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More exciting than offline events? Q&A at online events

bsp-admin-1 on January 22, 2021

Q&A sessions play an important role in online events just as they do in offline events. They are not only a way of resolving participants’ questions, but also a key to increasing the satisfaction of the event, as they can help to raise questions that are difficult to ask offline and make it possible to visualize the empathy of participants other than the questioner. In this article, we will introduce how to solicit questions and provide answers, as well as services that can be used for this purpose.

VIDEO STREAMING AND THE FUTURE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

bsp-admin-1 on January 21, 2021

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the most influential tech event in the world, gathering attendees from across the globe to showcase the latest and greatest in technology insights and innovation. This year’s event included a focus on the rapidly changing world of entertainment, and because video plays a key role in the way that we now experience everything from films to concerts to sports, Brightcove is ready to help the entertainment industry transform like never before.

Here are some major highlights from this year’s CES event, which featured executives from WarnerMedia, SpringHill Entertainment, Nike, General Motors, and more.

TIMES ARE CHANGING

Entertaining audiences, whether it’s through films, sports, or other content, is something that has always needed to change with the times. But today, as we begin 2021, the changes are coming fast and furious and often result in a huge—if not total—transformation in the way that audiences are reached.

SpringHill Entertainment, the production company created by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, acknowledged at CES that the pipelines of distribution are now the main focus. Viewers will ask, “which streaming service will I choose to watch my movies? My sports?” That makes it necessary to focus deeply on engaging consumers and keep them connected to a brand. Nike echoed similar thoughts, emphasizing the importance of finding new creators and avenues to constantly build out content, delivering it fast while monitoring feedback.

STREAMING IS THE FUTURE

The pandemic was certainly a catalyst for the rise of streaming across the world, but providers of entertainment and content now see streaming as an indispensable asset. And why not? Once you think beyond the limitations of a physical location, it’s exciting to imagine how streaming can connect with audiences across the world while offering viewing experiences that truly innovate and engage.

DC Fandom, the powerful virtual event platform created by DC Comics, thrilled over 22 million viewers at its recent virtual event. And major film studios, such as WarnerMedia, are releasing first-run content through streaming services, doing away with the traditional “opening box office numbers” as they change the way they evaluate a film’s success.

A PREMIUM VIEWING EXPERIENCE IS A MUST

Consumers know that they can easily access fantastic viewing experiences, so as time goes on, they’ll just expect these experiences to become more and more amazing. Already, with the increased number of people staying at home, the sales of computing and smart home devices has taken a big leap. As those devices embrace new enhancements in design and aesthetics, we’re also seeing rapid changes in platforms, streaming services, and other technology.

Altogether, it’s focused on giving the viewer a no-holds-barred seamless viewing experience. And whether it’s entertainment, cloud services, digital health, or 5G connectivity, consumers will continue to have a demanding relationship with their screens that insists on the best with absolutely no patience for a less-than performance.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR VIDEO?

With the continued evolution of the entertainment industry driven by video, Brightcove is ideally positioned to power this expansion while paving the way for the best and brightest video innovations that will delight audiences and build brands across the world.

Our passion lies in our ability to push video beyond every expectation, and we look at 2021 and beyond as the latest step in our exciting journey to showcase the potential of this truly amazing storytelling medium. If we can help you tell your story, build a brand, or reach new audiences, please get in touch and see why Brightcove is video that means business.

Time allocation’ to be aware of at online events

bsp-admin-1 on January 19, 2021

Planning an online event is not that different from offline events in the basic aspects. However, by planning with an understanding of the unique characteristics of online events, you can increase the satisfaction of both participants and speakers. In this article, we will focus on the ‘time allocation’ aspect, which is often overlooked when planning online events, and introduce some key points.

What are the things to consider when holding an ‘online event’ that will be attracting attention in 2021?

bsp-admin-1 on January 15, 2021

Many companies are looking for event formats that don’t require participants to gather in one place, just like conferences and seminars, and holding events online is becoming a natural option. So, Brightcove will be explaining what online events are and what you should consider when holding them in a series of 9 articles titled “The Complete Guide to Online Events”.

Q1 OF 2021: GOOD THINGS AHEAD FOR BUSINESS VIDEO

bsp-admin-1 on January 8, 2021

After a year like 2020, we all could use a little more good news. So we’re starting 2021 on a high note and shining a BRIGHT light on a few of our amazing customers who are using video for good. These customers all know that there are some stories that can only be told with the power of video.

THE CITY OF MALMÖ: GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 

Malmö, Sweden is one of those hidden gems in Europe you may have never heard of. Sweden’s third largest by population, it has spent years quietly undergoing a major transformation to become a leader in social, economic, and ecological sustainability. While video is commonly used for business, the city’s unique strategy for municipal communications has earned praise throughout Europe and has created an important platform for its citizens. From green roofs and rainwater ponds to new bike trails and using food waste to fuel city buses, sustainability initiatives are shared with residents via video to gain their support. In Malmö, engaged and informed residents are great for the environment – and video makes it possible.

“We want to continue to explore ways to use video and remain a sustainability and communication leader for our citizens. We can tell the stories of environmental efforts around the city and also show projects where we are making sustainability-based improvements.” – Mikael Hellman, Visual Communication Manager for the City of Malmö

INSPIRING INTERNS: GOOD FOR JOB SEEKERS

Inspiring Interns, the United Kingdom’s leading graduate recruitment agency, thought there had to be a better way to apply for a job, especially for new graduates looking for their first position in a competitive market. So the agency turned to video to disrupt and transform its recruitment program. By enabling graduates to record personalized curriculum vitae (CVs) for the companies they wish to work for and hosting them on its website, Inspiring Interns has started thousands of graduates on their career paths. For candidates, video CVs showcase their personality, professionalism, and passion in a way that’s just not possible with a PDF. And for employers, video has helped broaden their perspective and opened their eyes to candidates they might not have considered from a traditional CV. The agency credits video for helping to better match the right applicants with the right jobs, leading to happier employees and employers.

“It can be difficult to stand out in a competitive job market. The video CV enables applicants to inject their unique personality into an otherwise faceless process. Employers have told us they hired people they might not have hired if they just considered their paper CV. But what they saw on video really impressed them.” – Ben Rosen, Founder & CEO at Inspiring Interns

SEEK: GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS 

SEEK, the #1 employment marketplace in Australia, strives to help people live more fulfilled and productive working lives. More than just a job posting site, SEEK’s evolving collection of video content and expanding library of resources helps millions of Australians with everything from career advice and mid-career changes to small business guidance. During the COVID-19 crisis, for example, instead of just posting an article about how to manage mental health and work demands, viewers could watch resident SEEK psychologist Sabina Read speak directly to them, addressing issues and questions with great care and concern. SEEK will continue to be a valuable resource by responding to people’s emotional needs, no matter what challenges lie ahead.

“[It was important to] create a destination for candidates and hirers to visit for tools and resources on every step of their career journey. Telling great stories in a beautiful way is one of the most important attributes of video.” – Pip Duncan, Head of Production at SEEK

FACINGDISABILITY.COM: GOOD FOR HUMAN CONNECTION

FacingDisability.com is where questions are answered, support is offered, and strength is found for patients and families living with spinal cord injuries. The suddenness of a spinal cord injury can often be overwhelming and leave families feeling unprepared and isolated – and this is exactly how Thea Flaum felt when her daughter Vicki experienced a spinal cord injury at age 19. With the creation of FacingDisability.com, Flaum channeled her fear and frustration into a mission to let patients and their families know, “You are not alone.” The site offers extensive video content from doctors, psychologists, therapists, rehabilitation experts, and, above all, people living with spinal cord injuries to provide unvarnished truths and invaluable insights. With these videos, Facing Disability creates human connections just when people need them most.

“What you’re getting are honest, human responses. Video gives you the power of the image, the power of the close-up. So from the very beginning, we insisted on broadcast-quality video.” – Thea Flaum, Founder at FacingDisability.com

We’re honored to partner with these incredible organizations, and we applaud the amazing work they do every day. Keep watching this space for others that are using video for good.

WHY YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY NEEDS THE POWER OF VIDEO

bsp-admin-1 on December 18, 2020

Picture this. You’ve recently subscribed to new software, and now you’re having issues synchronising your data and information to start using it. Unable to find answers online, you pick up the phone to contact customer support, only to be faced with an automated voice menu… or to be put on hold indefinitely… or to be told that an IT specialist will get back to you within three to five working days.

When their problems are more routine than the above example, customers are quick to search for a solution online – contacting customer service is the last resort. But even when a customer searches online for troubleshooting tips, what they usually find is in a long written format that can be hard to follow.

The simple fact is that getting answers to questions, no matter how complex they are, is usually an exercise in frustration – and that’s not a good look for your brand.

HERE’S A BETTER WAY

Customers don’t want to waste time with trial-and-error troubleshooting or waiting for attention from a customer service rep. This is where the customer service department can leverage a self-service content strategy to quickly answer customer questions and even reduce the number of inbound calls. At the heart of this strategy is video.

Let me explain with an example. Brightcove worked with Xero, a company that makes innovative cloud-based accounting software, to launch Xero TV, a comprehensive library of video tutorials and explainers that address the most frequent queries and concerns and show how to troubleshoot simple technical problems.

By firmly rooting its customer service strategy in video, the New Zealand company, which has over one million subscribers, has been able to boost conversion rates and bolster customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Xero TV put a lot of effort into ensuring they have engaging and useful content for their customers, wherever they are in the sales funnel, and their efforts have paid off with an increase of 150% in average video viewing time. In addition, they have been able to roll out global initiatives in a precisely tailored manner that ensures every customer gets what they need when they need it.

When customer service is made more accessible, it saves costs by reducing calls for common inquiries while delivering better results for customers with more complex inquiries that require personal intervention.

DON’T GUESS WHAT’S WORKING – KNOW WITH DATA ANALYTICS

Once you post a video on your website, how can you demonstrate that it’s generating the results you want?

As a basic rule, determining whether the content is successful depends on how many times the video was watched and the actions your customers then took. When you’re looking at video playback data, views are important, but there’s so much deeper you can go.

With video analytics, it should be a simple matter of tracking performance and following up with relevant communications, depending on which video and how much of the video or video the customer has watched. For example, if you’re prioritising B2B customers for an in-person follow-up, then analysing which videos produce the strongest engagement will allow you to optimise those efforts. And if you keep track of this in an integrated customer database, then you can monitor the performance and effectiveness of your entire communications program.

VIDEO THAT MEANS BUSINESS

The return on investment that results from using video content for customer service is potentially immense. Whether you’re a small business, mid-size commercial bank, or large software provider, video enables you to attract and retain customers, reduce overhead, and accurately measure the success of what you’re doing.

If you want to know how we can help you build a video strategy for customer service, marketing automation, and much more, talk to us. We’ll show you why Brightcove is video that means business… for your business.

FINTOS!”, which provides investment information in video format, is growing rapidly. Video use in other departments is also becoming more active.

bsp-admin-1 on December 17, 2020

With the economic environment changing due to the impact of the new coronavirus, and the sense of uncertainty about the future increasing, the importance of asset formation for the future is increasing. In order to form assets, it is essential to have a long-term perspective, as well as to make speedy investment decisions in response to changes in the environment. Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., which provides services such as asset management and fund procurement to individual investors and various companies, was looking for a way to provide the various content it had been providing to institutional investors, such as analysts’ research reports, to individuals. The content provided includes not only text, but also audio and video materials. To this end, they launched the “FINTOS!” service, which provides investment information via smartphone app. They also started video distribution, and the number of users has grown significantly, by 300% compared to the previous year.

WE CHOSE BRIGHTCOVE BECAUSE IT WAS THE BEST

Akihiko Nasu, from the Future Co-Creation Department, says that they chose Brightcove as their video distribution platform because it was the best.

When you think about global-level development and security, there’s no reason not to choose the ‘best’.

Nomura Securities
“When deciding on a platform, we compared and considered three or four major domestic video distribution companies. We did receive various proposals from domestic companies, including customizations. However, as we are a global company, we felt that domestic platforms would not be very user-friendly when considering their use in other countries and regions. When we considered the necessary requirements, such as high security at a global level, we felt that Brightcove, which has a proven track record, was the best option. Even if there was a slight difference in cost, there was no reason not to choose Brightcove.”

THE VIDEOS THEY PRODUCED ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVED SALES EFFICIENCY

Once they actually started producing and distributing videos, the creators came up with more and more ideas. “Up until now, we only produced videos a few times a year, such as for seminars. However, with the introduction of Brightcove, we now have an environment where we can produce and distribute videos on a daily basis. We have a variety of ideas for projects, such as ‘I want to make something like this’ or ‘I wonder what would happen if we made a video out of this text? We have also received feedback from users saying that ‘videos are easier to understand than reading text’.” They say they are also receiving more and more inquiries from other departments about video distribution. “Many people are involved in creating articles in text form within the company, but video production is still rare. We’ve had a variety of responses, such as ‘I didn’t know videos could be made so easily’ and ‘I didn’t know videos could be distributed in this way’.” Before long, the videos created for FINTOS! were being used by other departments. In some cases, sales efficiency has increased by adding videos (links and QR codes) to the materials given to customers by the sales department. “Because the videos we produced to convey investment information were easy to understand, there was a request to add videos to sales materials as well. When you have to talk to customers using only paper materials, you need to digest and summarize many times the amount of information contained in the materials beforehand. However, if you attach videos to the documents, you can convey many times more information than on paper, so the amount of work required for sales preparation is reduced.” There were also survey results showing that ‘the time required for preparation was reduced by 20%’ as a result of improving the documents, such as by adding videos, and it was found that the number of contacts and the contract rate also improved because the time saved could be used to contact other customers.

INCREASE SALES EFFICIENCY BY ADDING VIDEOS TO SALES MATERIALS

FINTOS! Number of users: 300% increase year-on-year
Reduction in time spent preparing for sales: -30

OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE ALSO BECOMING MORE ACTIVE IN USING BRIGHTCOVE

Not only are the videos created for FINTOS! being used by other departments, but there are also now departments that are creating their own videos. Tetsuo Fujisaki of the Future Co-Creation Department, which is in charge of promoting financial education and financial literacy, says the following

“We are developing a nationwide program of visiting schools to teach financial education, but with just four members in our department, we obviously don’t have enough hands. So, in order to enable members of our branches nationwide to take charge of teaching at schools in their sales areas, we film our lessons and pass the videos on to each branch. With Brightcove, we can set passwords so that only the people who need to see it can see it.”

“We have also started producing a series of videos called ‘First Time Investing’ aimed at beginners in the field of investing. Then, a person in charge of human resources at a company asked us if we could put the videos on their company intranet, as they wanted to show them to all their employees. We are currently in the process of discussing this, but the members of the sales department who heard about it said, ‘I’d like to introduce this video to my customers too. Because of the nature of the financial and economic education content, it is easy for sales members to introduce it to customers. With the growing interest in financial literacy these days, there seems to be a lot of interest in this.”

The trend of producing videos spread further within the company, and the business division also started producing videos. Ryujiro Kitamura of the Asset Formation Promotion Department says

“We offer a financial wellness program, a seminar for employees of listed companies to help them reduce their future financial concerns. However, there are many cases where people are unable to attend the live seminar on the day because of other commitments. For this reason, we have been asked for some time whether it would be possible to provide the seminar on demand as a video. When we heard that Brightcove was being used for financial and economic education to produce and distribute videos, we decided to give it a try.”
In the production of videos for the workplace, they are using Brightcove’s engagement score to make the next proposal

“In the past, we used to make relatively long videos of around 60 minutes, but when we looked at the engagement score, the average viewing time for the videos was around 30 minutes. Based on these scores, we are now able to make the next proposal to our customers.”

Kitamura also says that Brightcove’s powerful security features have increased the flexibility of their proposals and use.

“The videos of the Financial Wellness Program seminars also provide information in line with the systems of listed companies. However, personnel-related system information is also confidential information for those companies. For that reason, we often receive requests to ‘make it so that it cannot be viewed from outside’.”

“To solve this problem, we added a viewer security option to the Brightcove system, so that we could restrict the IP addresses from which people could connect. I think this has helped us to gain the trust of our customers, and has given us more freedom in our proposals and use of the system. I think another convenient aspect of Brightcove is that we can flexibly rearrange the modules as needed.”

WE WANT TO PROMOTE THE USE OF VIDEO WITH THE CONVENIENCE OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND COMPANIES IN MIND

The company is also promoting the sharing and joint use of videos produced by different departments. Regarding future video utilization, Mr. Nasu, Mr. Fujisaki and Mr. Kitamura had the following to say “The investment information provided by FINTOS! is something that can be described as ‘perishable’, so we want to shorten the lead time between an event occurring and the provision of information as much as possible. Ideally, if we could provide videos of what happened today as soon as it happened, we think it would be even more convenient for users” (Mr. Nasu) “We are developing financial education for teenagers. They are a generation that find even three-minute videos long. For this reason, we will also take on the challenge of producing and providing short videos“ (Fujisaki) “We want to develop our business in the workplace to meet the needs of each company. We want to have a lineup of both long and short videos so that companies can choose the videos that suit them” (Kitamura)

3 FRESH TAKES ON THE FUTURE OF OTT VIDEO STREAMING

bsp-admin-1 on December 11, 2020

Have you ever heard the expression “ebb and flow”? It describes something that changes on a regular basis – a pattern of change that over-the-top (OTT) streaming businesses are all too familiar with.

As the world of streaming video grows at a mind-blowing pace, media companies are continually having to adjust course to stay on top of what their audiences want to see and how they want to see it – everything from which device viewers stream on the most to how they pay for the service, how often, and of course, how much.

One of the most important things these businesses need is a strategy for anticipating change, connecting with and bringing in new audiences, and staying on top of the booming market.

During Brightcove’s Over-The-Top-View Video Strategy Summit, we invited some of the media world’s top experts to give us their perspective on what streaming businesses should be thinking about right now if they want to face the market head-on. Here are three things we learned:

A LA CARTE OR BUNDLED UP?

More and more viewers are breaking ties with traditional pay-tv for more control over what they watch and when, but how much control will we really see in the near future? If you’re a viewer who just loves CBS’s NCIS series, will you be able to pay for only that? Will control extend to individual pieces of content selected a la carte, or will our choices have to fit into broader bundles?

Interpret’s Brett Sappington says it “depends on who’s doing the bundling.” There could be an advantage to bundling specific content and channels or services if there’s a demand for that particular bundle. For example, we might start seeing different services like Discovery+ paired with ESPN+ in the future, but only if they benefit from each other’s audience.

HOW TO AVOID THE DIGITAL FREELOADER

We all love free stuff, but what’s free for the customer can be very costly for the business – especially for a streaming business. Adding a free trial to your service that lets viewers explore your content seems like a no-brainer right? That’s not exactly what the experts are saying.

CakeWork’s Rebecca Paoletti says you have to make sure you’re not giving up too much. “We encourage seven days free or less. If you really have a good service and have many people talking about your offering, it should really be just a one-click buy.”

Audiences are driven by good content, but if they’re given free access to that content, you’re not only losing revenue, you’re devaluing your service. WATCHiT’s Moustapha Bekheet notes that it’s important to remember that your content generates cash flow for your business and not to give it up so freely. “We don’t have any free trials, but sometimes we offer an episode for free of a premium series, a generous snippet to get the audience interested in the content and make them want more.”

FAST DOESN’T JUST MEAN SPEED

Are you familiar with FAST? We’re not talking about NASCAR or Usain Bolt – FAST as in free ad-supported TV. It’s what today’s streamers want and what content creators are jumping into in order to grow their audiences.

FAST services such as Pluto TV, Xumo, and Roku Channel are popping up everywhere. At their core, these services provide free content to consumers who don’t mind the ads. But they also provide a way for creators and media brands alike to increase the number of eyes on their content. It’s sort of a win-win scenario.

However, just pushing content to a FAST channel isn’t enough. Revry’s Alia Daniels says you need a strategy in place if you want to take advantage of this new trend. She recommends that businesses “push the best, most well-known names, and content topics that the partner or channel would actually want to promote.” Once you have your viewers’ attention, they’ll be more likely to explore your own channel outside of the free one and consider signing up for more.

BEYOND 2020: A PLAYBOOK FOR THE FUTURE OF OTT

bsp-admin-1 on December 3, 2020

2020 has been a year of unprecedented video streaming all around the world, thanks to a homebound audience hungry for entertainment. Competition for viewers has been fierce, with Disney, HBO, and Peacock all jostling their way into an already-crowded market.

This is uncharted territory for many media companies, with new players still learning the business of online TV. As for viewers, never before have they had so many options to choose from to create their own content bundles and decide how to spend their monthly entertainment budget.

To learn about consumer preferences around subscriptions, devices, payments, advertising, and more, we polled 22,000 users in 22 countries. What are the current audience trends that will shape the future of OTT beyond 2020? Here are the top five takeaways:

VIEWERS BUILD THEIR OWN CONTENT BUNDLES WITH MULTIPLE SUBSCRIPTIONS

Having a variety of streaming services to choose from lets viewers build their own custom bundles. That’s important because our research found that subscribing to a single service often doesn’t give a customer a sufficient breadth of content. Having a mix of services and adjusting that mix occasionally is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to get the content they want (and avoid paying for content they don’t).

Viewers become interested in new content in a number of ways, including social media, search, and recommendations from friends and family. Once that content has been viewed, however, the platform needs a retention strategy to entice them to come back for what they’ll watch next. For example, OTT service providers can offer additional channels as an add-on to their viewers’ monthly subscriptions. This not only helps to retain viewers on the primary service, but it also allows the provider to sell the added space to content owners.

FACTOR IN HOW VIEWERS DISCOVER CONTENT IN YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

Streaming services are now part of everyday life. What we’re watching is a frequent topic of conversation among friends, at the family dinner table, and on social media. Finding, watching, and talking about content has become a social experience. OTT providers need to understand how their prospective viewers discover content and use this insight to shape their marketing campaigns. While there are similarities around the world, the process is not the same in every market.

A MULTI-DEVICE STRATEGY IS ESSENTIAL

One of the great things about OTT streaming is that content can be accessed on different kinds of devices, a feature most subscribers take full advantage of, even if they have just one OTT service. So having a multi-device strategy is essential for maximising audience reach and keeping subscribers. Any device, any time, any place – OTT providers need to deliver consistent experiences across mobile, laptops, connected TVs, and Smart TVs.

EVOLVE YOUR PAYMENT MODELS

Consumers are motivated to minimize how much they spend on OTT services, so they are perfectly willing to subscribe to one for a particular piece of content and unsubscribe after they’ve watched it. So-called subscriber churn rates are high in an era without contracts, and as the streaming landscape grows more crowded, this trend will only continue.

To give consumers the flexibility to opt-in and out of streaming packages at any time, providers can test out various pricing strategies – weekday vs. weekend pricing, with ads, without ads, with limited ads, etc. – to see which packages are most popular. Get creative with your pricing plans and see how your viewers respond.

THERE’S A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO INCLUDE ADVERTISING

Providing a free-with-ads option could be a draw for users on tight entertainment budgets. In this case, almost all of the respondents polled considered 1-2 ads per break about right. In situations where ad tolerance is low (no more than one ad per break), OTT providers should sell the ad space at a premium.

If you do go with an ad-based model, make sure your ad delivery is not intrusive or repetitive. Add in cues in the video player scrubber bar so viewers know where ad breaks are. Experiment with banner ads during programming that disappears after a few seconds. Develop a feel for what your viewers consider acceptable and what they won’t tolerate.