Webby 2022 Trend Report: Insights From the Experts
Thomas Iwasaki, Chief Product Officer of Brandlive explores the video strategies brands must implement in the coming year.
Our research conducted Way Too New, The Webby 2022 Trend Report revealed that viewers are tuning into livestreams more, and are looking for entertainment-based experiences outside of live sports. They are also increasingly willing to participate in virtual world-based gaming experiences, and are willing to spend after engaging with both mediums. Thomas Iwasaki, Chief Product Officer of Brandlive explores the video strategies brands should implement and own in the new year.
Download The Webby 2022 Trend Report for a deeper breakdown of the data, and to explore what these online innovations mean for our digital future.
With the onset of Web3, how is Brandlive shifting its offerings to help companies to bring live events into the metaverse?
Today’s popular web conferencing experiences (grids and talking heads) are not exciting or dynamic enough to support the rapid changes and innovations happening in the world of distributed events and work. Brandlive is very focused on bringing the right elements from games and consumer media to virtual events and hybrid work environments to create more engagement. One project, Telly Club, lets brands customize a space for users to interact in a 3D world using keyboard or onscreen controls to navigate a space and into and out of conversations and viewing areas. The experience will be accessible from a browser on any device. Most users will continue to access via a laptop or mobile phone, so Brandlive is designing experiences that will scale towards XR as device adoption becomes mainstream.
Where do you think the future of live video and brand activations is headed?
Every brand needs a dedicated media and video strategy to communicate and compete in the hybrid world. Video is now the most effective medium to communicate with every audience (employees, partners, customers, investors, etc.), and developing real content creation and storytelling capabilities will pay off for the brands who do more than retrofit old workflows and invest properly. As those investments are made it’s important brands consider the degree to which they own each experience they create. Owning the relationship directly with the audience enables more authentic, more coordinated experiences that tie into marketing systems. With a mandate now to not just inform, but also entertain, it will pay to adopt tools that offer full control and avoid playing host on 3rd party platforms for the big moments.
With the metaverse and other virtual worlds gaining ground, what do companies need to keep in mind when crafting experiences for their audiences?
Audiences expect more and more from their live, virtual experiences and the introduction of the metaverse won’t change that. Video content has to be TV-quality and make jaws hit the floor, and virtual social experiences need to catch up with the consumer world at large. A lot of organizations are still saying “how can we replicate what we used to do in person?” Instead, they should be asking “how can we take advantage of new mediums to scale reach, augment what we did in person, and introduce new possibilities? What new tools should we try over the next 12-24 months to make sure we’re pushing the bar and finding what works for our brand and audience?”
What advice would you give to brands looking to create live and immersive experiences in virtual worlds?
The old rules no longer apply, it’s time to go back to the drawing board as you consider new audience-first, virtual-first strategies for events and communications. Nobody is changing the game using Zoom – it is time to push past the current set of tools and practices. To stand out and find success brands need to experiment with new platforms, tools, and experiences. Not everything will work out of the gates, but to evolve will require a sense of adventure and creativity.
Download The Webby 2022 Trend Report for a deeper breakdown of the data, and to explore what these online innovations mean for our digital future!
The research presented in this report is part of this year’s Way Too New thought leadership series, made possible with our sponsors YouGov, WP Engine, and Brandlive. Visit the hub to learn more about the series, and book a Webby Talks presentation!
