iHeartRadio's brand objective is to connect fans with their favorite artists through music, events and unforgettable experiences. The iHeartRadio digital team decided to utilize their strong social media presence along with their relationship with the world's biggest musicians to create a branded series that would deliver unique opportunities for super-fans and create content that has mass appeal, hence the iHeartRadio Fan Vs. Artist Trivia series.
iHeartRadio set out to find who the country's biggest music super-fans are and if they know more about their favorite musicians than the musicians know about themselves. When artists visit iHeartRadio headquarters in NYC and LA, the iHeartRadio social team sends out messaging across their social channels, inviting fans to prove why they are a super-fan of the visiting artist. iHeartRadio's social team scans through the responses and selects one fan who is invited to headquarters to battle their favorite artist in a rousing game of trivia.
Situated in our original content studio, fans are met face to face with their idols and both parties are introduced on-camera. In some cases, the artist recognizes the fan from shows, meet and greets, or just their online social presence. Take the case of super-fan Kiara, who once sat and waited 8 hours in the rain just to see Normani perform live. Normani remembered this story from their Twitter conversation and it led to an amazing reunion for all involved.
Sometimes, the fan has never met the artist, as was the case where super-fan Jenny went head to head against Mumford and Sons. Jenny drove 4+ hours from Delaware to NYC just for the opportunity to partake in Fan Vs. Artist Trivia, and to show off her brand new Mumford and Sons tattoo.
The fun truly begins when the competition gets intense and fans prove to their favorite artist just how dedicated they are. Just take the example of when super-fan Stephanie remembered what Brendon Urie's first Instagram caption was, or when super-fan Alessia knew the month, the day and the year of when Shawn Mendes released his first single, "Life Of The Party."
After a lighting round of fast-paced question-and-answer, the winner is determined and, if it's the fan, they get to proudly go home with the unreal sensation of beating their favorite musician at their own game - or in Jenny's case, also pocket a pair of tickets to see Mumford and Sons on their latest tour.
Fan Vs. Artist Trivia not only delivers once-in-a-lifetime moments for artists and fans, but also shows the true personalities of the musicians to a larger, online audience.
In 2018, the Fan Vs. Artist Trivia series saw over 150 million views across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. In addition, the pre-promotional social media campaigns that searched for the country's biggest fans generated over 100 million impressions. After learning about the success of this content, Snapchat decide to select Fan Vs. Artist Trivia as a stand-alone original content series for the new Snapchat Discover platform.
