Zalando Podcast welcomes Leon Retief, Team Lead Broadcasting and Video Production.
Is it a common thing for big companies to have their own broadcasting team? No, it’s not common, but according to Leon, progressive companies are starting to catch on.
At Zalando, all live streams come from Leons team. This includes all management live streams, team live streams, Zalando Live that live streams in the app, plus recorded video. And Leon sees this trend grow further as storytelling, inspiring, and entertaining co-workers and customers with specialists and influencers becomes even more important.
8 years ago, when Leon joined Zalando, he remembers thinking that it was incredible to have a company see the value of a live stream that’s produced well: multiple cameras, angles, zooms. He then started building today’s Broadcasting and Video Production team at Zalando and getting the right equipment to create high end video content.
Today, Leon and his team are working across three internal studios and editing rooms but are also collaborating with bigger studios and going on location.
“We try to up the game, make it really high quality, making sure everyone feels like they belong. It’s angles, music, camera movements…”
According to Leon, lockdown helped with this. During the pandemic, his team took big steps towards a better way to communicate via video and live streams, and now it’s a whole different game.
“I remember coming to work - me and maybe three other people - and we had to figure out really fast how people would communicate with each other.”
More recently, the Broadcasting and Video Production team has set up a self-service room at Zalando: it’s a space used by various teams to create video content in a self-service environment. This is where anyone can try a new tool, narrate steps and features for partners, do a screen recording, create a video or voice recording, or create the latest episode of the Zalando podcast.
Tune into our Pieces of Me podcast for Leon’s insight into:
- The Zalando broadcasting journey from the early days into the future
- The story of live streaming and video production at Zalando
- Leon’s take on past, present and future live streaming solutions
- His three pieces: his holiday hat from Mozambique, a splicer from his early days in the film industry and a gift from his wife - a coffee mug shaped like a lens
More about ‘Pieces of Me’:
The ‘Pieces of Me’ podcast delves into the exciting world of fashion and tech retail. Industry thought leaders bring in three personal items to help tell their stories, reveal their career insights, and share their top tips.
You can find Pieces of Me on every major audio platform, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.
