Canada’s youth brands have once again flocked to the MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVAs), which have noisily emerged as one of the marquee events on the Bell Media calendar.
The MMVAs have proven particularly attractive for brands courting younger audiences, with the teen audience for last year’s broadcast up 50% over the 2012 telecast, and the teen audience for the MMVAs Red Carpet Special up 18% over the previous year.
Bell announced this week that it has sold all of the sponsorship slots for Sunday’s telecast. Nine brand partners—Diet Coke, H&M, Bud Lime Lime-A-Rita, Nestlé’s Wonka Nerds, Procter & Gamble, Scotiabank, Samsung Electronics Canada, Subway Restaurants and Virgin Mobile Canada—will participate in the program’s broadcast and online elements.
MuchMusic is producing more than eight minutes of branded content that will air during the live red carpet show and the live awards. Darryl Coburn, Bell Media’s vice-president of specialty sales and brand partnerships, called the MMVAs the “ultimate destination” for youth brands.
This year’s brand partnerships include:
Diet Coke
As official sponsor of the 2014 MMVAs, the cola brand will be showcasing its zero-calorie product across broadcast, digital and mobile platforms.
H&M
H&M is one of nine brand partnership activations taking place at the 2014 MMVAs.
The fashion retailer’s sponsorship activation includes the first-ever “MMVA Style Squad” after-show event, where the celebrity looks from the awards will be showcased. A contest element includes a chance for viewers to win a VIP weekend at the MMVAs by uploading an MMVA-inspired “outfit of the day” on Instagram, using the #MMVA and #HMOOT hashtags. Viewers can view contest entries—and check out previous looks from the MMVAs—at Much.ca/fashion. H&M is also designing this year’s MMVA wristbands and a custom dress for VJ Liz Trinnear.
Bud Lime Lime-A-Rita
Hosted by Trinnear and fellow Much VJ Phoebe Dykstra, the Lime-A-Rita Lounge is a backstage area where celebrities can try the new Bud Lime Lime-A-Rita, Straw-Ber-Rita and Mang-O-Rita. Fans of legal drinking age can follow the “uncensored” lounge action during a two-hour live stream, while home viewers are invited to submit questions to their favourite stars. TV viewers will also get a sneak peek at the lounge through three live cutaways.
Wonka Nerds
Returning as an MMVA sponsor for a second year, the Wonka Nerds brand is giving fans a chance to win a fully customized MMVA weekend experience by logging on to their MuchCloser account and selecting one option from five categories: Digs; Fuel; Style; Pre-MMVA Activity and Mode of Arrival on the MMVA Red Carpet. Options include a five-star hotel, helicopter tours, paintball games and shopping sprees. The winner’s experience will be captured for a TV spot premiering during the MMVA broadcast.
Procter & Gamble
The consumer packaged goods giant is activating against Turn it Up, a social destination relating to beauty, fashion, music and culture built around its Covergirl, Olay and Herbal Essences brands.
Scotiabank
The financial services company is putting two fans on the MMVA red carpet by inviting them to upload a photo to Instagram to prove they are the ultimate fan of the MMVAs. The two winners will be featured in a 15-second commercial highlighting their red carpet experience that will air during the broadcast.
Samsung Electronics Canada
The consumer electronics company is using the MMVAs to showcase the new Electric Blue and Copper Gold versions of its Galaxy S5 phone. The company is hosting a contest giving one winner and a friend the chance to join the MMVAs crew, where they will film the show on the Samsung devices and live-stream it on the dedicated MMVA site. Much and Samsung are also partnering on an Alberta-based venture called the MMVA Street Party, which offers a chance for fans in Western Canada to win their own VIP MMVA experience, complete with a guest host and surprise artist performances. Much will also shoot three live segments at the party that will air during the MMVA telecast.
Subway Restaurants
Returning as a MMVA sponsor for the third year, Subway will feed celebrities, VIPs, crew and fans backstage. The activation is supported by the “Backstage Correspondent” contest, which enables viewers to win a weekend working alongside MuchMusic correspondent Dan Rodo and the Much team, offering behind-the-scenes reporting on the event. The activation will be showcased in a 30-second spot airing during the telecast, while additional backstage content will be showcased at Much.ca/backstage.
Virgin Mobile Canada
The mobile company is offering Virgin Mobile Members yet another VIP experience, this one including the Virgin Mobile MMVA Soundcheck from seats in the exclusive Virgin Mobile Members Lounge and front and centre spots on the red carpet prior to the event. The weekend experience will be showcased in a 30-second spot airing during the MMVA broadcast.
The 2013 MMVAs was the top-rated program among several key demographics last year—including adults 18-34 and 18-49, and women 18-34 and 18-49—with a combined 2+ audience of 892,000 across its MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic (now M3) channels.
The telecast also generated four of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter, including the top spot with more than 400,000 tweets about the #MMVAs.
