The Right Stuff
"Blinder transformed Stuff's ability to report on the unfolding drama of Vote 2020. We were able to mount a fast-moving 4-hour livestream, at a fraction of the cost spent by other media organisations. This truly was a game-changer!"
Carol Hirschfeld - Head of Video/Audio & Content Partnerships, Stuff
New Zealand's most popular news website, Stuff, dominated second-screen viewership during the country's last election with its comprehensive live blog. In 2020, they upped the ante with a live stream covering prime time until the results were in on election night. Stuff's maelstrom of digital content was buoyed by a talent pool of journalists, correspondents, and expert guests whose coverage reached wider and deeper than other media outlets.
How did a traditional print organization take a shot across the bow of its TV counterparts? They didn't have to look too far.
The reporting team used Blinder, a solution born from a Kiwi mind, to facilitate field interviews. Allowing Stuff's on-screen talent to use their personal mobiles for video calls with the anchors at HQ provided agility and responsiveness no other troupe could match.
"It’s a pretty simple means by which you can speak with people quite immediately through sending a link, as opposed to downloading an app," Stuff's Carol Hirschfeld said to StopPress.com. "Blinder has been used in other TV productions recently; during lockdown Sky TV made a programme called Isolation Nation using Blinder technology, so we’re feeling pretty good about using something that is co-founded by a Kiwi."
Jared Thompson, Blinder’s vice president of content, is a former digital communications lead at the NCAA, University of Oklahoma, and Purdue University. Connect with Jared (or our Kiwi co-founders Caley and Ross) for help on how Blinder can remake your current content team into a video production powerhouse without adding new equipment or new headaches.