Launched in May 2011, the MTV Tumblr was built to strengthen the brand’s engagement with the Millennial generation. Over the past two years, the microblogging site has become a cultural home =for entertainment and music fans, as well as artists. Not only does MTV Tumblr constantly update with visual highlights for the network’s different programs (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/66155246856/mtvawkward-all-new-awkward-starts-right-now-on#notes) and tentpole events (see N*SYNC Reunion -- http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/59360937191#notes ), but they support non-profit and national causes – such as educating high school students on how to pay for college (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/66725857519/traceloops-its-national-college-application#notes), all in a way that makes sense for the platform MTV's Tumblr combines content creation, curation and community outreach into a creatively compelling and powerfully viral brand outpost, bringing Tumblr's celebration of the visual to bear on our unique level of access and connection to music, celebrity and TV. Few in the space have leveraged the platform in as many unique ways successfully. MTV has virally driven tune-in to programming (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/53834740433/dont-miss-the-season-premiere-of-catfish-the-tv). The company organically brought in sponsorship through the innovative GIFFIE Awards (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/59354478484#notes) during this year's MTV Video Music Awards. The GIFFIE Awards, which debuted during the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, combined the forces of GIF artists and comedians to create hilarious GIFs for impromptu categories during the awards. The comedic gifs were displayed on MTV Tumblr live during the awards show, driving engagement with viewers and fans and continued to be fixtures of future MTV Award shows, most recently the MTV EMAs (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/66633782764). MTV is highly dedicated to elevating the artists that make the Tumblr community so unique and in the past, we sought out five up-and-coming animated GIF artists to commission original works to promote the VMAs. VMA TumblrART project (http://mtv.tumblr.com/tagged/VMA-tumblrART) was subsequently featured on an on-air promotional spot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1j2szMz_WM) – a continuation of MTV’s dedication to promoting up-and-coming artists. We have also featured exclusive work from Tumblr artists within our company, including the Mr.GIF (http://mtv.tumblr.com/tagged/mr-gif) collective and T. Kyle MacMahon (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/59359443003#notes) of the hugely popular Reality TV Gifs blog. We strive to be that mix of poignant (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/59361121612), weird (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/45110171667), ephemeral (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/33196362502) and inspirational (http://mtv.tumblr.com/post/62957424252) that makes Tumblr so great, taking a community-centric approach to carrying on MTV's creative and artistic legacy.
