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HOW STUFF MOVED BEYOND TRADITIONAL JOURNALISM

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

THE NEED

Stuff needed a trusted partner to create a brand new video platform offering storytelling across multiple genres and audiences.

THE ANSWER

Brightcove video, with its 24/7 reliability, technical expertise, industry reputation, and OTT solution, made this happen quickly, easily, and with no added development costs

THE RESULTS

3 MILLION+ views per month

27 genres

78 channels

Thousands of videos featuring news, entertainment, lifestyle documentaries, music, sports, business, and much more

As the way we consume news and information changes, publishers must also adapt to connect with audiences in new ways. Reaching beyond its traditional journalism platform, Stuff has created created a bold new streaming service called Play Stuff. Powered by Brightcove®, this experience delivers local and international video content across news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle programming, with material originating from Reuters, Press Association, Nine, ABC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Bravo New Zealand, Al Jazeera, Sky Vision, Rugby Pass, NZ On Screen, and many more.

PUBLISHERS INNOVATE WITH VIDEO

Like many in the publishing industry, Stuff set out to increase its video footprint, deliver more storytelling with video, and meet the demands for new OTT (over the top) experiences. This gave rise to Play Stuff, which features a mix of short- and long-form programming focused on news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and documentaries. Play Stuff quickly became New Zealand’s new home for entertaining, informative, and compelling video. “The idea was to create a rounded product that goes beyond the traditional news space and into the world of entertainment and beyond,” said Paddy Buckley, Head of Video Products and Strategy at Stuff. “Play Stuff represents a huge opportunity for us to rethink the way we tell our stories and look at new opportunities with video.”

27 GENRES...78 CHANNELS...THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF VIDEOS

Being able to lean on an organisation like Brightcove was essential for us. They have a robustness in their systems that we need. And we need to ensure that there is a high level of responsiveness to any problems that we encounter. We really need to trust our partner being able to deliver 24/7.

CAROL HIRSCHFELD

HEAD OF VIDEO/AUDIO AND CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS, STUFF

Music? Māori? How about health or history? Maybe a documentary, short film, or home improvement channel. With so many genres and channels, Play Stuff doesn’t leave anyone or anything out of the mix. It’s made possible by a powerful and comprehensive OTT experience powered by Accedo. This joint solution enables Play Stuff to rapidly deploy high quality live and on-demand video across platforms with no added development costs. “Video is becoming more prolific with recent stats suggesting it will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022,” said Chris McNair, Regional Director, Australia and New Zealand, Accedo. “Consumers are increasingly choosing to watch videos for information and entertainment. With this service, Stuff is tapping into that trend and delivering its content in a new and engaging way that will appeal to a larger audience.”

SERIOUSLY RELIABLE

With such a strong legacy in journalism and a mission focused on maintaining a vibrant, diverse functioning democracy in New Zealand, the addition of Play Stuff was a decision that was not taken lightly. The trust of the audience and the integrity of the organization must not face any risk. That led to the choice of Brightcove video. “When we offer new video programming for the first time to our audience, we need to know that it is going to be utterly reliable,” said Carol Hirschfeld, Head of Video/Audio and Content Partnerships at Stuff. “We must continue to build that trust which we have shown through the editorial side and show that we can do it at a technical level. And that’s really one of the key reasons why we chose Brightcove to be our partner.”

HOW SPH USES VISUAL STORYTELLING IN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

INTERACTIVE VIDEO INCREASES VIEWING TIME BY 50%

The leading media organization in Asia, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) delivers editorial storytelling content across a vast portfolio of media platforms, including newspapers, magazines, radio, and digital. Its digital properties encompass more than 25 news, financial and lifestyle websites and more than 50 mobile apps, each reaching a very targeted demographic. Together, these properties serve an audience of 23 million unique viewers and command 360 million page views per month. It’s an established and highly engaged base, one that views SPH’s media segments as trusted, reliable sources for content.

SPH provides its advertising clients with access to affluent, brand-conscious and upwardly mobile individuals between the ages of 25 and 49. Fortune 500 companies and regional brand advertisers leverage SPH’s websites and services to target a highly coveted audience engaging with them on sites and mobile apps they trust, alongside editorial content they value.

VIDEO EXPANDS THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

“Advertisers value us as a trusted source for information and as strong storytellers,” says Serene Goh, Head of SPH Content Lab. “We create unique digital brand campaigns designed to engage audiences and generate returns for advertisers.”

“Video adds a dimension to our storytelling, and makes us a more complete, well-rounded media solution—it goes beyond just suggesting a client buy banners on this site, or print ads, or radio spots. It’s one more way we help our clients reach their customers, shape effective stories and amplify their messages.”

Brightcove allows us to do more with video.

SERENE GOH

HEAD OF SPH CONTENT LAB

As SPH became more invested in video, the company sought to upgrade its technology platform—to a solution that offered flexibility and a robust set of APIs. They chose Brightcove as a key technology partner, hosting all editorial and advertising video content on Brightcove Video Cloud.

“Brightcove is our video technology partner,” explains Eric Tan, Manager, Business and Product Innovation. “We transitioned to Brightcove because we needed a very strong technology partner with a mature platform that can reach all our websites and publications.”

To capitalize on SPH’s expertise in delivering trusted content, the company assigned a specialist team to focus on branded content solutions for the digital space, BrandInsider, within its Content Lab. BrandInsider conceives, produces and distributes approximately 50 digital-led campaigns—including video components—for its advertising clients each year, helping them create and cultivate their distinct voices across digital media.

Content Lab’s strength was in offering expertise in matching the right media to the right story. “Video helps us in visual storytelling. When you talk about share of mind, it really enhances the stickiness of a story,” Goh says. “As media owners, SPH distributes a client’s message to a greater diversity of audiences to better meet their business objectives with a comprehensive, targeted campaign.”

“Brightcove allows us to do more with video,” she says. “It enables us to be more creative with how we approach different customers and their needs. We particularly like the ability to innovate. Integrating new technologies, such as interactivity, into our videos, offers progressive clients a novel element.”

INNOVATING WITH INTERACTIVE VIDEO TO DEFINE A BRAND

The Courts campaign, targeting local shoppers, ran for four weeks and delivered higher-than-anticipated engagement. Although a longstanding print advertiser in the SPH news publications, the furniture retailer was still relatively new to the digital marketing space.

To better reach a digital audience, it wanted to engage viewers more deeply, and use the occasion of the 10th anniversary celebration of its megastore to solidify its reputation as an innovative brand. To achieve this aim, the BrandInsider team collaborated with Courts to design a story that would play out using interactive video elements. Its story revolved around a couple trying to find solutions for redecorating their home, using the interactivity functionality from Brightcove partner HapYak.

Unfolding over six minutes, the story was paused at three points to offer a branching option so viewers could select what would happen next. The effect was to help the Courts campaign stand out to Singapore audiences. The video received twice as many views as a previous, similar award-winning video from a different customer, as well as higher play-through rates.

The integrated strategy used Brightcove’s strong analytics capabilities to track traffic to the stores, conversion, how many people followed the campaign through the full four weeks, and whether customers were driven to the store from the mobile app or from Courts’ website. “The breaks and branching options allowed the one video to have an episodic feel,” says Goh. Plus, its interactive elements were essential to positioning Courts as an innovator, willing to try something fresh.

The interactive video generated a more captive audience by increasing viewing time by 50% compared to non-interactive videos. The technique is something SPH intends to roll out with other clients, across sectors, as a key component of its integrated media solutions, positioning it where it might be most effective to entertain, or deepen audience engagement.

“Each time we run a video campaign or add a video element, we learn more about how customers respond to the client’s brand,” says Goh. “Interactivity is one more tool we can use to increase engagement with audiences, and keep us at the head of the branded content storytelling pack. We’re excited about the innovative functionalities Brightcove continues to offer. It is helping us to do more to maximize the power of video.”

HOW THE DPP REUSES EVENT VIDEOS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

The DPP is a London-based business network for media companies, founded in 2015. According to their Chief Technology Officer, Rowan de Pomerai, the DPP spans the media supply chain. “Production companies, post-producers, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and of course, the service providers and technology vendors that power that whole business.”

The DPP primarily uses events to bring its members together for networking and exchanging ideas. That means they need a reliable streaming platform to deliver the proper experience on their website.

“I look at a conference like the Leaders Briefing, our flagship conference is two days worth of content, with over 30 speakers. We need to be able to get all of that video managed and put the individual videos into playlists of different sessions to make it easy for our users to navigate. And of course, we want to be able to do that in an interface that feels familiar and allows our marketing team to do their job easily and efficiently.”

By using Brightcove, the DPP is able to expand the value of their events: “Making that content available as video on demand to our members is a really powerful part of the resource that we offer them.”

HOW VOX MEDIA GAVE ADVERTISERS INSIGHT INTO VIEWERSHIP

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

BRIGHTCOVE TECHNOLOGY PROPELS CONCERT PLATFORM SUCCESS

Through its eight distinct media brands—The Verge, Vox, SBNation, Eater, Polygon, Racked, Curbed, and Recode—Vox Media distributes dynamic video storytelling that’s integrated across all digital platforms and adapted specifically to each target audience. By combining stand-out technology with captivating video and digital journalism, the company produces thought-provoking pieces that advertising partners can trust.

“We only work with premium and brand-safe environments. We also build all of our own ads in-house, which is something that’s really rare, and advertisers have really been excited about that. Those two pieces together make sure it’s extremely safe,” states Heather Savatta, Director of Ad Solutions.

Vox Media’s audience-first mindset is embraced by both editorial staff and producers working to build custom advertising solutions for marketers. To ensure these turnkey ads play to audiences with speed and reliability across a number of environments, the company appointed Brightcove as its video platform of choice. Leveraging Brightcove’s industry-standard HTML5 playerand trusted viewing analytics, Vox Media is able to monitor video ad performance and overall success, thereby prompting return business from numerous advertising partners.

EVOLUTION OF CONCERT PLATFORM INTRODUCES ADVERTISERS TO TURNKEY AD SOLUTIONS

Vox Media was founded on the belief that passionate, inquisitive people deserve stories that go deeper, connecting audiences to subjects they value most. The company continues to expand on that creative drive, building standout technology on which Vox Media operates. Take, for example, its proprietary platform, Chorus. As the company’s own content management system (CMS), Chorus is a tightly looped workflow system that runs across all Vox Media brands. On the platform, the company’s own writers and developers manage assignments and tasks seamlessly using its massive collection of publishing tools.

When we were rolling out outstream, we knew we were going to use Brightcove to build it on…we definitely were able to innovate and get it to market much faster, just building on top of Brightcove.

HEATHER SAVATTA

DIRECTOR OF AD SOLUTIONS AT VOX MEDIA

With the success of Chorus, Vox Media’s revenue product team went on to develop an advanced suite of custom ad products targeted specifically to the company’s brand partners. In doing so, these partners were able to leverage Chorus’s same proprietary tools to build custom advertising programs that live on platform, making it easy to share messaging across Vox Media’s O&O properties. This resonated so well with brand partners, Vox Media launched a new sister company called Concert, designed specifically with its advertisers in mind.

The Concert platform operates in partnership with NBCUniversal and collectively sources valuable ad inventory across a variety of premium digital media properties. Concert then provides marketers with innovative ad solutions that are both effective and specific to target audiences. While similar in concept to other ad networks, the platform does differ in that it’s entirely publisher-led. This means the company’s editorial partners are able to build greater relationships with consumers, while still delivering high-impact advertising opportunities for brand partners. Vox Media even leverages Concert to distribute original branded content from Vox Creative, the company’s in-house creative practice.

“We track all the different metrics, and we’ve been able to help advertisers decide which video to distribute based on the VCR goal that they’re going for. Advertisers have been really, really happy with [the] product … our own ad builder and all our internal tools power them to be live as soon as they send us that video. From a distribution standpoint they look to us as a partner to get their message out as fast as possible, but also in a really safe environment and in premium publishers,” explains Savatta.

BRIGHTCOVE PLAYER, METRICS PROVE REAL VALUE IN VOX MEDIA’S CUSTOM AD UNITS

In order for Vox Media to deliver its beautiful, first-rate video ads across Concert’s premium collection of ad inventory, the company partnered with Brightcove, using its player to support several custom video ad units, including its UX-friendly outstream format.

Unlike instream ads, which run as pre-, mid-, or post-roll content within a video hosted on a website, outstream ads exist natively on a text-based editorial page outside publisher-owned video content. While users scroll through editorial text on a page, the outstream player comes into view and begins to autoplay muted video. The player itself doesn’t disrupt the editorial content at all; in fact, the video automatically pauses as soon as users navigate further down the page. Vox Media’s version of outstream, therefore, helps publishers maintain a good relationship with consumers— they’re not being distracted by intrusive ad content. Advertisers can also be assured they aren’t irritating audiences while delivering ad messaging.

And with Brightcove player’s critical pause feature, Vox Media can now track more accurate ad performance data. For example, if a user scrolls past an outstream video ad on a page, the player immediately pauses, putting the creative on hold as it scrolls out of the user’s view, ensuring that accurate video completion rates are recorded and the user can easily revisit their drop-off point if they do return to the ad at a later time. With Brightcove’s analytics accurately measuring metrics, Vox Media is better able to properly gauge the success of each ad unit.

With Brightcove’s integrated video player, Vox Media’s in-house product team has the time to focus solely on developing new, innovative products and continuing to lead the way in the digital ad space. As a result of the success with their custom ad formats, the company is seeing more and more advertisers inquiring about its unique product innovations and Concert’s premier ad inventory. At the same time, it’s also seeing an impressive boost in return business, signaling that Vox Media’s advertising solutions have proven effective for marketers.

“When we were rolling out outstream, we knew were going to use Brightcove to build it on…we definitely were able to innovate and get it to market much faster, just building on top of Brightcove,” says Savatta.

HOW TN MARKETING REACHES MORE AUDIENCES ON MORE PLATFORMS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

SERIOUS DEMANDS, SERIOUS RESULTS

THE NEED

As a global video streaming service creating communities for hobbyists and enthusiasts, TN Marketing’s video content must adapt to multiple devices and platforms to further expand its relevancy to over 5 million registered enthusiasts.

THE ANSWER

With Brightcove Beacon™, TN Marketing effectively and easily engages customers on app-based streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV, providing a lean back experience that’s desired by hobbyists who crave longer form content.

THE RESULTS

TN Marketing continues to see increased engagement across the board:

10 apps live on User Roku and FireTV

64% increase in viewer engagement with GetHealthyU TV in just two months

30-60% growth in amount of users viewing brand channels

20-50% growth of visitors to Roku and FireTV brand channels

TN Marketing, headquartered in Minnesota, is a global video streaming service focused on creating communities by engaging people with their passions. Its how-to instruction, centered around lifelong hobbies, reaches members in more than 150 countries. With multiple digital brand properties, a large number of subject matter experts and nearly 2,000 hours of owned instructional content, TN Marketing delivers engaging content to its online subscribers and visitors every day.

SO MANY AUDIENCES, SO MANY PLATFORMS

The Woodworkers Guild of America, GetHealthyU TV, and the National Bowling Academy, are just some of the communities that have been created and cultivated by TN Marketing. With more than 5 million registered enthusiasts in more than 150 countries, the need to provide fresh, robust and high-quality content has never been greater. What’s more, this content must engage audiences on all the different platforms and devices available today.

As more consumers cut the cord and subscribe to app-based streaming services such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV, there’s a growing desire for a lean-back experience. For example, a woodworking enthusiast might sit down in the living room for a longer video inspiring a new project. But then, he heads to his workshop and watches how-to instruction on his phone amid the tools and sawdust. These different viewing experiences inform and fuel a hobbyist’s passion, and it was vital for TN Marketing to ensure a high level of engagement every time.

3 KEY AREAS TO CREATE CONSISTENCY AND GROWTH

GIVE YOUR VIEWERS WHAT THEY WANT: CONTENT THATS OVER THE TOP

GET THE PLAYBOOK

TN Marketing needed a solution to extend its reach to new devices and platforms as it focused on three main priorities:

  • Seamless experiences: To add value to its existing member base, a seamless and consistent experience across devices increases member loyalty and viewing time.
  • Brand extension: To create new global avenues for brand awareness and member acquisition through new partners and platforms.
  • Viewer insight: Use analytics to better understand content preferences and viewing behaviors, enabling TN Marketing to guide content development planning efforts.

We see the opportunity to further evolve our video delivery to align with new viewing behaviors and preferences. Brightcove Beacon allows us to do this quickly, easily, and with the latest technology at the forefront of the streaming video industry.

JIM KOPP

EVP AND GM OF DIGITAL BUSINESS, TN MARKETING

However, expanding into the connected TV market with such a large number of branded online communities would require extensive technology investments if done in-house and constant upkeep as platform requirements shift over time.

THE BRIGHTCOVE BEACON SOLUTION

TN Marketing turned to Brightcove® for a solution to deliver high-quality connected TV applications across its branded properties. Brightcove Beacon was recommended as a solution built to meet its current over-the-top (OTT) needs and serve as a scalable delivery service as the device landscape continues to evolve.

“We chose Brightcove Beacon to develop our direct-to-consumer OTT applications because its platform makes it easy to configure consistent TV-like experiences for our individual audience needs, thereby helping us get to market as efficiently as possible” said Neil Rice, Vice President of Technology at TN Marketing. “With our long relationship, we knew we could count on Brightcove to deliver the video experience our viewers have come to expect as we expand our presence onto these new platforms.”

The company has launched its branded applications on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. With more devices and platforms undoubtedly on the way, Brightcove Beacon remains the ideal solution to help TN Marketing meet the needs of its evolving audience.

HOW THE ACADEMY AWARDS SECURED FILMS FOR OSCAR® VOTERS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

BRIGHTCOVE TECHNOLOGY HELPS PROTECT AN ICONIC CEREMONY

The initiative led by Brightcove to create Forensic Watermarking ensures that the Academy Awards remains a trusted entity with studios and creative professionals. It’s also a significant and innovative step forward in the global battle to lessen the impact of illegal downloading.

THE ACADEMY SCREENING ROOM PLATFORM IS USED BY MORE THAN

10,000 ACADEMY MEMBERS in 102 COUNTRIES

Established in 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s leading organization dedicated to the movie industry. With members representing all facets of film production, the Academy upholds the highest standards of cinematic artistry while inspiring the creative community in the universal language of storytelling. Its pinnacle award presentation, the Academy Awards®, honors outstanding achievement in acting, directing and other areas of motion picture production.

PROTECTION AGAINST PIRACY

The Academy’s international membership uses its streaming platform, Academy Screening Room, to watch movies in consideration for the upcoming award season. With such a wide distribution platform, it’s crucial that the Academy maintain security of its owned content. In addition, it’s important to have a firm defense against piracy, an issue that’s been impacting the film industry and other content providers for years.

FORENSIC WATERMARKING

Working with Akamai, NAGRA, and BuyDRM, Brightcove® led a joint effort to deliver a Forensic Watermarking solution for the Academy Screening Room. With this valuable new feature, the Academy can now control piracy across its platform by auditing content, as well as tracking down stolen content and distribution. Anyone with access to the member streaming portal is prohibited from participating in pirate activity such as screen recording content, recording with other devices, and removing video clips. “It demonstrates how video technologies have evolved to include critical security functionalities that protect against piracy,” said Bev Kite, the Academy’s Chief Information Officer, about Forensic Watermarking. “The Academy can continue to deliver content to our members, while strengthening security measures to maintain confidentiality, and protect artists and intellectual property.”

A POWERFUL COLLABORATION

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BECOME A VIRTUAL EVENT EXPERT

GET THE GUIDE

Brightcove’s partnership with Akamai was key to the creation of this secure solution for the Academy. Akamai’s storage and delivery of the screening content maintained the forensic watermark pattern, forming a unique identity for each user while creating a barrier against piracy. Amit Kasturia, Senior Media Product Manager at Akamai, summed it up this way: “The Academy’s forensic watermarking implementation shows how Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM can form an ecosystem that supports enhanced security across the entire content delivery workflow while maintaining the high quality of experience that viewers expect.”

As a result of our work with Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM, the Academy can continue to deliver content to our members, while strengthening security measures to maintain confidentiality, and protect artists and intellectual property

BEV KITE

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES

Image Credit: ©A.M.P.A.S

NOT JUST THE ACADEMY, THE ENTIRE FILM INDUSTRY

Video technology has now advanced to deliver essential security features that provide a true defense against piracy. For the Academy, as well as the worldwide film industry, this represents real progress in halting the theft and misuse of content that constantly threatens the bottom line. And for the individual creators and contributors to the industry, this technology protects their intellectual property and allows them to work with less worry and concern. From Hollywood productions to internal corporate messaging, the integrity and security of video content is of paramount importance to Brightcove. With support for the most sophisticated, studio-grade content protection, plus advanced security features, Brightcove remains a trusted and reliable solution as it empowers the world’s largest organizations to deliver sensitive video content with security and confidence.

HOW ITALIAONLINE REINVENTED THE PRE-ROLL VIDEO AD

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

Italiaonline is Italy’s largest internet company, dominating the country’s online publishing arena with brands that use the power of video to excite and engage audiences. Together with Brightcove, Italiaonline has always pushed the potential of its digital properties. And now, through the powerful combination of expertise and imagination, Italiaonline continues to create new possibilities with video.

A NEED TO OPTIMIZE ADVERTISING

As Italiaonline brought more and more advertisers to its video platform, the team wanted to maximize every opportunity to increase revenue and target the right audiences. Specifically, they wanted to improve click-through rates, completion rates, and viewability. Brightcove was up to the challenge and helped Italiaonline design and implement a streamlined and efficient advertising solution that ensured all viewers would see optimized content for their viewing device and bandwidth—with no delays in playback. “We have seen significant improvements both in user engagement and monetization,” said Domenico Pascuzzi, Marketing Director Publishing of Italiaonline. “Our video inventory has very strong KPIs and we are attracting more advertisers.” Building upon that success, Italiaonine has now developed a breakthrough idea that sets a new standard for online video advertising.

INTRODUCING PRE-ROLL PLUS

How do you hold the attention of viewers who might typically skip a pre-roll ad? You give them something more. That’s the idea behind Pre-roll Plus. Italiaonline created this unique combination of pre-roll and display ad units, giving advertisers more of an opportunity to engage the viewer. As the companion banner appears at the same time as the video ad, it strengthens the video message with additional details. What’s more, it ensures visibility and continuity of the brand right to the last second of the preroll. Launched on Virgilio Video, one of Italiaonline’s most popular sites, Pre-roll Plus was used for a major product launch of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. And, this powerful video innovation has delivered a 33% increase in monthly video views, capturing the attention of viewers who often skip through regular pre-roll. “This makes brands, clients and advertisers very happy,” said Domenico Pascuzzi. “The sales funnel is far more effective, because even if people skip ahead, they still see the message.”

VIDEO DRIVES PUBLISHING’S FUTURE

“Brightcove’ industry-leading technology and insights have been key to the video success of Italiaonline. Brightcove offers a complete and flexible solution for video player, asset management and monetization. The Brightcove platform is critical for delivering the best video, which is crucial for us, being, with iOL Advertising, Italy’s largest digital sales house” says Pascuzzi.”

We have seen significant improvements both in user engagement and monetization; our video inventory has very strong KPIs and we are able to attract more advertisers.

DOMENICO PASCUZZI

MARKETING DIRECTOR, ITALIAONLINE

As Italiaonline sets a high bar for all those in the publishing industry, it counts on video more than ever. Along with the innovation of Pre-roll Plus, the publisher’s video initiatives include editorial playlists and featured selections to aggregate thematic videos, customized lists for users to save videos, overlay links that appear during video streams, plus animated thumbnails and new modes of subscription content.

For an industry like publishing, with rising pressures to remain fresh, relevant and forward-thinking, video is the ideal solution for connecting with today’s audiences.

HOW SEVEN WEST MEDIA (SWM) PUT VIEWERS IN CONTROL

bsp-admin-1 on December 7, 2024

As one of Australia’s leading integrated media companies, Seven West Media (SWM) offers top quality, story-driven content to millions of consumers across the country. Whether it’s in the form of broadcast programming, magazines, newspapers, or digital media, SWM operates from the standpoint of creating engagement and value from powerful storytelling.

SWM decided to pivot its business strategy and become a total video enterprise, putting consumers in control of the viewing experience. In order to do that successfully, the company identified two major goals: (1) incrementally monetize all of its live stream content, and (2) measure each asset independently. Says Clive Dickens, Chief Digital Officer for SWM: “If we could incrementally monetize and independently measure, then we’d be able to take our total video experience to all devices, better known as TV Everywhere.”

What makes us different is that still today, we’re incrementally monetizing…live streaming with addressable live TV using server side ad insertion technology, and also independently measuring it…

CLIVE DICKENS

CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, SEVEN WEST MEDIA

Seven West Media launched its TV Everywhere strategy with Australia’s first-ever, 24/7 live stream television operation, giving viewers live access to big events like the Wimbledon Championships. From there, SWM built a network using the power of Brightcove technology, most notably its transcoding and encoding features, ensuring its consumers can access content anytime, anywhere. The company implemented Brightcove’s server side ad insertion (SSAI) solution to mitigate ad blockers, optimize ad delivery, and boost monetization. Further maximizing the advantages of the Brightcove platform, SWM then launched its own OTT streaming service, 7plus, blending the excitement of live stream content with catch-up programming via on-demand video, allowing consumers to decide how and when they want to enjoy SWM media. With the Brightcove platform, SWM was able to quickly power the service and send to market, all in a cost-effective, efficient manner.  Within twelve weeks following the launch, the service had already recorded nearly three million unique visitors per month.

Standout events fueled a year of stunning growth for SWM in 2018. The Summer of 7Tennis campaign reached 50% of the Australian population through its duration, as 3.3 million viewers tuned in simultaneously at the peak of the Australian Open men’s final. The Winter Olympics reached even more Australians, with 16 million viewers tuning in throughout the event, logging  27.4 million social video views. Finally, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games racked up a total of 189 million live streaming minutes at final count. Throughout the year, their service handled these extreme traffic loads without viewability issues, thanks to the robust capabilities of the Brightcove platform.

HOW JOURNAL MEDIA EXTENDED ITS REACH WITH MOBILE AND OTT

bsp-admin-1 on December 7, 2024

VIDEO VIEWS SURPASS GOAL IN SIX MONTHS WITH HIGH TRAFFIC AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

If you’re one of the 3.2 million farmers in the United States, chances are you’ve heard of Farm Journal Media (FJM), one of the oldest agricultural publications in the country. What started as a print magazine 140 years ago has now evolved into a full-blown multimedia company focusing on the intricacies of the commercial farming industry.

FJM’s evolution is apparent in its collection of media properties, including 11 business publications, eight broadcast programs, 26 websites, two e-newsletters, and an OTT network, Farm Journal On Air, which is available via web and mobile app. Its programs are broadcast to 100 or so local network affiliates, and they’re also available on digital cable and satellite channel, RFD-TV. Considering FJM’s audience reach, high-quality content, and impressive viewership of nearly two million people weekly, the company is arguably the agricultural industry’s leader in media publishing.

In order to stay number one, FJM knows it has to continue evolving and providing viewers quality content in whatever mode they prefer. “It’s important we go where the customers are,” says Clinton Griffiths, Editorial Director of FJM’s Broadcast Division. And as evidenced by FJM’s track record, they’ve been doing just that. A perfect example is the company’s transition from a single print magazine to an industry premier website, AgWeb, and syndicated broadcast program, AgDay, which is also available on a variety of platforms, including Farm Journal On Air, RFD-TV, and the AgDay website.

“The AgWeb site has now grown into a powerhouse of the industry,” says Griffiths. “It gets more than half the traffic from people looking for agriculture news, markets and other related information. It’s just a behemoth out there in the business.”

We’re looking to roll out our OTT channel to services like Apple TV and Roku…to deliver to bigger screens and living room television sets.

CLINTON GRIFFITHS

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF FJM’S BROADCAST DIVISIONWATCHIT

Giving customers what they want has always been the driving force behind FJM’s business model. That’s why the company teamed up with Brightcove to further expand its digital footprint. In just about seven months, Brightcove successfully supported FJM in building and launching its OTT and mobile initiatives, driving incredible engagement across all digital properties, and discovering new ad revenue opportunities to help fund future video endeavors.

FARM JOURNAL MEDIA PARTNERS WITH BRIGHTCOVE TO SUPERCHARGE ITS VIDEO CONTENT

During the company’s transition to digital, FJM first delivered video through a content delivery network, but during that time, the team recognized several challenges that were preventing FJM from optimizing its assets. For one, the network’s player, based in Flash, forced content to load far too slowly. Two, the platform lacked a smart tagging system and a flexible player. This made it nearly impossible to play video seamlessly within different browsers or mobile devices, and it erased any chance of enabling interactive content. And three, the entire platform was behind the times; it couldn’t provide FJM the tools it needed to stay on top of the latest technology trends. That’s when the FJM team began looking for the industry standard platform, and discovered Brightcove.

Brightcove’s player has proved to be the ultimate asset for FJM. Its optimized, lightweight technology allows for fast load and play times, which is incredibly helpful for consumers living in areas of limited connectivity. Since FJM’s target demographic is located mostly in rural areas, consumers’ access to high-speed internet is spotty at best. That’s why the Brightcove player helps FJM deliver high-quality video content to any location, regardless of bandwidth.

The player also supports smart tagging, making it easy to distribute video seamlessly, no matter what browser or platform people are using.

“You can put up one video, and it is delivered to multiple players,” says Griffiths. “That’s as opposed to setting up and managing each player individually.”

And because of its impressive workflow efficiency, Brightcove’s platform has truly transformed the way Griffiths and his digital team think about producing and distributing content. Rather than managing separate players and playlists, they’re now able to focus solely on managing the videos themselves, which makes a big difference as far as efficiency is concerned.

OPTIMIZING CONTENT HELPS DRIVE AD REVENUE FOR FARM JOURNAL MEDIA

Since partnering with Brightcove, FJM has been able to take advantage of the platform’s many benefits to drive an increase in ad inventory.

The team is segmenting video content into short, strategically packaged pieces—a helpful practice that drives more traffic to multiple distribution points. Griffiths explains:

“We discovered shorter, more compact clips are far better solutions for digital audiences. Now that we’re doing smart tagging, we’re shortening our clips and being more specific. We’re writing new stories around everything and driving traffic to individual pieces of video, as opposed to the entire show every day.”

FJM now is able to repurpose one piece of video into individual segments and deliver them separately throughout the company’s multiple digital properties and platforms. Therefore, FJM doesn’t have to create more video content; instead, it can distribute many versions of the same video, resulting in more viewing opportunities and a highly efficient work process. In fact, within the first six months of using the Brightcove platform, FJM hit its max data limit for video views, indicating incredibly high traffic and audience engagement. From August 2016 to August of 2017, digital video and audio plays have risen nearly 140 percent.

As FJM’s video assets continue to grow and its viewership increases, its sales team has begun seeking opportunities for additional revenue to support the company’s video initiatives. Griffiths says the team is collaborating with sales staff to develop an impactful approach to pre-, mid-, and post-roll opportunities proving to advertisers just how valuable FJM’s digital content is.

BOOST IN MOBILE USE ALLOWS FJM TO MAKE THE ARGUMENT FOR OTT VIDEO

While broadband connectivity poses a challenge to most of FJM’s rural viewers, it’s actually helped expand FJM’s mobile viewership. With more people investing in mobile technology, including increased data plans and 4G speeds, the company’s ability to reach on-the-go audiences has skyrocketed.

“It makes sense that people are going to get the content where they can actually stream it,” says Griffiths. “It looks like our viewers use their phones for that because oftentimes the connection is actually faster than the internet connection they have at home.”

And with such an attentive mobile audience, FJM is now aiming to attract even more users to its OTT channel, Farm Journal On Air. The channel’s recently revamped mobile app, built with the help of Brightcove’s OTT Flow, will be a huge asset in extending the reach to mobile consumers and at-home audiences. FJM expects their mobile app will be especially appealing to those who have chosen satellite TV or have “cut the cord” in favor of other video services for direct-to-consumer viewing.

“We’re looking to roll out our OTT channel to services like Apple TV and Roku,” says Griffiths. “We eventually want to deliver to bigger screens and living room television sets.”

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