Last week we have rolled-out a new kind of project in collaboration with Metropotam, a project involving video-live streaming from a music festival, opting to use the Periscope solution, offered by Twitter. Ever since the launch and buzz around Periscope and Meerkat, we were closely watching to identify if there's potential in these platforms and the utility that comes with it. 

Context:

On Thursday night, due to the heavy rain conditions at the place of the event (Electric Castle Festival), the entire social media was trending on mud baths from the Bonțida Castle. "Glastonbury de România" was an interesting enough topic, worth exploring in a live coverage of the event, hence the "on the spot" idea.

Objectives:

Considering the insignificant adoption of the platform in Romania (our guesstimates: few hundreds) and the fact that Twitter never had traction here, it was not about performance. We were rather exploring the grounds while aiming for utility for the consumers and awareness for our Client - see what works, how it works and how social media fans will respond.

Figures:

We have streamed 17 short sessions in 3 days (± 2 minutes each) with an average of 400 total views per session, an estimated aggregate of about 6k total views (web + app views in the first hours after the live sessions). Interesting to note is that the edits uploaded on Facebook gathered a total of 18k views and their reach sky-rocketed to over 100k (for a brand with 54k fans). Full recordings on Metropotam's Vimeo account. Beyond absolute numbers, here's our key conclusion:

Video-live streaming is worth exploring for brands, IF:

1. IF you focus on the web views and try to work with that.

Periscope it's not only about the audience and the community inside the application. It's about the larger audience you may attract from web, avid for scoops, that you could reach and engage with an exclusive content. But having media and word of mouth mechanisms in place is a mandatory.

2. IF you are willing to open the market and have a great strategy behind.

Some people are more likely to test new things and vanish just as quickly. Others need an incentive. You just need to have a f**ing good concept and a clear goal. What is the main thing to achieve? How can it be achieved?

Want to be perceived as innovative? No need for numbers then, just some PR. Want to establish a clear connection with action sports, social movements or humanitarian causes? Great. Lots of ideas and material to work with. Want to generate buzz on your new collection? Well, streaming from a classic event or presenting the latest collection of shoes is not a "mass attracting" session. Maybe Kim Kardashian shopping will do the trick.

It's like with Youtube content, but here the clock is ticking for 24h sharp.

3. IF Periscope will start thinking business and make some strategic upgrades. And this means:

LANDSCAPE formats. The portrait format imposed by the app is completely unnatural, it doesn't cover wide scenes, it is impossible to later edit the material in a decent form. I doubt that any brand manager, product manager or campaign budget owner would be happy with portrait videos. In a social media world of landscape, if you want to sell something to media guys, make it landscape.

SAVE LATER option for recordings (just for the 24h window). Because if the field team is in Guatemala and the project team is in London, it's a hustle to send those large files or save a version using phone screen web recording gimmicks. Not to mention the reduced quality of those. And usually the team is in Guatemala... or at Glastonbury.

EMBEDS. Not because Meerkat is doing it, but because it helps conversion. Marketing people seek conversion. Marketing people have the media money. Marketing people invest money if they are closer to their selling or traffic goal. Traffic going into ether is not helping anyone. And think of all the free media Periscope might get via embeds, in return. 

 

What we've learned so far?

1. PORTRAIT shootings. We knew that one, we just forgot to mention it in time to our team at the event.

2. The title of the session is not just a title. It's a caption. Should be short but catchy, like on any other social network. Attention to hashtags, as this is how it's going to be posted automatically on Twitter.

3. Activate the Autosave Broadcasts option. In 24 hours you will no longer have any web or app material.

4. Have a plan. Announce it in advance.

5. Have a story & script. It can make the difference, even if the speaker is a natural-born improviser.

6. Brief the speaker: eyes on the screen, no scratching (seriously, no scratching in front of the camera), make sure they speak close to the microphone.

7. It helps to have a great character. Or a star.

8. Use the phone with the best video camera on the market. Use camera enhancements if possible.

9. Check the mobile / WiFi signal. If possible, have alternatives for that.

10. Use the material. What's the best way to permanently allow access to the content generated and how you can better leverage it?

Online media brands could be major players, specially when we are talking about exclusivity, scoops, political unrest, protests and special events. Commercial brands may be at win if and only if they have a strategy, a plan and desirable content. The key question remains: how can one convert?