file for multipoint distribution. This ensures Wendy’s can provide all audiences a great viewing experience on any device—desktop, mobile, or connected TV—regardless of connection speed.

“Not all our restaurants have equal network capabilities, so those multiple renditions are wonderful. Because of that, it’s enabled us to reach a much wider audience,” says Wicks-Frank.

Brightcove’s security capabilities are also critical, given the company’s sensitive information shared via video behind the Wendy’s firewall. Support for encrypted video and flawless streaming via the WeConnect private portal are just a few of the security features that give Wendy’s IT team peace of mind.

“It’s important to us that we distribute video in a secure fashion,” says Fauss-Johnson. “Brightcove helps support that requirement.”

Looking ahead, both Wicks-Frank and Fauss-Johnson expect to introduce more interactive video to Wendy’s communications repertoire, encouraging users to engage with video content directly on screen. They both agree this feature, along with additional Brightcove functionalities, will help them further maximize the power of video for Wendy’s.

HOW BAXTER CREDIT UNION SCALED VIDEO ACROSS DEPARTMENTS

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

Baxter Credit Union (BCU) is a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union dedicated to empowering people to discover financial freedom. “Our goal in a very crowded, commoditized space is to stand out because of how we make our members feel about their money matters,” says Jill Sammons, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Well-being & Wealth Advisory.

Serving over 350,000 members, BCU reaches all demographics from low-income rural families to high-income urban executives. But to give them the customer experience they deserve, they not only needed to make mobile banking better, they also needed to make financial education better.

BUILDING A VIDEO PROGRAM IN MARKETING

BCU’s video initiative began while Sammons was discussing the future of the marketing team with the CEO and EVP. Sammons recalls, “They said, ‘If you could add resources and tools to your department to prepare us better for the next five years, what would you do?’ And it just instinctively came to me: video.”

The next step was finding the right partner, which Sammons recalls they discovered through their web hosting platform, Sitecore. “We told them what we wanted to accomplish, and the more we discussed it, everything kept coming back to Brightcove. We’re not sorry we took their suggestion because Brightcove has been fantastic in so many ways.”

I can’t think of a better partner than Brightcove to help us achieve our goals better, faster, and cheaper.

JILL SAMMONS

SVP, MARKETING, WELL-BEING & WEALTH ADVISORY

To kickstart their video efforts, the first thing they needed to do was to identify the initial areas where video would have the biggest impact. They pinpointed two primary applications that felt like a logical fit.

  • Tutorials. As they were rolling out a new online banking platform, video became a valuable resource for guiding members through the transition. Both the marketing team and the members saw how it more effectively demonstrated common tasks like setting up an account, transferring money, and configuring account alerts.
  • Explainers. Most adults don’t wake up and decide to dig around for some financial education today. The key is to help them consume the educational content without them really realizing they’re doing it. As Sammons explains, “We wanted to put some friendly faces in front of the camera and have them explain money matters to people in an inviting way.”

One “game-changing feature” that saved BCU countless hours along the way is the ability to update video content without republishing or changing the original link. “There might be links in 50 different knowledge base articles or in new hire orientations our company partners use. It would be nearly impossible to republish a new link every time we needed to update a video,” says Sammons.

Similarly, making content changes without affecting member or customer experiences is equally important in an industry with constantly updated regulatory requirements. With a single embed code for a landing page, the web team can set it up once, and any subsequent video updates can be easily managed. This is especially useful if they’ve sent out an email with video content that needs to be quickly updated.

EXPANDING THE VIDEO PROGRAM TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS

While initially Brightcove was only used by the marketing department, they’ve since found other use cases throughout the organization that have created additional efficiencies.

For example, video has become a key part of driving engagement in the more than two million emails they send per year. “We’ll put a video thumbnail at the top of the email and a call-to-action button a couple sentences below,” Sammons notes. “More often than not, the video gets more engagement than the CTA, so we know that people would rather trust the person on the other end of that video conveying that message than read it themselves.”

The social media team, too, creates efficiencies using Brightcove to consolidate all the social tools they typically use to distribute content. Now they simply upload a single video and publish it to multiple platforms without having to sign in to each one. “It’s like a one-stop shop to send it out to all of the platforms we’ve integrated,” Sammons tells us.

BCU’s business development team and frontline staff especially appreciate sending out recorded meetings, presentations, and webinars without linking to a separate platform like YouTube. “It’s easy to generate a link and send that to members without the distraction of other videos that have nothing to do with us or finance,” Sammons notes.

Even Sammons saves both herself and board members valuable time while delivering more engaging presentations. “I present the status of our marketing efforts to our board of directors once or twice a year. It would probably take me an hour to go through slides and talk to them about the different achievements, initiatives, and results. But I can show them a 10-minute video and capture so much more.”

EXPLORING THE FUTURE FOR THE VIDEO PROGRAM

BCU has come a long way in their video efforts, but they’re just as excited about the potential it holds for the organization. Specifically, they’re looking forward to integrating interactive video data with unique viewer information in their marketing automation platform (MAP). Their goal is to have these efforts better personalize and automate member journeys.

They also plan on using analytics and insights to determine which content could create internal efficiencies that improve the customer experience. The right videos, for example, could reduce volume for the call center while empowering members to quickly resolve their issues. Sammons says, “If a video has strong engagement and an agent is getting 50 calls a day on the same topic, then we know to send them the video.”

Most importantly, BCU is excited to have the support they need. “I can’t think of a better partner than Brightcove to help us achieve our goals better, faster, and cheaper,” concluded Sammons. “We have a relationship, not a ‘vendor-ship.’ That’s how we know we have the right partner.”

HOW RUGBYPASS REVENUE JUMPED 300%

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

RugbyPass is the go-to digital network for everything rugby, including video, news, stats, and all- around rugby entertainment. The company’s four online brands—RugbyPass, RugbyDump, Rugby365, and Rugby Onslaught—are all tailored to meet the needs of rugby fanatics everywhere and feature AVOD content from over 40 producers around the world. To drive engagement among viewers and increase monetization, RugbyPass partnered with Brightcove to deliver high-quality video content to the company’s entire network of rugby related websites.

By implementing the Brightcove Player, RugbyPass has been able to provide audiences with top quality, broadcast-like viewing, which has since proven a huge revenue driver for the network. RugbyPass also uses Brightcove Social in their acquisition funnel, further driving customers to their sites. Since using Brightcove, RugbyPass has increased its revenue by almost 300 percent.

“Brightcove has been great for us,” says Kris Cooper, Global Business Development Manager for RugbyPass. “It’s helped us grow our business in terms of monetization and viewability of our content.”

“The general impact of Brightcove has been huge for us to help grow our business. We’ve actually seen revenue jump about threefold since we’ve started using Brightcove.”

KRIS COOPER

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT RUGBYPASS

Want to know more? Contact us to learn about boosting revenue from your sports rights or other content.

HOW HARNESS RACING VICTORIA GREW VIEWERSHIP 52% IN 6 MONTHS

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

HIGH STAKES GROWTH

52% Viewership Growth

TrotsVision, Harness Racing Victoria’s dedicated streaming platform, grew from 54,894 views in August 2021 to 83,292 views in January 2022.

250% Demographic Growth

TrotsVision helped Harness Racing Victoria grow its 18-35-year-old audience by 250%. That demographic now outpaces all other age segments for growth.

Across Victoria, Australia, 28 different clubs bring fans the fast-paced action sport of harness racing. Overseeing all of this is Harness Racing Victoria, which realized the sport was just scratching the surface of its amazing potential to attract and engage audiences. By partnering with Brightcove, the organization is using video to create new excitement, build more organizational efficiencies, and above all transform the way this sport is enjoyed by a growing base of eager fans.

HARNESS RACING WAS FALLING BEHIND

Despite all the fun and intensity associated with harness racing, its popularity has struggled across the world–not just in Australia. Why? The aging demographic is one big reason. Generally targeted to an older audience, the sport was not reaching younger cohorts in a meaningful way. This presented a big problem: if the fan base kept shrinking, that would have a serious ripple effect: There’d be less fans, which would mean less demand for racing, less demand for racing professionals, and even less demand for horses themselves. This could cause the entire harness racing experience to suffer with no way to remain relevant in a competitive racing wagering landscape.

But the communications and technology teams at Harness Racing Victoria refused to accept this status quo, and instead set in motion a plan to seize three big opportunities:

  1. Leverage the vast potential and popularity in wagering.
  2. Create higher visibility and engagement through a digital viewing experience.
  3. Connect with the sweet spot of younger demographics–the 18-35 year olds.

How could they achieve all of that? One word: video. “There was a real appetite for video content,” said Cody Winnell, Media and Communications General Manager for Harness Racing Victoria. “It showed us that we could actually change the way that harness racing is presented in Australia.”

VIDEO DELIVERS A MORE ENGAGING FAN EXPERIENCE

There was no other product in the market that came close to delivering everything we wanted in one solution. And that became evident pretty soon when I reached out to Brightcove.

DARREN SKILLEN

DIGITAL DEVELOPER

In 2018, Harness Racing Victoria launched TrotsVision, a streaming platform dedicated to harness racing. Initially set up as an “automated service” which limited the channel’s storytelling potential, the fuse had been lit and Harness Racing Victoria was on its way. Then Brightcove entered the picture, presenting Harness Racing Victoria with a robust platform that met every need with Brightcove Cloud Playout, Live, and Video Cloud.

For fans, the relaunched TrotsVision delivered a whole new experience. Viewers could now enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the track, getting an inside view at all the action between races. What’s more, TrotsVision opened up a new perspective on the harness drivers, showing the “face behind the helmet” as the personalities of these colorful and witty drivers was allowed to shine through. The viewing experience would engage fans with versions of their favorite songs, have fun with famous movie and TV quotes, announce contests on social media, award prizes, and more.

TrotsVision became an always-on touchpoint for fans who wanted to experience the excitement of the sport beyond the race track. This digital extension was very attractive to younger audiences who also have higher expectations for on-demand viewing and entertainment from sport brands.

This improved experience helps drive substantial growth, according to Cody Winnell. “TrotsVision is growing the overall audience, bigger and bigger each month, and from that overall audience, some people will come and go from the track. That’s okay because the audience overall will continue to grow.”

Since partnering with Brightcove, TrotsVision has grown from 54,894 views in August 2021 to 83,292 views in January 2022. Furthermore, TrotsVision has helped Harness Racing Victoria grow its 18-35-year-old audience by 250%. That demographic is now outpacing all other age segments for growth, which is significant given Harness Racing Victoria’s overall audience grew by 76% over the same period.

Down the road, this audience growth can position TrotsVision as a revenue-driving hub that capitalizes on sports wagering and other monetization opportunities like advertising and sponsorships.

HARNESSING INTERNAL EFFICIENCIES

In addition to increasing viewership and engaging a younger demographic, Brightcove’s technology also helped Harness Racing Victoria gain tremendous organizational efficiencies. “The further I got into Brightcove, I realized that this was the one,” said Darren Skillen, Digital Developer at Harness Racing Victoria. “Brightcove gave us that solution where we could have everything in one place.”

That efficiency was clear with TrotsVision, which is powered by an internal video library that can be searched by horse or driver. This allows race officials–known as “stewards”–to evaluate individual races. This was a major change, because before this video library came along, the stewards would actually have to go into the office, pull something out of the archive, load it up, view it and then put it back. Not anymore. They now have about 18 months of replays available digitally, at the click of a button.

What’s more, Brightcove’s technology made it possible to use an API and attach race information to each of the replays. With that ability, Harness Racing Victoria could now create an online gallery of replays with a custom search functionality where anyone could search for a horse or a driver or any other particular trait. For both staff and fans, this brand-new efficiency was a major leap forward.

An integrated solution even boosted the organization’s social media channels. Previously, to get a clip of the race out on social media, the team would have to download a race video, send it to an editing program, choose the in and out points, export it, and post it maybe 90 minutes later. But with the help of Brightcove’s technology, they can simply clip the content live, post it, and have a highlight of something that actually just happened. For content-hungry audiences, nothing compares to this fresh and relevant material.

Whether it’s a race for horses or a race for viewers, the stakes are always high. Brightcove is glad to partner with Harness Racing Victoria and looks forward to all the ways that video will continue to stay in the lead.

HOW THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY MADE THE WORLD THEIR CONCERT HALL

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

A SNAPSHOT OF GLOBAL LIVESTREAM SUCCESS

As part of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s focus on sharing music through video experiences, they delivered a livestream performance powered by Brightcove during the 2019 international “Make Music Day Australia” celebrations.

46,000 people were reached by the livestream

15,669 unique views

75% overall play rate

18 countries viewed the performance, including the US, UK, and Canada

Formed in 1932, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australia’s premier orchestra, has a firm grasp on the 21st century with a deep commitment to livestream and on-demand performances.

TAKE A BOW, VIDEO

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has one mission: to share the magic of symphonic music as widely as possible. They want more people in more places to experience the wonder of orchestral music. What makes that possible? Video – the most robust and effective medium for arts and entertainment organizations. Not only does video add value for existing symphony patrons, it also brings in new audiences who might not be able to get to Sydney to attend a performance in person.

The SSO uses the power of video in several key ways:

  • As part of its regional outreach program, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra hosts live events with state libraries, schools, and conservatories.
  • Its international fans can watch video performances from the comfort of their home anywhere around the world.
  • The Sydney Symphony Orchestra also leverages their wealth of video content to market and sell tickets to live performances.

According to the Australian Council for the Arts, 3 in 4 Australians are engaging with culture online. Twenty-eight percent have discovered a new artist, performance, or work online, and 1 in 3 has paid for a digital entertainment experience.

Brightcove is built to work. It provided the speed to market which was vital to quickly delivering new video experiences to our audiences.

MEERA GOOLEY

HEAD OF DIGITAL MARKETING, SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

These stats are encouraging for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well as every other arts, entertainment, and media organization. Audiences are waiting, they’re hungry for content, and a first-rate video experience will keep them coming back for more.

BRIGHTCOVE HELPS ORCHESTRATE SUCCESS

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sydney Symphony had been using the power of video to increase its audience base. So during the 2020 lockdown, the Sydney Symphony was ready to reach new audiences with a seamless transition to pre-recorded, on-demand digital concerts and productions all streamed through Brightcove.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra wanted a bespoke experience for their audiences – a 100% brand immersion before, during, and after the event. The orchestra insisted on a video partner who ensured business continuity, delivered a quality livestream performance, and offered the most exceptional sound quality possible.

With Brightcove Gallery® and Brightcove Live®, every performance met the highest standards of the organization while giving listeners and viewers a front-row seat. From the gentle whisper of a violin to the deep rumble of the timpani, every note and nuance was powered by Brightcove.

You might not find a lot of trained clarinet players at Brightcove. But when it comes to creating industry-leading video solutions for organizations like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, we have what it takes to reach audiences far and wide.

HOW SONY MUSIC BROUGHT LIVE MUSIC TO 1 MILLION VIEWERS

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PLATFORM

8 Weeks

Stagecrowd launched a short 8 weeks after emergency declaration

351 Performances

Streamed in the six months following launch

1 Million Viewers

Stagecrowd brought live music to 1 million viewers at the same time

For music fans everywhere, there’s nothing better than the joy of experiencing live music. In-person concerts are often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see an artist, feel the music, and connect with other fans. So when the Japanese government required live events to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony Music Solutions created Stagecrowd, a first-of-its-kind online livestreaming platform.

“We launched Stagecrowd just two months after the initial state of emergency declaration in Japan. The rapid launch was part of our mission to keep fans and artists connected through live performances,” says Mr. Onodera, Chief Producer at Stagecrowd. “If Sony was going to enter the livestreaming business under its own name, it was absolutely necessary to guarantee superior service.”

With viewer numbers quickly skyrocketing for large-scale livestream events in Japan during the pandemic, scalability and reliability were critical. At the time, Sony Music Solutions was already using Brightcove to livestream artist fan club events, and the business knew it could trust the same broadcast-quality streaming technology for Stagecrowd.

“We have always had a great relationship with Brightcove, and their strong reputation for high-quality, large-scale delivery meant that we didn’t even consider any other options. The stability of Brightcove’s platform helped us to deliver high-quality livestreaming, right from the first Stagecrowd performance,” says Onodera. “I’m really glad that we chose Brightcove—both event organizers and viewers have given Stagecrowd’s livestreaming high praise for video and sound quality and overall stream stability.”

We were always nervous about large-scale livestreaming with more concurrent connections than we’ve ever had before. Brightcove has been instrumental in making it a success. We look forward to continuing to work closely with them.

MR. TANAKA

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DIGITAL BUSINESS COMPANY, SONY MUSIC SOLUTIONS

One of the other keys to Stagecrowd’s success has been its ability to create highly entertaining, well-produced events that can deliver on a performer’s creative vision. “Livestreaming involves a lot of lighting and other original effects. We work with the Brightcove team to make any potential adjustments to ensure the best possible experience for our fans,” says Mr. Kasai, Sales and Marketing Manager at Stagecrowd.

By using Brightcove and avoiding technology-related streaming challenges, artists as well as their fans have come to quickly trust Stagecrowd’s high-quality video and sound production. “We have never encountered any problems with Brightcove, and actually, Brightcove is very helpful in investigating potential problems that may occur even outside of the Stagecrowd platform,” says Kasai.

The Stagecrowd team also takes advantage of Brightcove’s detailed analytics, such as total viewer fluctuations during a livestream, retention rates, and viewing devices. “We share this data with our management to help them optimize the streaming environment for all viewers. Being able to provide this data to the artists whose content we manage has also helped us build and solidify excellent relationships,” says Kasai.

Delivering legendary live performances by famous artists has allowed many more people to discover Stagecrowd as a destination for high-quality, live music. “Just like how others scroll for a movie or drama on Netflix, viewers can scroll to find a live show they want to see on Stagecrowd,” says Onodera. “On Stagecrowd, we offer paid livestreaming events to the public as well as exclusive streams to fan club members.”

In the first six months since its launch, Stagecrowd livestreamed 351 performances to millions of people during peak viewing times, generating substantial revenue for the business and earning a top-notch reputation among livestreaming services in Japan. And while Stagecrowd may have been created in reaction to the pandemic, it will continue to be a major sales driver for Sony Music Solutions well into the future.

“I think that paid streaming services are here to stay. In the post-pandemic world, they will become an alternative to real live performances. Especially for popular artists who sell out concert tickets instantly, the potential for ticket sales will be unlimited,” says Onodera.

“In the near future, we hope to offer livestreaming of international artist performances to Japan. Right now, it’s impossible for overseas artists to tour Asia, so we are working on Stagecrowd to deliver live performances in the region. In the future, we would like to further improve our streaming quality and expand our business capacity to deliver all levels of live performances with clear, stable video,” says Kasai.

With the benefit of Brightcove’s dependable livestreaming technology and first-rate customer support, the Stagecrowd brand will continue to cement Sony Music Solutions’ reputation as an international entertainment powerhouse. We’re proud to continue to support Stagecrowd’s flawless track record and help provide the best livestream performances for music fans around the world.

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