Live online video is quickly emerging as an engagement tool for marketers looking to cut through the clutter of communicating with external audiences. Whether the video is used to extend the reach of product launch events, to create engaging descriptions of merchandise for sale or to provide richer forms of customer support, the technology is helping to transform best practices in corporate outreach. Based on a survey of 1,007 executives in Q4 2013, live video within the enterprise can serve as a catalyst for increased productivity and improved corporate brand image, amongst a variety of other attributes.

Wainhouse Research, an independent market research firm that focuses on critical issues in the unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) market, in partnership with Ustream, has uncovered many key insights in “The Evolving Role of Live Online Video in Corporate Marketing.”

Several findings from the latest report include :

• Increased access will drive adoption – Sixty-three percent of live online video users report that the technology is “easier to use and more reliable than in years past”
• Live video will begin to take up more corporate website real estate – Fifty-five percent of organizations plan to expand their use of video on corporate websites in 2014
• Enterprise users will stack technology solutions for maximum impact, using live video as the centerpiece – Survey respondents find that live video is most effective when combined with presentation slides and on-screen data
• Live video is an effective way to generate sales leads and acquire customers – Sales and marketing executives find particular value in live video's ability to socially generate sales leads
• Seeing is believing – Executives that use live online video most frequently have a vastly different worldview when it comes to business communications effectiveness

Feeling inspired yet? Businesses have harnessed live video for a variety of external and internal communications needs. Vooza, a video comic strip about the startup world, recently created a Ustream-inspired video snippet for earnings calls. Check out the video: http://vooza.com/videos/earnings-call/

Ustream founder and CEO, Brad Hunstable and Wainhouse Research senior analyst, Steve Vonder Haar, will be hosting an interactive webinar on July 22, 2014 to further discuss live video trends within the workplace.

Webinar: July 22, 2014, 10 a.m. PDT
Title: “Live video for hiring, firing, and everything in between”
Registration and more information: http://www.ustream.tv/lp/wainhouse3

“Live video is no one-trick pony online,” said Steve Vonder Haar, senior analyst with Wainhouse Research. “Looking beyond the popular corporate video stalwarts of employee training and executive presentations, executives are discovering that live online video also can play a central role in more creative corporate messaging for external audiences. As a result, marketing applications for live online video are poised to boost viewership and adoption – fostering even greater awareness of the role that the technology can play in day-to-day business communications.”

“Live video is an incredibly powerful medium and even though the uncut, raw nature may be intimidating, the upside cannot be dismissed,” said Brad Hunstable, founder and CEO of Ustream. “Thousands of companies rely on our business solutions to meet their growing needs to be more productive and build deeper relationships. Fun videos like the Vooza earnings call only scrape the surface of possibilities — ultimately, Ustream is a socially-fueled way to cut through the clutter and be heard in today's constantly connected society.”

The Wainhouse Research report released this week and the July 22 webinar are the third in a series of white papers and webinars tracking the corporate use, deployment and executive perceptions of online video, Business Video Now. The first in the series, “Executive Visions on Video in the Workplace,” notes that C-level executives are using the technology at more than triple the rate of associate-level employees, and the second report, “Gauging Viewership Trends in Live Online Video Business Communications,” projects live video business communications consumption will nearly triple by 2017.

To download “The Evolving Role of Live Online Video in Corporate Marketing”: http://www.ustream.tv/lp/wainhousewp3_web

About Ustream
Ustream is the world's most scalable and social live video platform. Originally created to connect remote military servicemen to significant personal and cultural events, the company has evolved into a socially-fueled vehicle enabling anyone to reach global audiences and share experiences in real-time. Whether it's a press conference, product launch, educational class, or an act of citizen journalism – Ustream's Cloud Platform offers users high-quality streaming capabilities, deep social networking integration, and the scalability to reach millions of viewers concurrently. Our mission is to empower businesses and societies to be more transparent, more productive, and build deeper relationships through the power of video.

Founded in 2007 by John Ham, Brad Hunstable, Gyula Feher, Ustream is located in San Francisco and Budapest. Company customers and partners include Cisco, Sony, Discovery Communications, Georgetown University, and Samsung. Ustream is a privately-owned company. For more information on Ustream, visit Ustream.tv, Twitter.com/Ustream, or Facebook.com/Ustream.