CatchLIVE Shares How it Attracts 12,000 Consumers Per Episode

In September, Australian e-tailer, Catch, took its online shopping experience to the next level with the introduction of CatchLIVE – an interactive, live-streamed show hosted by Quizmania’s Brodie Young.

When the business announced the game show, Young said the program would be “high-energy”, combining “quick-paced games with exclusive deals”. According to the General Manager of CatchLIVE, Ayelet (Lulu)  Weissman, the live-streamed show is unlike anything else in retail.

“We combine gamification with live streaming and amazing prizes,” she tells Power Retail. “Start with must-have products at must-buy prices. Add trivia and other games where you can score even better deals. Mix in a vibrant live-chat community. Wrap it all in a high-energy video stream where anything can happen – there’s something happening every day at catchlive.com.au,” she explains. However, the main purpose of the show is to put the spotlight on the business’s “hottest deal”, tapping into its online platform’s mantra of great products at great prices. “We practically put the deal in front of them. All they need to do is to click and tune in.”

According to Weissman, the show has an erratic viewing schedule, which represents the show’s sense of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-exclusivity. Airing for 10 minutes, she says that each episode revolves around a specific theme or product, which usually helps showrunners determine what time the show should air.

“We align the theme and the time of the show to when we believe it will be best suited to the viewer. For example, [on] Monday, December 3 we had a special Nintendo Smash Bros show, so we [determined] the best time for this audience to tune in [was in] the evening,” Weissman says.

Much like everything Catch Group does, CatchLIVE has been designed to be a convenient, engaging way for consumers to shop for the products they love. This means that CatchLIVE isn’t just flexible with its air times, it also moulds its content plan to suit the fast-changing nature of its customers’ interests.

Weissman says that this usually involves keeping up with what’s trending, while also considering what the business is able to feature at reduced prices.

“Firstly, we look at the Australian market as well as trending and popular products. Or, we know that we have a product we can offer at an exceptional price. Then, we come up with a captivating concept to bring the product to life,” she says. “Depending on the product and theme, we will find the most suitable guests. For example, we recently held a show all about cooking and what better guest than a contestant from MasterChef?”

The erratic nature of the show also means that things behind-the-scenes can be pretty intense, with Weissman saying that things are “crazy” right up until the on-air sign is switched on.

“Between hair and makeup, rehearsals, scheduling the trivia, finalising the deals and styling the set for the day – the two hours leading up to the show going live are crazy! We’ve got crew members running in and out of the studio – perfecting the last-minute details. But, 10 minutes before the show we turn on our ‘ON AIR sign! That’s our cue to get into the zone!”

The Reception So Far

Less than three months into the promotional streaming program, CatchLIVE says that things are going well.

“We have received a lot of offers from suppliers and brands who want to collaborate with us. They want us to create a content package for their product and to introduce their product to our highly engaged audience,” Weissman says.

This has reportedly led to 12,000 consumers tuning into each episode, with the average viewer spending longer on catch.com.au and returning to the site more often than the typical customer. “CatchLIVE is designed to deepen customer engagement on the site, to attract our loyal fans and to create new ones,” she explains. “Our audience is more engaged than usual online retail consumers, they stay on the site for extended periods of time and visit more often.”

According to Weissman, some episodes perform better than others, with the program’s ‘Apples Vs Apples’ show being particularly popular. “The show consisted of a trivia game where our audience had the chance to WIN an apple freebie. This included Apple products such as the Macbook Air, Apple Airpods and other Apple products or…. an apple peeler, apple cider vinegar and other apple related novelty items,” she jokes.

So far, the business is pleased with the show’s performance, and while Weissman is keeping any future plans close to her belt, she does hint that there are plans to expand the offering in the future. “We are always looking to grow CatchLIVE. The more people who come to the show, the more opportunities we have,” she says.

Viewers can find out when the next episode of CatchLIVE will be streaming by following Catch on its social platforms or signing up for email alerts.

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