When MTV aimed to relaunch TRL—an iconic television program known for creating some of the most iconic moments in pop culture—the goal wasn't merely to make MTV an afternoon programming destination. With the goal of once again creating a home base for who's next in the worlds of music, film, television and more, we had to completely rethink how TRL engages with a new and socially-wired generation. For Instagram's millions of users, it meant going beyond re-introducing them to a pop culture phenomenon. It meant speaking the language of our potential audience while expanding the definition of what an always-on content brand could be.
Our Instagram aims are ambitious; as a fusion of show content, original video, behind-the-scenes footage, and culture engagement, our strategy keeps followers aware of everything happening within the linear TV show while also natively identifying breaking trends and stars, celebrating what they love in a native Instagram experience. Our morning social franchise #FRESHOUT introduces them each weekday to the latest new releases, from the hottest music videos to the newest box office flicks. All week long during the show, we post from the set in real-time to our Instagram Stories, while streaming linear television performances live from a social POV, providing an entirely new experience. For each act that comes through the studio, we create unique and social-optimized games and franchises for our followers to enjoy, in Stories as well as within our linear feed. Key moments from the show make their way to Instagram within hours of airing, specifically formatted to thrive on Instagram. Each night, we offer social giveaways for signed merchandise that get our fans even more excited and engaged. In addition, we are often regramming celebs and social influencers both to engage in trending moments across culture and to identify rising stars to include on the linear program. All of this is spaced out on a 24/7 always-on schedule, with a wild and passionate first-person social voice that reflects the voice and interests of our key fans.
To date, TRL on Instagram has accumulated more than 24 million in-feed video views and more than 10 million engagements, while also accruing 23 million video views and over 1 million engagements on Instagram Stories (source: Omniture). In particular, our #FRESHOUT franchise has accumulated more than 1 million views. TRL's engagement rate on Instagram outstrips everyone we consider competitors, from other talk shows like The Ellen Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, among others, to music and culture brands like Billboard, Genius, Fader, Noisey, Entertainment Tonight and Complex (source: Tubular, 10/2/17—2/6/18 ranked on total engagements/followers). Within Viacom's family of programs and networks, our Instagram engagement rate ranks as the second highest within all of Viacom, ranking only behind MTV (source: Tubular).
Instagram is the perfect all-encompassing second screen experience to TRL, from live streaming on-set to Story posts of behind-the-scenes action and never-before-seen footage to exclusive programming with top-level stars. We fuse trending moments from the linear show with original, social-first content to create a must-follow account, with an engaging and unique voice that speaks directly to our fans.
