Special Report: Brand Livestream

Kevin Best, Contributing Editor, BrandStorytelling.tv

SPOTLIGHT

Highlighting Impactful Live Streaming

Stage TEN Taking Center Stage for Live, Interactive Content

The live broadcast platform Stage TEN is making it possible for anyone to have the core capabilities of a broadcast control room in a simple web application. Stage TEN enables users to easily produce and distribute professional streams, allowing them to interact with followers around the globe. It doesn’t hurt that their website has a how-to video for every possible question one could have when starting to use the platform. Once you have the hang of it, live shows can be multi-streamed across up to 32 different Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter pages for ultimate reach.

The company is behind some of entertainment’s latest high-performing productions including Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” music video premiere, John Krasinski’s prom special for Some Good News, and has produced major livestreams with Justin Bieber, Chrissy Teigen, YouTube Music, Atlantic Records, and more.

A recent partnership with the band Why Don’t We on January 10th had Stage TEN produce a live album signing party on their interactive video player, Rozy, and on the band’s Youtube Page, which has 3.65 million subscribers. Fans who posted a trending hashtag on Twitter were randomly selected to join the livestream to have their question answered by the band. Stage TEN’s newly launched commerce features powered the show’s interactive elements and in-show purchase capabilities. Fans were able to purchase limited-edition signed albums from Why Don’t We in real-time during the show.

Another recent collaboration that shows off even more of what Stage TEN can do has been a new gameshow on the popular Youtube channel Jacksfilms, which has 4.7m subscribers. The show, called YIAY (Yesterday I Asked You) Time: The Game Show, is live and interactive, thanks to the participation of a virtual audience. Stage TEN enables the key aspects that make the six-episode show a genuinely interactive experience. The technology is designed to allow creators to produce and direct a show completely remotely, with features such as a virtual backstage area to allow a director to give cues to on-screen talent, a flexible and easy-to-use interface to bring in multiple video feeds, and the ability to drag-and-drop graphics and overlays. What’s really unique is the launch of Stage TEN’s customizable interactive tools, including real-time voting on the video player itself and the ability to pull in audience comments during the show. This allows on-screen talent to react to fans while the show is streaming, empowering viewers to be a part of the action.

Some other upcoming event partnerships include a live episode of the award winning podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking on Valentines Day, and The Bodcon 2021, a one day virtual conference on Body Confidence with Jameela Jamil. In addition to their broadcasting technology, Stage TEN offers production partnerships, creative development, and training.

BRAND BITES

Recent Live Streams from Top Brands

Kia Logo Reveal

Brand: Kia

Platform: Youtube

Reach: 321k

Date: January 6

Kia used a creative livestream event to unveil its latest logo, setting a Guinness World record in the process. The event, held in Incheon, South Korea, was streamed on the brand’s Kia Worldwide Youtube Channel, which has 202k subscribers. The three minute highlight video shows the drones as they perform a choreographed routine in the harbor’s night sky set to music. As the beat dropped, the new logo was revealed with the pyrodrones, drones that have fireworks attached to them. The Guinness World record was for the “most unmanned aerial vehicles launching fireworks simultaneously”. The pyrodrones formed Kia’s new logo, which looks more like handwriting than its older look, and also spelled out its new slogan, “Movement that Inspires”, replacing “The Power to Surprise”. This is all part of Kia’s five-year plan to overhaul the brand.

All Elite Wrestling Dynamite Awards

Brand: AEW

Event: AEW Wrestling Awards to Stream Exclusively on Bleacher Report

Platform: Bleacher Report

Time: January 27

All Elite Wrestling, an alternative American professional wrestling league that was founded in 2019, has partnered with Bleacher Report for the first annual AEW Dynamite Awards. The awards show will be live streamed for free exclusively on the Bleacher Report app on January 27th at 7pm EST. Fans can vote on all of the categories, like Breakout Star and Biggest Beatdown, on TNT’s website. TNT normally broadcasts AEW’s weekly two-hour shows, but they are also available to rewatch for free on the Bleacher Report app. The award show, which will be held remotely, will feature presenters from the sports and entertainment world like Shaquille O’Neal, Curtis Granderson and Kevin Heffernan.

Lexus Livestream Design on Twitch

Brand: Lexus

Event: Lexus IS Sedan Design

Platform: Twitch

Views: 847k

Time: January 13

Lexus recently partnered with Twitch streamer Fuslie, who has 687k followers on Twitch, with a two hour livestream where her fans were able to vote on a slew of customizations for Lexus’s new IS sedan. Fuslie’s fans used a poll feature on Twitch to vote again and again on different interior and exterior features for the one-of-a kind “gaming” car, including the exterior wrap, interior lighting, gaming monitors, consoles and 3D-printed controllers. Another livestream will be held on February 17th where the unique design will be revealed as a finished product on an actual full-scale car. These livestreams are part of Lexus’ new "All In'' campaign which debuted on Jan. 4, and will include additional influencer partnerships.

ON THE RADAR

Opportunities for Brands

YouTube Music Jumps Into the Livestream Concert Arms Race with Blackpink

YouTube Music will be hosting a much-anticipated livestream concert featuring the K-pop group Blackpink on January 31st. The show will be exclusively shown on the band’s YouTube channel, featuring first-time performances of songs from their recent hit album THE ALBUM, which was released back in October. A trailer for the show released on the band’s Youtube channel has over 3 million views.

Blackpink has been breaking YouTube records since their debut in 2016, and have recently partnered with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez. They are currently the second most-subscribed artist on YouTube with nearly 56 million subscribers. The concert was originally supposed to happen back on December 27th, but was postponed a month to comply with South Korea’s new COVID restrictions. Tickets were automatically refunded in case viewers would not be able to attend the make-up date. The show is scheduled to start at 2pm Korea Standard Time on January 31st, which will be 14 hours earlier (midnight) for American fans on the East Coast. The early afternoon time in Korea was clearly chosen to maximize the accessibility for people around the world to watch live.

Blackpink’s record label, YG Entertainment, has been promoting the YG Palmstage, a viewing experience which has been vaguely billed as a new, immersive way for fans to experience a livestream concert from the comfort of home. And a playful “helpful tips” animated video was released on the band’s YouTube channel with suggestions on how to best enjoy the concert at home, including making snacks and joining the live chat feature.

Tickets to the show are being billed as purchasing “channel memberships”. There are two different types of tickets that fans, or “Blinks” as they are called, can purchase. The standard ticket is $29.99, which gets you access to the concert and rebroadcasting until February 17th, and custom Blackpink emojis you can post in the chat during the show. For the $39.99 “Plus” ticket, fans will be able to see additional, exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

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About Kevin Best

Kevin Best is a writer and film critic who lives in Los Angeles, California. He is the host of the podcast Sequel Rewrite, and is working on his first novel.