Every year, the MTV EMA is the world's biggest night in music, and each year, our audience consumes content on more platforms. In order to reach them and continue to engage their fandom, our overarching marketing strategy and message was that fans could watch the show EVERYWHERE. Facebook Live gave us a unique opportunity to reach our vast global audience. Our 2016 fans-first campaign set out to connect our followers worldwide with artists than ever before on Facebook Live in three immersive categories – Red Carpet interviews, Backstage Show interviews, and Q&A-style pieces featuring host Bebe Rexha and local nominees from around the world.
One of the biggest moments during the 2016 MTV EMA campaign is the host announcement. The morning we revealed Bebe Rexha as our host we surprised fans with an exclusive Facebook Live with Bebe on @MTVEMA, moderated by Sway Calloway, from the coveted TRL studio in the heart of Times Square NYC. Nearly 2M fans tuned in to get to know Bebe (plus her mom!), see her twerk, and receive sneak peeks into who may be performing at the show.
Building off of the success with Bebe, we continued to connect stars with fans in a series of Q&A-style Facebook Lives on the @MTVEMA page to highlight our local nominees worldwide. Top artists, such as big as Little Mix, UK, and Bunkface, SE Asia, answered multiple fan questions as they poured in from the comments section.
The campaign culminated on November 6 with a star-studded live event and immersive digital experiences reaching fans worldwide. Hours before the show started we got fans buzzing by giving them access to the Red Carpet via Facebook Live, sponsored by Listerine.
We set out to give fans unprecedented access to the MTV EMA backstage with a custom èvos activation. During the commercial breaks, we invited fans to tune into our backstage via our site and Facebook. The segment hosts Sway Calloway and Becca Dudley interviewed the industry's hottest stars – Shawn Mendes, Martin Garrix, DNCE and Jack & Jack, to name a few. Just when fans thought the show was over, we also delivered a Facebook Live stream of Afrojack's after party DJ set along with coverage across Instagram Stories and Twitter.
Fans from around the world viewed and interacted with The 2016 MTV EMA's in more ways than ever before, especially on Facebook Live. After nearly 20 Facebook Live broadcasts from around the world we recieved 10x social video views compared to last year's total. Facebook's latest innovation allowed fans to directly ask their favorite stars questions and see exclsuive interviews from the MTV EMA Red Carpet and backstage. Our 2016 social campaign was engaging and innovative because we connected fans with their favourite stars in a completely new, personal way.
