CMT and RAM Trucks have a history of connecting country music and its fans. In pre-pandemic times, this lived through a concert that kicked off the week of CMT Music Awards. But with COVID-19 restrictions throwing a wrench in an in-person production, we set out instead to find a new and innovative way to connect fans to country music. In addition, we needed a good way to introduce emerging talent who would be featured on the CMT Music Awards RAM Trucks Sidestage to our larger audience. And of course, all while organically keeping RAM at the forefront.
Re-envisioning an on-the-ground concert experience while retaining the same excitement and connection for fans at home isn’t easy! Our solution? A special, first of its kind CMT Music Awards edition of CMT Campfire Sessions. CMT and RAM gave fans an intimate look into the lives of three of country music’s newest shining stars gathered around a campfire to share their stories and music as they prepared for their debuts on the RAM Trucks Stage at the CMTMAs.
In tapping into Campfire Sessions – an existing franchise – we were able to capitalize on a series that fans were already familiar with, rather than building a new audience. While a typical Session usually focused on one artist, we supersized this special edition to feature three: Tenille Arts, Blanco Brown, and Hailey Whitters. They were chosen to represent different styles of country music, and as such expanded the audience and reach. Our artists performed two full length songs each around the campfire with the RAM truck gently incorporated every step of the way.
The CMT Music Awards edition of Campfire Sessions was the first major piece of content to launch the week of CMTMAs in a nod to the concert that has kicked the week off in the past. The episode was promoted with a trailer that launched using Twitter’s Heart to Remind product, giving fans a front row seat when the full episode launched exclusively on Twitter. The episode eventually launched across all major social platforms once the exclusivity window ended on Twitter.
Later that week, fans had another chance to see Tenille Arts, Blanco Brown, and Hailey Whitters perform when they tuned in to the CMT Music Awards. Each artist took to the RAM Trucks Stage to perform an abridged version of the one of the full songs fans enjoyed on Campfire Sessions.
To cap off the program, CMT and RAM partnered to give fans the opportunity to vote for the biggest award of the night – Video Of The Year. Unlike other CMT Music Awards categories, Video Of The Year was the only category to stay open into the live show. To build even more fan excitement and heighten the stakes, on the morning-of broadcast we reduced the number of nominees to four finalists and kicked off our Twitter hashtag battle. Fans had an opportunity to vote for their favorite Video of the Year nominee live into the show via artist-specific Twitter hashtags. And to conclude another exciting CMT Music Awards event, at the end of big night Carrie Underwood (#VoteCarrieCMT) was crowned winner of Video Of The Year.
The campaign delivered over 21M impressions, more than 4M video views and engagements.
37% lift in purchase intent among CMTMA viewers.
46% increase in hashtag votes from 2020 to 2021.
Over 7 branded minutes (Video of the Year, RAM Truck Stage, On Site Display) throughout the CMTMAs, which was the #1 Entertainment Program of the Day across all TV.
