the burgeoning set of use cases for live video...

The Burgeoning Set of Use Cases for Live Video Streaming

Copyright © 2012 Wainhouse Research, LLC

WHITE PAPER


Steve Vonder Haar

January 2015

White Paper commissioned by:

Identifying Innovative Applications

for One-to-Many Video


Copyright © 2012 Wainhouse Research, LLC

Contents

Creativity Flourishes in Business Video ......................................................................................................... 1

Video Use Case #1 : CreativeLive .................................................................................................................. 5

Video Use Case #2 : iStrategy Labs ............................................................................................................... 6

Video Use Case #3: This Week in Tech ......................................................................................................... 6

Key Takeaway ................................................................................................................................................ 7

About the Author / About WR ..................................................................................................................... 8

List of Figures

Figure 1: Deployment of Applications Leveraging Use of One-to-Many Video – Overall Respondents ...... 1

Figure 2: Applications of Live Online Video - Segmented by Organization's Frequency of Live Streaming

Video Deployment ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Figure 3: Planned Expansion of Online Video Applications - Companies Deploying Between One and Nine

Live Online Video Events Annually ................................................................................................................ 3

Figure 4: Planned Expansion in Online Video Application Adoption - Companies Deploying More than

100 Live Online Video Events Annually ......................................................................................................... 4

WR Paper: The Burgeoning Set of Use Cases for Live Video Streaming

Copyright © 2015 Wainhouse Research. All rights reserved.

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Copyright © 2015 Wainhouse Research, LLC Page 1

This report is the fourth in a series of

white papers tracking the usage,

deployment and executive

perceptions of live streaming video in

the corporate sector.

The concept for this series was

inspired by previous market research

published on behalf of Cisco Systems

that measures the growing use of

online video on the Internet.

Commissioned by Ustream and

produced by Wainhouse Research,

the Business Video Now Series seeks

to take the next step in gauging

momentum in the evolving online

video market.

The aim of Business Video Now is to

foster greater awareness of and

understanding of online video trends

by providing data-driven insight,

focusing on the expanding role of the

technology in enterprise

communications. Results from a

survey of 1,007 executives conducted

in the fourth quarter of 2013 serve as

the foundation for information

presented in this series. This report

also includes highlights of creative

uses of live online video by

organizations leveraging the

technology to create new business

opportunities.

ABOUT THE BUSINESS VIDEO NOW

SERIES

Creativity Flourishes in Business Video

When it comes to business communications, live streaming

video is no one-trick pony. Executives are finding fresh,

varied applications for corporate video distributed on a one-

to-many basis. Indeed, as video technology platforms grow

more robust, the range of business use cases for video-

enriched communications is expanding in step.

In its most recent executive survey, Wainhouse Research

identified more than a dozen applications of live online video

that are used by at least 40% of the organizations

represented in the survey. (Figure 1)

It’s a diversity of use cases that belie the history of online

video adoption in the enterprise. For years, employee

training has served as the “killer application” of streaming

video for corporate users. By leveraging video to extend the

reach of training sessions, organizations can deliver learning

opportunities to more employees at a lower cost than would

be possible if individuals needed to travel in order to attend a

live session in-person.

Figure 1: Deployment of Applications Leveraging Use of One-to-Many Video – Overall Respondents



Figure 2: Applications of Live Online Video - Segmented by Organization's Frequency of Live Streaming Video Deployment

Little wonder, then, that employee training is the most extensively deployed application of one-to-many

online video. More than half of all organizations represented in the Wainhouse Research survey (51%)

report than they have implemented online video in employee training applications.

The second most frequently deployed application of one-to-many video in the enterprise consists of

“executive presentations.” This particular use case is epitomized by the “all-hands meetings” conducted

by organizations to allow top executives to update far-flung staff on corporate news and strategies.

Overall, 47% of survey respondents say their organization has deployed one-to-many streaming events

to disseminate executive presentations.

While employee training and executive presentations have played a key role in encouraging

organizations to adopt streaming video technologies, they do not tell the full story of the technology’s

evolving impact on business communications. Indeed, as organizations begin to use live streaming video

capabilities more extensively, they begin to embrace increasingly diverse use cases for the technology.

Simply put, expanded adoption of video technologies correlates with a proliferation in the ways that

these capabilities are put to work. Figure 2 compares deployment levels for one-to-many video

applications between organizations that produce more than 100 live online video events annually and

those that use live video between one and nine times per year. The top-to-bottom rankings of

applications listed in Figure 2 are based on the size of the adoption gap for each application between

active and moderate adopters of live streaming video. As a result, the applications at the top of the list

demonstrate the uses of live streaming that gain traction as users’ familiarity with online video grows.



Figure 3: Planned Expansion of Online Video Applications - Companies Deploying Between One and Nine Live Online Video Events Annually

Beyond quantifying how live streaming video is being used today, the survey results also help to identify

the applications of the technology that are best poised to gain even more traction in corporate circles

over time. In many cases, future momentum in the adoption of specific uses of live video will correlate

with a company’s past experiences in using the technology. As illustrated in Figure 3, companies that are

relatively inexperienced with live streaming video (deploying live video between one and nine times per

year) tend to focus on boosting the use of the technology to address task-specific communications

objectives. Topping the list of applications to be used more frequently as companies spread their live

streaming ambitions is “IT Support,” with 22% of respondents reporting plans to boost implementation

of the application already in use. Another 26% of this low-deployment-frequency group say they are

making plans to initiate the use of live video in IT support.

Other applications near the top of the expansion list for low frequency users are executive

presentations, customer service, and employee training. Each of these use cases reflect an application

rooted in an organization’s desire to boost efficiency. Executive presentations – typically embodied by

the “all-hands employee meeting” – are used to distribute a standardized executive message to far-flung

team members in the hopes of enhancing organizational productivity and fostering a sense of shared

community among employees. Efficiencies resulting from using live video more frequently in employee



Figure 4: Planned Expansion in Online Video Application Adoption - Companies Deploying More than 100 Live Online Video Events Annually

training and customer service result from savings made possible by leveraging video to expand the reach

and effectiveness of communications in business functions typically seen as “cost centers” by many

organizations.

The outlook on relevant uses of online video suitable for expanded adoption appears to shift somewhat

among executives at organizations that already use live streaming video extensively. Certainly, some of

the basic “blocking-and-tackling” communications applications popular at low-video-frequency

organizations also merit continued expansion even at organizations heavily committed to the use of live

streaming. At companies that deploy live video more than 100 times per year, both employee training

and customer service remain among the most cited applications targeted for expanded adoption.

But, as illustrated in Figure 4, organizations that are highly familiar with the implementation of live

online video also are embracing the technology for expanded use in a broader set of external

communications applications, as well. More than one-third (36%) of executives at companies deploying

live online video more than 100 times per year say that their organization is either planning to initiate or

expand upon current use of live online video in marketing presentations. Likewise, 35% of this high-

video frequency group report plans to leverage online video more frequently to deliver enhanced

“descriptions of products for sale.”



These survey results illustrate the fact that creativity in using online video truly flourishes as

organizations become more familiar with streaming video technologies. As executives become more

comfortable with the realization that live video can be distributed to large audiences online in a reliable,

high-quality manner, they begin to think more creatively about new ways that the technology can be put

to work to build new business opportunities.

While the results of executive surveys can help us identify executives’ growing propensity for employing

streaming video in a broader range of use cases, these macro market measures fall short in portraying

the extent of application innovation taking root in today’s business video marketplace. Viable uses of

live online video truly are as varied as the communications objectives of the organizations deploying it

for business use. For this research report, Wainhouse Research interviewed executives from three

companies that are putting live online video to the test. Their fresh applications demonstrate how the

marriage of enhanced video-enabling technologies and executive creativity can enable new approaches

for building business benefit.

Video Use Case #1: CreativeLive

CreativeLive, launched in 2010, has established itself as a training destination with a business model that

stands at the crossroads of live video instruction and on-demand video content distribution.

Each month, CreativeLive produces up to 200 hours of live training

sessions generated from studios in Seattle and San Francisco. The

sessions cover a range of creative topics, such as photography, graphic

design, crafting and entrepreneurship. A short training event produced

by CreativeLive may attract as many as 20,000 registrants. An

extended course could draw as many as 150,000 to watch all – or part

of – a multi-day live streamed event.

And none of these live event attendees pay to access the training sessions. Instead, CreativeLive views

the live online audience as a crucial part of its content development process. Questions posed by

attendees help presenters and instructors identify the topics and issues of most relevance to viewers.

It’s a process that enhances the quality of the instruction delivered during the live event, increasing the

value of the content when it’s packaged for viewing at a later time.

CreativeLive makes its money from the archives of its live training sessions. While viewers have the

option of attending live sessions for free, they are charged fees to watch the same type of content on an

on-demand basis. The charges might range as low as $20 for a short course up to $300 for sessions that

stretch over several days.

Now producing as many as 20 events per month, CreativeLive has an archive of more than 600 classes

that can be accessed on a pay-per-view basis by site visitors.



Video Use Case #2: iStrategyLabs

Digital marketing firm iStrategyLabs leverages live online video to bridge real-world marketing with fresh

approaches to interacting with customers online.

The seven-year-old agency has pioneered a range of marketing campaigns that leverage exposure on

social media services, such as Facebook and FourSquare, to create awareness for traditional

promotional events. Now, the agency has begun experimenting with the use of live online video to

enable new vehicles for weaving online capabilities into larger marketing campaigns, said iStrategyLabs’

Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director DJ Saul.

“Live video is a very obvious and very powerful medium for bridging digital and

experiential marketing,” Saul says. “It becomes the gateway for viewing something that

is happening elsewhere.”

In one recent campaign, iStrategyLabs employed live video on behalf of Redd’s Apple Ale – a beer brand

owned by Miller Coors Brewing. In an empty warehouse, iStrategyLabs built out a studio to resemble a

Redd Apple-branded bar scene. The agency

then started streaming live video from

three separate cameras in the studio and

used social media venues to invite viewers

to visit the virtual bar. Via connections to

an automated baseball pitching machine

located in the studio, virtual visitors could

instruct the machine to toss “Redd Apples”

at various targets on the set. Viewers could

see the targets they hit by watching the live video stream. “The whole idea is that you’re controlling

something in real-time from another part of the country and seeing the results immediately,” Saul says.

The Redd Apple online video destination attracted more than a quarter million visitors during its 12-day

run. During the promotion, 9,000 of those visitors fired shots using the virtual pitching machine. While it

is difficult to measure the direct impact of this type of branding effort, Redd Apple did outperform its

beverage volume sales expectations following the video campaign.

Video Use Case #3: This Week in Tech

Live video webcasting is helping extend the reach of a podcast content publisher, creating broader

opportunities for building a targeted media company. Today, Twit.tv (Twit is an acronym for “This Week

in Tech”) represents the culmination of a steady stream of content creation blending the consistency of

a radio talk show format with evolving video production and distribution capabilities.



Broadcast veteran Leo Laporte had begun

producing podcasts featuring interviews

and discussions with technology industry

insiders in 2005. The podcast was an

outgrowth of programming Laporte had

previously produced for TechTV – a cable

channel that ceased to exist after it was

bought by cable rival G4. At the urging of

some of his podcast listeners, Laporte in

2008 begin experimenting with using

webcams to capture some programs in

video and ultimately graduated to using

more sophisticated publishing tools, such as

Newtek’s TriCaster video switching device,

to create video versions of his technology

industry discussion programs.

Twit.tv now produces fresh video programming from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with most of the content

focusing on technology industry news, end user instruction, and how-to sessions. The service has

aspirations of ultimately expanding its programming schedule to eight hours daily. Users can access the

programming – or their archived replays later in the day – for free. The content is supported by

sponsorship – primarily consisting of vendors of technology products seeking to reach a tech savvy

audience.

Moving beyond podcasting and into live video production has its benefits. Live programming enables

Laporte and other hosts to focus on more timely news events. At the same time, live production makes

it possible for viewers to interact with on-air personalities in real-time via text-based chat windows. The

live broadcasts also help burnish Twit.tv’s image as a go-to news provider for its narrow target market.

The site now sees viewership spikes when technology issues take center stage. During simulcasts of

product announcements from Apple, for instance, Twit programming can draw nearly 200,000 viewers.

Key Takeaway

Applications for live online video in business are proliferating. No longer just a venue for employee

training or all-hands employee meetings, live online business video is emerging as a viable alternative

for a wide array of corporate communications uses. Moving forward, executives should assume that

their teams will find multiple ways to put video to use and should invest in streaming software solutions

that can enable these varied applications. Future adoption of live online video – and the resulting

business benefit to be generated by its implementation – will be limited only by the creativity of the

executives identifying fresh uses for the technology.



About the Author / About WR

Steve Vonder Haar is a Senior Analyst with Wainhouse Research, focusing on enterprise streaming &

webcasting. Steve has covered the technology industry for more than 20 years. He previously served as

Research Director of Interactive Media Strategies and as Director of Media and Entertainment Strategies

for the Yankee Group. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri Columbia with degrees in Journalism

and Economics, and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas-

Arlington. He can be reached at [email protected]

About Wainhouse Research: Wainhouse Research is an independent analyst firm that focuses on

critical issues in the unified communications and collaboration market. The company provides 6 different

vendor subscriptions covering unified communications, group videoconferencing, personal & web-based

collaboration, audio conferencing, streaming & webcasting, and distance education & e-Learning

solutions, as well as a single all-inclusive subscription for enterprise users. The company acts as a

trusted advisor providing strategic advice and direction for both the UC&C industry and its enterprise

users. For further details contact [email protected] or see http://www.wainhouse.com.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.wainhouse.com/

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