Q&A with Tyler Lessard, VP Marketing, Vidyard

Q&A with Tyler Lessard, VP Marketing, Vidyard
Tyler Lessard, VP Marketing of Vidyard has been recently named as an Epic Marketer by Marketo. In this interesting Q&A, Tyler takes us through his marketing journey and shares with us the value of technology in an era where videos are not just visually replenishing, but are also empowering the customer service teams in more ways than one.

MEDIA 7: What were you doing prior to your current position?
TYLER LESSARD:
Prior to joining Vidyard as VP Marketing, I spent 10 years at BlackBerry, building out their developer relations program and global partner community. It was an incredible opportunity to learn the importance of relationship building and strong storytelling on a global scale, and the need to simplify how we articulate and position the value of technology for line-of-business customers.

M7: What are the changes that video hosting and management have undergone over the past couple of years at Vidyard?
TL:
In recent years we’ve seen the conversation with businesses change from “why should I invest in video” to “how do I unlock the power of video across my marketing, sales and customer service teams”. This has driven us to focus on delivering new solutions through the lenses of these key audiences and what they are really trying to achieve.

We’re now helping marketing teams increase audience engagement with personalized and interactive video experiences, boost conversion rates on digital channels with optimized video experiences within their websites and email marketing, and accelerate deal cycles using video engagement data within their marketing automation platforms to qualify prospects. We’re helping sales development reps stand out and increase their response rates using personalized video messages sent via our Vidyard GoVideo app. And we’re helping customer service teams reduce call volumes and increase customer satisfaction with video-based knowledge articles embedded within customer communities. It’s all about helping businesses leverage video in new ways to improve the customer experience and generate more revenue.

"We always need to be searching for that next idea, that next channel, and that next message that will help us stay ahead of the market and build trust with our audiences."



M7: What’s top of the list for what Vidyard wants to achieve this year?
TL:
A big priority for Vidyard is to make it as easy as possible for marketing, sales and customer service teams to create, access, share and track rich video content from within the applications and workflows they already use today. We’re now doing this through integrations with key platforms such as Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, SalesLoft, Outreach, InsideSales.com, Zendesk and others. In 2019 we’re looking to expand this community further to enable any business professional to embrace video as a better way to communicate and deliver information.


"The most important thing for today’s marketer is to never stand still."



M7: In what way will Vidyard’s collaboration with SmartBug Media change the video experience for HubSpot users worldwide?
TL:
In 2018, Vidyard launched a strategic partnership with HubSpot to power their new HubSpot Video solution for marketing, sales and customer service. Now that the solution is available to HubSpot customers, partners like SmartBug Media are critical to helping them learn how to use video effectively and how to take advantage of these new native tools. From how they create video content, to how they optimize them for conversion, to how they track video engagement data within HubSpot CRM, partners like SmartBug Media will help customers make video an integrated part of their own marketing, sales and customer service processes.


"Vidyard delivers hyper-personalized experiences, right down to personalizing the content itself, to stand out from the other noise in the market."



M7: You have been named as an Epic Marketer by Marketo last month. That’s indeed a great achievement, Tyler. What efforts do you take to hone your marketing skills?
TL:
The most important thing for today’s marketer is to never stand still. It’s easy to get caught up in “what has worked before” and “this is how we do it”, but we always need to be searching for that next idea, that next channel, and that next message that will help us stay ahead of the market and build trust with our audiences. I’ve embraced video myself as a content medium to share ideas and connect with customers. We deliver hyper-personalized experiences, right down to personalizing the content itself, to stand out from the other noise in the market. And we stay close to the latest trends and technologies to understand how we can stay one step ahead.

ABOUT VIDYARD

Vidyard is the video platform that helps businesses transform communications and drive more revenue through the strategic use of online video. Going beyond video hosting and management, we help businesses connect with more viewers through interactive and personalized video experiences, learn powerful insights on their viewing audience, turn insights into action with enterprise integrations, and prove the impact of their video programs.

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Bow River Advisers Partners with New York Life Investment Management to Expand Private Equity Access Through Evergreen Fund

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

New York Life Investment Management ("NYLIM") today announced a strategic partnership with Bow River Advisers, a subsidiary of Bow River Capital. The partnership combines NYLIM's distribution and client service strengths, with Bow River Advisers' expertise in private markets investing and portfolio management. With this new agreement, NYLIM will take a minority interest in Bow River Advisers and serve as distribution partner for the Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund ("EVERX" or "the Fund"), a fund that provides access to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments. "New York Life Investment Management has been committed to providing quality alternative investment solutions to our clients for more than two decades," said New York Life Investment Management Chief Operating Officer Kirk Lehneis. "This partnership with Bow River Advisers, an innovator in providing high-quality private equity exposure in an investor-friendly structure, will allow us to provide a more differentiated product offering to our clients, while providing additional support to the Fund's existing client base." The Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund was launched in May 2020, and provides access to a broad range of private equity investments across sector, sponsor, geography and size. The Fund's combination of immediate investment exposure, broad diversification and low investment minimums ($50,000 for accredited investors) has attracted interest from a wide range of investors, particularly those interested in diversifying their traditional stock and bond portfolios. "We built the Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund to provide investors with what we believe is an easily accessible private equity portfolio," said Jeremy Held, Managing Director, Bow River Advisers and President of the Evergreen Fund. "Our partnership with New York Life Investment Management provides significant resources that will allow us to broaden the Fund's investor base while remaining focused on portfolio management and the Fund's day-to-day operations. As one of the largest and most well-respected institutional investors in the world, New York Life Investment Management will bring expertise that can enhance the reach of the Fund going forward." NYLIM will provide distribution and marketing support to the Fund, and Bow River Capital Evergreen's investment strategy, team and day-to-day operations will remain unchanged. About New York Life Investments With over $687 billion in Assets Under Management as of September 30, 2023, New York Life Investments, Pensions and Investments' 25th Largest Money Manager, is comprised of the affiliated global asset management businesses of its parent company, New York Life Insurance Company, and offers clients access to specialized, independent investment teams through its family of affiliated boutiques. New York Life Investments remains committed to clients through a combination of the diverse perspectives of its boutiques and a long-lasting focus on sustainable relationships. "New York Life Investments" is both a service mark, and the common trade name, of certain investment advisors affiliated with New York Life Insurance Company. About Bow River Capital Bow River Capital is a private alternative asset manager based in Denver, Colorado, focused on investing in the lower and middle market in four asset classes: private credit, private equity, real estate, and software growth equity. Through its subsidiary Bow River Advisers, LLC, Bow River Capital also offers a registered interval fund – Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund (EVERX) – designed to provide private market access to a broader set of investors. Collectively, the Bow River Capital team has deployed capital into diverse industries, asset classes and across the capital structure.

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