Objectives

MTV International's MTV EMA is one of the biggest global music events of the year that celebrates the hottest artists from around the world. The MTV EMA brings music fans a unique, multi-platform experience across MTV's global network in nearly 180 countries and 450 million homes around the world. The 2018 MTV EMA took place in Bilbao, Spain.

Driving fan engagement and video views is paramount to our business. To exceed 2017's record-breaking year, we needed to find additional ways outside of MTV platforms to continue to drive relevance and reach for the show. One of the ways we did that was with a strategic and creative approach to partnering with social influencers.

Our influencer campaign set out to achieve 3 key objectives:

• Create engaging experiences with our audiences in key MTV markets (UK, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands/Belgium) by providing an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the EMA from some of their favorite social stars
• Develop owned social content for local and global (@MTVEMA) accounts featuring
  well-known personalities
• Leverage influencers' massive reach to amplify show announcements, voting and collectively drive tune-in

Strategy and Execution

We traveled six international influencers, called the MTV EMA Social Insiders, to Bilbao to act as on-camera talent for EMA digital content and to document their EMA experience on their own platforms to drive engagement with their fans. In exchange for their participation, we gave them the ultimate EMA experience, with VIP access to the hottest parties and events in Bilbao and a front row seat to all of the action at the show.

We set very specific criteria when selecting the Social Insiders to ensure they fit with the program. They had to:

• Have everyday content that organically aligned with the MTV brand.
• Have substantial reach in their local market(s) and an audience makeup that aligned with the EMA target (under 24).
• Use Instagram Stories and/or Snapchat frequently (almost obsessively) to document their experiences in real time for their fans.
• Work well together, mesh socially, and be a cohesive group.

Working with local MTV teams in key markets, we chose the following influencers with a combined total of nearly 40M social followers to be a part of the Social Insiders:

• Hugo Gloss, Brazil's #1 pop culture news source
• Xavier Serrano, Spanish model and GQ España's Model of the Year
• Danna Paola, Mexican actress/singer and star of Netflix's Elite
• Rose Bertram, Belgian model and TV personality
• Joey Essex, UK reality TV star and TV personality
• Caroline Daur, German fashion blogger

In Bilbao, we worked with the Insiders to produce digital content that lived across local and global MTV social accounts and websites:

• Pre-show:
  • Each of the Insiders starred in EMA digital content about Bilbao (local fashion, culture) and the show (backstage tours & sneak peeks). Each Insider hosted at least 2 digital segments and then posted about them to direct their fans to view.
• Show day:
  • Each influencer hosted a Facebook Live segment from the red carpet on their country's MTV Facebook page. The segment was in local language and featured a local celebrity (e.g. Caroline interviewed Mike Singer, winner of Best German Act, on MTV Germany).
  • Hugo, Rose, and Joey were co-hosts of the Backstage Show, airing live on mtvema.com and globally across MTV Facebook pages. They hosted backstage segments with talent like David Guetta and the cast of Geordie Shore.

To ensure they showed off their amazing experience, we provided the Insiders a truly VIP weekend, giving them unlimited opportunities to document their experiences on Instagram Stories. Some of those included:

• Pre-show VIP events like a global talent welcome party and the MTV World Stage concert featuring Muse.
• Talent meet & greets with artists like Little Mix & Jason Derulo
• A Social Insiders lounge on the red carpet, giving them a front row seat to all the talent walking the carpet.
• Seating in the main show talent section, sitting next to artists like Nicki Minaj, Janet Jackson and Camila Cabello.

Results

To say our campaign was a success is a massive understatement. By strategically partnering with the right influencers who could be both brand ambassadors AND on-camera talent and giving them an unforgettable EMA experience, the resulting content far exceeded any previous MTV EMA influencer campaigns. Video views on the Social Insiders' personal platforms reached more than 94 million over the course of the weekend - a 2500% increase over the previous year. Overall MTV EMA social video views increased 25% over the 2017 campaign – a significant portion of which can be attributed to content featuring the Social Insiders.

Media