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.”

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.

Regular 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.

Video 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.

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.