At the IBC trade show for media professionals, Waterloo-based PimpMyCompany was nominated in the “Content Everywhere” category at the IBC Innovation Awards 2024 for its PimpMyLive solution. A fine accolade for this Walloon company.
For almost 8 years, Waterloo-based PimpMyCompany has been active in the media sector, developing specialized digital communication tools for media companies, both audiovisual and print/web. “Thanks to our tools, our customers have more time to devote to their news and entertainment missions,” explains Romuald Laurent, communications manager at PimpMyCompany.
The company recently launched a tool called PimpMyLive. “This tool enables viewers to interact with live broadcasts, whether on radio or television. In radio, you give a WhatsApp number and you can interact directly with it. On TV, a QR Code is displayed on the screen. By scanning it with their smartphone, viewers can intervene directly via WhatsApp, Facebook, an online form or SMS. Text messages, videos, photos and voice notes sent via the various channels are centralized on a single screen. The media can then broadcast them live on air, without the need for third-party editing software. There's real interactivity. In a way, the viewer is invited into the program. They have a real influence on the program's content. Journalists also love the tool, because they get real live feedback!"
A tool that sometimes allows journalists to hide behind the viewer to ask a more “prickly” question. Romuald Laurent adds: “The tool allows us to have a diversity of opinions on the air, and to reduce misinformation.” In each case, listeners and viewers immediately embraced the tool, asking questions within minutes of it going on air. “We saw this again during the last legislative elections in France. We offered our tools free of charge to the French media for a two-week trial period. Within the first few minutes, the public was sending in questions.”
Nominated for an IBC Innovation Award
A technology adopted, notably, by Franceinfo on some of its news programs. And this tool has been nominated for the IBC Innovation Awards in the “Content Everywhere” category. The awards will be presented at the IBC show, taking place in Amsterdam from September 13 to 16.
With over 1,250 exhibitors from 170 countries and more than 43,000 visitors over 4 days, the IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) remains Europe's leading trade show and conference venue for the media and entertainment industry and technology.
“It's always a pleasure to see your work recognized as innovative by an international jury. It's a great way of raising our profile, and will help us to ring the doorbells of the media,” comments Romuald Laurent on this nomination.
PimpMyLive's customers include most of Belgium's French-speaking media. But also foreign media. “Among our customers, we have the main French-language media with RTBF, RTL Belgium, LN24, NRJ, Fun Radio, Nostalgie, etc. In France, we have customers such as France Télévision with Franceinfo, Radio France with France Inter. We are also present with the M6 group with Fun Radio, and in Luxembourg with RTL Lëtzebuerg . The latest news is that we are in the process of expanding into Canada, with the creation of a subsidiary,” he concludes.