JOWA: Apprentices realize their own video project

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Videos are becoming increasingly popular in HR and specifically in employer branding. This trend also includes activities related to the apprentices of a company. On the one hand, the aim is to fill apprenticeships with candidates who are as highly talented as possible, but also to position the company in a positive way towards potential future employees. JOWA (a wholly owned subsidiary of Migros and part of the M-industry) has developed a very exciting approach with the help of videos, to involve its apprentices actively in the video creation process, but also to use the final videos effectively for its own purposes.

In the light of an internal food waste campaign consisting of various information events and also a traveling exhibition around the eleven JOWA locations, the apprentices developed storyboards that explained the challenges of „food waste“ with videos. A YOVEO coaching team introduced the apprentices to the topics of storytelling and video production, furnished the individual workgroups with the appropriate equipment and accompanied them during the production of the individual videos. YOVEO supported the groups in postproduction and with advice related to storyboard development.

The final video products were then shown during the touring exhibition. The technology of interactive videos was used. The exhibitors interested were able to view the individual videos on a single notebook.

The entire campaign was a success on all sides and received positive feedback from visitors to the touring exhibition. What were the three reasons for success?

Authenticity

The videos produced were not high-end products. But this was not the goal in any way. It was clear from the beginning that the videos were created by the apprentices. They live on the basis of authenticity, of the real, and also of the funny and the unexpected. This also made the videos very entertaining, even if an occasional recording was not perfect.

Involvement

From the very beginning, the apprentices were involved in a comprehensive video project: from the theory, to the creation of a storyboard and to the production, they were heavily involved and were responsible accordingly. This early onboarding to the project was rewarded on the part of the apprentices, who showed great dedication and enthusiasm.

Visibility

An important point is the visibility of the work. The individual videos did not disappear onto a cloud server, but were a central part of the touring exhibition, which in turn was great recognition for the apprentices of JOWA.

 

YOVEO was involved in the conception, training, production and realization of the interactive video for the touring exhibition.

Touring exhibition with video screen

 

Single videos in the interactive video player

More than 43,000 finisher clip views of the Engadin Skimarathon! Three reasons for success.

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On March 12, 2017 some 13,000 participants took part in the 49th running of the legendary Engadin Skimarathon. In the middle: iRewind. For the first time, YOVEO used new technology at the Engadin Skimarathon. Three cameras at the marathon event and two cameras at the half-marathon event captured a personalized finisher video for each participant completely automatically. At peak times, more than 55 videos per second were rendered, including a short intro video. Helvetia, a large Swiss insurance company, has been the main sponsor for several years. The reason: Very high viewing numbers and associated high performance figures on their own website. This year, the record was broken. More than 43,000 videos were watched in just 3 weeks – the numbers continue to rise. iRewind not only provided the cloud solution, but also ensured smooth production on site. The cooperation with the organizer, the sponsor and the timer, Datasport, ran flawlessly.

Going more into detail in terms of the numbers, one finds that approximately two-thirds of the video views were generated by mobile devices. More than 80% outside Switzerland. It was again confirmed that Switzerland is an Apple country. Over 75% of the mobile users used iDevices. The finisher videos were seamlessly integrated into the Helvetia website using a finisher video widget, so the performance was mirrored on the website of the Swiss insurance company. This reinforced YOVEO’s commitment to the sponsor. A pleasant side effect: The website of the presenting sponsor Helvetia appears at the top of the page rank with a search for „Finisher Video Engadiner“ in a search engine.

What are the reasons for this success? Here are the three main reasons:

 1. Attractive videos

Just a few years ago, it was a simple video of the finish line. Today there are several cameras as well as an intro video, which is automatically stitched and rendered to a personalized, attractive video. But the format is not the only exciting part. Thanks to the fast production process, the videos were available for the participants quickly after the race. The more than 13,000 personalized videos were available for distribution three hours after the event.

 2. Efficient marketing

The finisher video widget was tailor-made and was seamlessly integrated into the main sponsor’s website. Each individual visitor was therefore taken to the Helvetia Insurance site. Not intrusive but still with a clear message. In addition, the offer was, along with various print advertisement, pushed via the social media channels of the organizer and the main sponsor, and provided for conversation on the individual channels.

 3. Excellent sharing options

The new iRewind video sharing options were used for the first time. There were various ways to share the videos. By mail, by social push or by means of a download function. So the video widget served as not only a platform to watch videos, but also a multiplier for the further spread of the videos. The resonance on social media was great. This generated further reach.

 

Copyright: Swiss-Image GmbH/Andy Mettler

Yoveo acquires Lausanne video start-up iRewind

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Acquisition establishes global leader in personalized mass video production technology

yoveo AG, the leading Swiss specialist in video strategies and technologies, today announced the acquisition of Lausanne Startup iRewind. Active in 23 countries, iRewind is a software solution that automatically captures, edits and delivers instantly personalized videos to participants in sport events. To date, it has provided the solution to more than 300 events across the globe with over 1 million videos delivered.

The acquisition of iRewind by YOVEO will allow the company to consolidate and further develop a wide range of services in the rapidly growing field of video micro moments, particularly for sport events. These goals will be achieved by combining iRewind’s advanced video automation software with YOVEO’s pool of technologies and competences. According to Marco Demont, co-Founder of YOVEO, a new global leader for smart personalized mass video production technology has been established: “iRewind is a pioneer in the market for video micro moments and has succeeded in building up an impressive reach within a short time.” Andreas Herren, co-Founder of YOVEO and responsible for product development adds: “Because of the experience of iRewind in the area of video automation, we can add innovative features for our partners and accelerate the process of offering customized and smart video solutions to our customers, such as sponsors and timers, for use at events.”

The iRewind tech department lead by Mihai Nicolescu (CTO and Co-Founder) will continue to operate out of Bucharest and, together with the Zurich based tech center, will further develop the iRewind product in many areas, such as highly scalable video bulk processing, automation and computer vision.
“We are incredibly grateful for the passion and dedication of the entire iRewind team”, says iRewind Co-Founder and CEO Bogdan Manoiu. “We founded iRewind with the core belief that the video memories we deliver mean future happiness to share. YOVEO has a portfolio of great video products and innovative technologies under development and by combining these with iRewind’s capabilities, we will provide sports participants as well as sponsors, organizers and timing companies with exceptional value.”

UBS wins the Swiss Sponsorship Award 2017 for best sports sponsorship

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Faster, higher, further: As the title sponsor of the UBS Kids Cup, UBS has been supporting the Swiss junior track and field athletes since 2011. Each year, the UBS Kids Cup is home to more than 130’000 competitors between the ages of seven and 15 who compete in more than 850 competitions in the 60m sprint, jumping and ball throwing. Hundreds of UBS employees support the local organizers on site as volunteers. In 2017 the innovative campaign won the Swiss Sponsorship Award in the category Sportsponsoring. An important part of the sponsorship campaign is the „Finisher Clips“ project developed by YOVEO.

Faster than everyone else. Feel like a real star. Or just be part of it. This is the goal of over 130,000 children participating in more than 950 events at the UBS Kids Cup – an athletics competition for the little ones. In order to offer an exceptional experience, UBS, in cooperation with Weltklasse Zürich, decided to offer the 7-15-year-olds at the 24 cantonal finals and the Swiss final in Zurich’s Letzigrund something special: Like the real stars, all runners were filmed. First in a close shot, afterwards their sprint and the whole race in slow motion. And best of all, in the end there was a personal video for each child, presented by Swiss athletics stars Mujinga Kambundji and Kariem Hussein. Shortly after the run, the participants could watch the finisher clip on site, and also at home. The holistic concept was shot by UBS employees and even by the children themselves. Not just for the runners was it an event, but also for the volunteers of UBS, who kept this kind of job enrichment in their memories. Postproduction took place in the cloud, the personalization of the video was automated – only in this way could the short turnaround for several events be guaranteed. Every day videos of a total of 1’500 minutes were produced – 1’800 clips per day, and at peak times a video was published every 16 seconds. The result is more than 7’700 personalized videos and more than 100’000 views and above all the pure enthusiasm of thousands of bright eye-catchers.

The planning for the 2017 edition is already under way. We are developing the same product with new features and in a new look & feel. Check our blog for more news.

 

Sample video Finisher Clip UBS Kids Cup 2016

Teaser Video Finisher Clip UBS Kids Cup 2016 – Facts & Figures

Video strategy of Arosa Tourism: the 4 success factors of the campaign „Bärenland“

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Arosa Tourism has succeeded – the project „Arosa Bärenland“ has been adopted by the people of Arosa with a clear YES. The project is innovative and forward-looking. The team behind the project showed great enthusiasm and commitment, and also acted professionally from communication. In the shortest possible time, well-established communication channels were available. In the run-up to the vote these provided voters with solid and transparent information. The result was an exciting mix of background information, news and media clippings. The project managers also understood how to receive and respond to questions and uncertainties from the media and the general population quickly. In the entire communication strategy, video has also played a central role. In terms of the vide strategy here are the four factors which contributed to the success of the campaign:

Video as part of the communication DNA

Video was not an entertaining „side product“, but a key element in communication. It didn’t matter which event took place where and when. A video statement about the Bärenland project was always obtained from selected opinion leaders, whether it was from the municipality president, the director of Switzerland Tourism or a hotel operator. Every positive statement was captured with the camera and broadcast in a timely manner. This resulted in almost 30 video clips. Through the full versions of the presentation videos, an average dwell time of more than 25 minutes was achieved, with a total of just under 4,000 unique views. This is a very successful value for a regional, time-limited campaign.

bildschirmfoto-2016-12-13-um-14-48-04Regular video quotes on the „Bärenland“ projectContent before show

It was important that the videos contain solid information about the Bärenland project. It was all about the content or the message and not about the show around the video production. Information events were fully recorded and split into individual snippets. Quotes were captured ad hoc without preparing the perfect framework through long preliminary work. The focus was on producing high-quality videos in a lean and agile way, without having to inflate the production apparatus unnecessarily, thereby wasting money. So during the campaign, almost 30 videos were produced. This created a constant presence on the different channels.

bildschirmfoto-2016-12-13-um-14-49-21Video snippets as background informationOrchestration of distribution channels

A large part of the communication for the Bärenland project was run through social media. There was a unique Facebook page for the Bärenland and this was actively used. Locals and interested parties asked their questions, to which they were soon given an answer. In addition to Facebook videos were also regularly broadcast on arosa.ch and Arosa TV. These were orchestrated with the other channels.

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Videos on Facebook were an important part

Fast reaction time

The project managers worked quickly, very quickly even. They reacted within a very short time to readers’ letters and even to critical comments. Because of the large number of videos (various topics, interviews, quotes, etc.), in most cases a suitable video with direct reference to the topic could be provided. Fast, transparent and ongoing. This is how the communication of the future looks.

Arosa Tourismus has shown how, with solid project and resource planning, the medium of video can be effectively used as part of successful campaign management. And with a manageable budget. We congratulate Arosa Tourism on its success and look forward to further cooperation.

Personalized video for the Swiss Concussion Center

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The Swiss Concussion Center, an international center of excellence for the treatment of concussion in high-performance sports, is growing. In order to make the problem of this serious injury occurring in high-performance sport even more visible, the Swiss Concussion Center invited various institutions to an interdisciplinary workshop on the topic of personalized videos. The aim was in the invitation letter to put the participants emotionally into a situation in which concussion often occurs, namely a body check in ice hockey. A video (endless loop) was visible in the invitation website header. The name of the invitee was displayed on the jersey, and then the subjective camera perspective takes over. The names were automatically rendered into the video, minimizing the effort required to produce the individual videos. They not only provide personalized video surprises, but also trigger an emotional involvement in the situation – in this case, the situation of a checked ice hockey player.

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With Virtual Reality (VR) on Minor-Schöggeli-Search in Arosa

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In collaboration with the Virtual Reality production company Bandara, YOVEO has developed a concept for the marketing of the well-known squirrel trail in Arosa. The interactive hiking trail can be experienced by the user as a virtual reality video with a 360 ° view. The video shows the squirrel trail and its animal inhabitants and also provides a competition. Minor-Schöggeli  are hidden all around and the user must find them. The number of  Schöggeli found can be posted on the Facebook pages of Arosa and Minor. A year’s supply of Minor-Schöggeli are at stake.

For the first time in the German-speaking world a virtual reality production was also financed by advertising marketing. Goldbach Media (Switzerland) AG took over the marketing for Arosa Tourism and was able to obtain the services of media agency  Mediakanzlei  and the sponsorship of Minor for the project.

At the same time a video was produced for social media. This shows how women from Zurich  reacted to „real“ squirrels. The goal of the video is to raise interest in the virtual reality competition and at the same time generate traffic on the social media channels of Arosa and Minor.