Specialist sports products maker has transformed its e-commerce site into an athletic training destination using a dynamic video management platform
Specialist sports products maker has transformed its e-commerce site into an athletic training destination using a dynamic video management platform
Located in Carlsbad, California, SKLZ is the largest manufacturer and distributor of sports training aids in the world and sells these products directly to consumers via its website, as well as distributes them to top retailers.
The vision for the SKLZ website, which receives more than 100,000 visitors a month, is to inspire athletes to develop their skills, introduce them to the SKLZ brand and products, and to support sales at retail stores. To help meet these objectives, the company made a commitment to add videos to its site and to drastically expand its library of training-related video content. It believed that, if athletes could watch instructional videos that incorporate its products, then they would be more likely to see SKLZ as a legitimate source for training.
Searching for an online video platform
“We are different from many companies in that our products truly need to be dynamically used, and they need to be used properly,” said Scott Curry, director of marketing communications at SKLZ. “Many people see our products and immediately ask themselves, ‘how does this work and how do I use it?’ There is no better way to demonstrate the value of our products and how they complement athletic improvement than through video. This is crucial not only to helping athletes become better at their sports, but also to converting more shoppers on our website and later at retail stores.”
Realising the strategic importance of online video, SKLZ decided to transform its site into an athletic training destination packed with instructional and product videos for athletes from every sport. To implement this extensive new project, the manufacturer realised it needed a flexible video platform solution that would allow them to efficiently upload, manage, organise, analyse, and deliver more than 360 videos. This solution would not only ease navigation and maximise end-user experience with the site, but also enable SKLZ to build brand awareness.
“After testing Limelight Video Platform, we immediately realised how easy the interface is to understand and work with,” noted Curry. “As we moved towards implementation, there were no questions on how the solution worked. Also, their customer and technical support teams were knowledgeable, open, and eager to help us problem-solve, which set my confidence level high. With Limelight, we knew that the technology was there and that the support was there.”
Re-launching website with video
On April 5, 2011, SKLZ launched its new, enhanced website. The site is packed with 360 videos, 250 of which are instructional videos that include video series on topics like how to swing your bat with more power, how to steal more bases, and methods to improve your agility. It also has 83 product introduction videos for each product in its online store. These videos enable viewers to better understand how to effectively use SKLZ products and what benefits they have to offer.
Within just the first two months of launching the video-centric site, SKLZ saw an 8% increase in overall site traffic and 73,000 video views. According to SKLZ, these numbers indicate that viewers are thoroughly engaged with the video content and consequently the SKLZ brand.
The addition of video content to the SKLZ website has been met with positive responses from retailers, who realise that consumers are more likely to purchase products if they’re aware of the product benefits and if the products are supported by instructional videos. In fact, SKLZ has added Microsoft Tags to the product packaging, which point directly to product introduction URLs for on-the-spot product information. The package also has a call to action to visit SKLZ.com for instructional videos, so in-store customers are immediately aware of the availability of the associated videos.
Managing and delivering content
The use of tags also allows SKLZ to display, aside the video that is playing, the product featured in the video as well as additional relevant content. At the end of the video, the featured product is displayed within the player, making it easy for consumers to browse or purchase the product they just watched. Some of the tags are also viewer facing. For instance, when watching a video within a series on “how to expand your range,” viewers can click on the tags “defence,” “fielding,” or “lateral movement”. By clicking on one of these tags, viewers are provided with a list of video series on that topic.
“Limelight’s easy-to-use platform allows us to efficiently manage and organise our library while maximizing the online experience for our end users,” added Curry. “Working with their APIs was simple and straightforward. If we ever have any questions, the Limelight team was always there to troubleshoot. From the beginning, we realised that their team would continue to adapt and evolve their solution. This is a company that is on the forefront of innovative features, yet values simplicity and the viewer’s experience. “
SKLZ is also employing the Limelight Networks content delivery network (CDN) infrastructure, which is tightly integrated with Limelight Video Platform. By using these integrated services, SKLZ can rest assured that its videos will be delivered with no buffer or delay to any viewer location, even during intense traffic spikes. It can also employ just one company to host, upload, manage, publish, deliver, and analyse its videos.
To maximise end user performance, SKLZ can improve player responsiveness and viewer experience by caching the player, playlists, and all metadata information at the edge of the network, close to each end user. What’s more, Limelight Internet Health Monitor provides real-time information to Limelight Video Platform, enabling SKLZ to maximise viewer experience in near real-time as network conditions change.
Tracking and analysing performance
A key component of Limelight Video Platform is its ability to capture analytics, which allows SKLZ to track and analyse viewer engagement with each video. These analytics are essential in deciding what type of instructional videos SKLZ wants to develop and publish in the future and which types of products are most appealing to athletes.
“Limelight offerings have really helped us build and improve our brand,” said Curry. “Since adding more videos to our site, sales and traffic to our site have consistently increased month over month. We can confidently share our videos with consumers and retailers alike. We have received many compliments from consumers, retailers, distributors and especially our overseas partners about the simplicity of the design.
“Our innovative training and skill development tools coupled with the impressiveness of our videos establishes a high level of credibility in the marketplace. By simply sharing a video link, we can show retailer partners that we are sophisticated marketers and show consumers that we are committed to delivering products and accompanying video content that will improve their games.”
