The success story of Kiswe: From the World Championships to BTS
Kiswe is a start-up that makes live streaming and remote production technology for live sports, entertainment and video. Founded in 2013, they've come a long way over the years and several companies such as Yle, Finland's national public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster, can attest to that. What once was one of the first start-ups VRT's accelerator VRT Sandbox ever partnered with is today the global leader in interactive live streaming. We sat down with Jorre Belpaire, Head of Kiswe Europe, to discuss the success story of Kiswe.
Kis-who?
To put it in their own words, “Kiswe is a start-up that connects at-home viewers with live events through personalised and interactive videos that create memorable social experiences and build loyalty.” In other words, they offer solutions to clients that allow them to involve their at-home viewers in the productions. It's all about activating viewers, via widgets, allowing them to participate in a particular event and make their own contribution (e.g. sending in little videos or clapping for someone). What Kiswe does is incorporate those contributions back into the production so at home viewers can experience their contributions live, which causes engagement levels to increase. To make it clear with an example: you are watching a live basketball game from behind your computer. You may lose interest in the game but discover you can send in a 5 second clip to support your team. Suddenly, your attention is sparked again because you see yourself appearing on a big screen at that live game and in the production. You’ve now become a part of the story. Subsequently, you will feel more in touch with what is happening and feel like you are participating. This is a self-reinforcing effect and changes your personal viewing experience.
Kiswe is headquartered in the United States (New Jersey) and has offices in Europe (a.o. Belgium) and Asia (a.o. South Korea). This shows that they are not limited by distance. Of course, today, it is natural for companies not to be since they have been forced to do so for the past 2 years due to Covid-19. However, for Kiswe, it is actually part of their DNA.
Kis-why?
One of the main reasons why Yle started to collaborate with Kiswe is because it solved one of their biggest problems during the pandemic. From one day to the next, everyone had to work from home. Consequently, there was no access to production tools and Yle employees had to be able to start a stream from their home. With Kiswe, this became possible. Of course, there are many other companies that provide roughly the same services and/or products, but nothing could match the simplicity of Kiswe. Yle needed easy-to-use tools for their colleagues at home and that’s exactly what Kiswe offered.
Kiswe stands out from similar start-ups because they understood the value of incorporating the viewer in the production early on. According to Jorre, this is called "reverse streaming". People find it interesting when there is interaction, but still experience the gap between themselves as digital viewers and the live event. However, when you put the at-home viewers at the heart of the live event, they are more likely to keep on watching. That's what Kiswe is betting hard on. For Jorre, it has always been important how technology can "impact" people. He likes to develop new things that can help Kiswe’s customers to connect with their clients on a profound level.
The first Kiswe is nothing compared to the latest one
According to Jyri Kivimäki from Yle, “the first Kiswe is nothing compared to the latest one”. Kiswe in its early years was a start-up that was still mainly experimenting. The Kiswe we know today is a great scale-up that develops platforms that are used all over the world. It took a while, but by doing certain commercial publications, more and more people are starting to realize that Kiswe is no longer the small start-up they once saw. For example, Kiswe even set a new Guinness World Record by hosting a virtual concert by BTS, one of the most popular bands in the world. This big name helped them create visibility and even got them the opportunity to work with a star like Justin Bieber. When you build a reputation, one thing leads to another.
Some of Kiswe’s collaborations
Between Kiswe and Yle, one of the latest projects was the annual sports gala in Finland. Yle’s way of broadcasting is still quite traditional, but for this event, they did a subtle broadcast with Kiswe where one journalist and two influencers are watching the show and commenting at home. By involving those people watching from home, a more relaxed and innovative atmosphere is created. The traditional way of commenting hasn't changed a lot these days but Kiswe is helping to make that change. It sometimes takes a while to find the right events on which Yle and Kiswe can collaborate but, speaking of "reverse streaming" for example, a sports gala seemed an ideal opportunity to try that out live.
Kiswe has also worked with VRT on several occasions. They collaborated with Sporza, the sports brand of VRT, on an event for the Memorial Van Damme, the World Championships and the Diamond League. At the event for the Memorial Van Damme, Kiswe focused mainly on interactive components. For example, it was one of the first times they brought multi-screens to a Belgian audience. Music For Life, one of the biggest annual charity fundraisers in Flanders, is also on the list. They have done about four experiments that have actually led to Kiswe gaining visibility and brand recognition within the international context of the Sandbox Hub, one of the four Future Media Hubs, where media companies can exchange ideas and solutions.
How-to-be-a-successful-start-up starter kit
According to Jorre from Kiswe, getting introduced to the Sandbox Hub has certainly been important, but it is also important to know that it is not the only way to get there. His advice to early-stage start-ups is to not throw in the towel when you initially get a “no”. Maybe you're just not ready yet and you can try again later or maybe there's something else great waiting for you.
Another piece of advice from Jorre is not to think that one thing can just change everything. According to him, the Sandbox Hub is a fantastic platform and you feel the support tremendously, but you have to invest yourself if you want to get resultsfrom it. The expectation shouldn’t be: If I convince the Sandbox Hub to introduce me, I've made it. No, that's when the work starts. It’s false to think that the Sandbox Hub will be the one doing the work.
The most important thing for Jorre was to create an atmosphere where failure was part of the process. The word "failure" in itself is not an interesting word because it carries a negative connotation with it and it is very difficult to reverse that. The fact that something fails is part of learning something. For that trial and error, Jorre says that you need to look for a “testing pond” as soon as possible. Look for customers who believe in your vision and are actually willing to suffer the small risk in return. You should experiment, but chances are it won't always be successful. In addition, it's important to look for different customers, otherwise you risk having one customer help determine where you're going as a company.
