Skating spectacular: Sunset+Vine takes the athlete stories of the new ISU Short Track World Tour across social media
Sunset+Vine has a team living and breathing with the athletes and the skaters for the inaugural speed skating ISU Short Track World Tour
Sunset+Vine is working with the International Skating Union (ISU) to provide innovative content for the inaugural speed skating ISU Short Track World Tour.
The tour – which started with its first event in Montreal, Canada on 25 October – will showcase this dynamic, intense sport on ice around the world. Sunset+Vine is bringing the heart of the action from the tour’s six events, including the behind the scenes athlete stories, as short form content across social channels to compliment the live production across the full skating calendar.
Raj Mannick, head of digital at Sunset+Vine, told SVG Europe: “We’ve got a content team essentially living and breathing with the athletes and the skaters. The main thing there is really elevating the content for the short track world tour. So whilst we are in charge of the live streaming, the main thing with that project is having the team there capturing all the skaters and their stories, bringing a bit more personality, and bringing everything to life a bit more.
“If you watch even a few clips, you’ll see just how fast paced it is, and it is amazing. And some of the crashes are pretty spectacular! It is very dangerous; the G-Force they get around the corners is insane,” continues Mannick. “It is pretty captivating to watch. It’s quick, it’s so dynamic. And I think a big thing for the skating union is wanting to make more characters of their athletes. They really are stars and they’re really cool. They’ve got huge followings across Asia and the Netherlands in particular. I think they’re trying to make household names of these stars, especially looking ahead to the next Winter Olympics.”
“If you watch even a few clips, you’ll see just how fast paced it is, and it is amazing. And some of the crashes are pretty spectacular!” says Raj Mannick, head of digital at Sunset+Vine
Dedicated teams
Dedicated Sunset+Vine on-site teams will work with athletes and organisers to ensure fans are part of the action, going behind the scenes to bring characters from the sport to life, engaging followers in creative ways and offering those new to the sport an ideal opportunity to get involved.
Mannick comments on the team and its role and workflow: “It is actually quite a small close-knit team. I think we’ve got three or four people there currently, but they are all singing, all dancing, doing a bit of everything.”
The team is using a combination of high end cameras, 360 cameras and smartphones to generate content, which is then taken by team in London which clips the content for social media channels, as well as turning it around and cutting highlights and putting those packages together.
“What we’re going to do is tell as many stories on the ice, but as much off the ice as well, really getting to know some of these skaters and seeing how they train and how they interact with each other, their personalities.”
Sunset+Vine is producing innovative, engaging content and offering unique behind-the-scenes insights for the ISU Short Track World Tour
Cross continents
On challenges, Raj says the scale of the tour is the key one. He explains: “I think the scale of it; it’s a truly global thing. We are going across continents, so it’s changing continents and having to capture those stories. I think that’s going to be the biggest thing [as we have to] form rapport and trust really quickly with the skaters. That’s a challenge, but it’s something we’re used to Sunset+Vine; we tour the world with World Rugby SVNS and embed ourselves within the teams. So it’s a challenge, but it’s definitely a rewarding one to take on and what I’m sure the guys will do brilliantly at.”
Sunset+Vine will also remotely manage the streaming of each live event across North America, Asia and Europe and provide clips and digital highlights throughout the tour. As well as the ISU Short Track World Tour, Sunset + Vine will also be working with the ISU across the full skating calendar, delivering livestreaming content and YouTube channel management for major figure skating and speed skating events.
Adds Raj: “So we’re across the whole skating calendar from a remote highlights perspective, but only on the ground for the short track world tour.”
Adds Jiao Li, chief of commercial and marketing at the ISU: “Sunset+Vine represents an exciting step forward in how we connect with our global audience. By producing innovative, engaging content and offering unique behind-the-scenes insights, we’re able to bring our fans closer to the skaters and the sport they love. We look forward to seeing the impact this appointment will have, both in expanding the reach of short track and introducing new fans to the energy and excitement of skating.”