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full episodes of MTV shows on their phones while on
the go. Consumers can also text MTV to access new
ringtones and mobile downloads.
Consumer involvement is a critical part of
the brand’s success, according to Schwartz.
“Communication is absolutely the hallmark
of young people today,” he says. “They’re into
collective cocooning and staying very close.” As
such, MTV encourages consumer interaction by
offering in-studio opportunities, live webcams and
talk shows incorporating consumer emails and
phone calls. This approach even led to the creation
of exportable new content that revolves around the
interaction. MTV in Canada created The Hills After
Show in 2006 to give consumers a lively forum for
discussing the MTV hit show The Hills, and had a
hit of its own on its hands.
“We knew that when the show ended on Monday
nights, people were talking about it with their
friends, so we decided to create a new show that
would get young Canadians from coast to coast
together to talk about it,” says Schwartz. Viewers
can contribute from the studio audience or via
email, webcam or phone. It struck such a chord
that the show was picked up last year by MTV in
the U.S., which aired a live simulcast on mtv.com.
And every day the network invites its youthful
audience to join the conversation during the
Amy Winehouse makes a guest appearance on MTV Live
interactive talk show MTV Live, which gives
viewers the chance to kibbitz with popular
MTV hosts such as Jones and Dan Levy, or help
interview celebrity guests, either from the live
audience at the Masonic Temple, MTV’s studio in
Toronto, or via email. In addition to pop culture,
serious social and political issues are often
tackled, which gives the brand more authority
than a strictly entertainment agenda.
MTV also partners with other brands to build
engagement. For example, a promotion with
Rogers lets MTV expand on its non-downloadable
online streaming platform The Leak (a global MTV
franchise through which many artists debut their
albums online). Now Rogers cellphone users in
Canada can stream music from mtv.ca directly
onto their phones, a week before it hits the stores.
Online contests are another major part of
the MTV agenda, with current youth-friendly
prizes including tickets to the Telus World Ski
& Snowboard Festival in B.C, and to UFC 83 in
Montreal. Tens of thousands of entries are usually
received, while some attract more than a million.
MTV’s most recent venture was a line of vinyl toys
called MTV Fauna, based on the network’s on-air
graphics. If you want to target the youth market,
Schwartz says, “having a strong brand is more
crucial than ever in this fragmented digital world.”
In the U.S., MTV is partnering with Hollywood
producer Jerry Bruckheimer on a videogame
development studio to bolster the huge success of
its game Rock Band. By constantly coming up with
new ways to engage its consumers, MTV manages to
keep itself top-of-mind through sheer volition.
With files from Mary Maddever