MTV's Snapchat account is pretty new, but it's since been put to good use. It will also be the medium for announcing the music channel's nominees for the 2014 Video Music Awards. This is a first in the music industry.
"The nominations will appear in eight 10-second Snapchat videos starting at 9 a.m ET on Thursday," MTV told Mashable. "They will feature Austin Mahone, Fifth Harmony and Becky G as well as stars from MTV shows in order to leverage their enormous fan bases."
Last year, MTV did the announcements through Vine and Instagram videos, with the help of popular stop-motion animator, Khoa Phan.
"We could have used one person to announce all of them but this is really going to buy us a lot of reach," said VP for content marketing and fan engagement Tom Fishman.
"The eight Snapchat announcements will be available for MTV's 150,000 or so followers before the wider 10 a.m. reveal on other online platforms," the site said.
Bustle observed that this strategy seems to "make the fortysomething network execs feel hipper than the twentysomething bloggers reporting on those strategies."
"It often works - just look at every VMAs that has ever happened," the news source wryly added.
So, how will these Snapchat pieces look like?
According to Mashable, they will have a "vibe" not different from the usual Snapchat video. The said VMA snaps will remain on MTV's Snapchat story for 24 hours.
"Other celebrity guests who will appear in the Snapchat videos will be Awkward's Jillian Rose Reed, Girl Code's Carly Aquilino and Guy Code's Charlamagne Tha God," the tech news site elaborated.
What do you think of this marketing strategy?
This year's MTV VMA will happen on August 24, Sunday, at California's the Forum. So far, Ariana Grande, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Usher have been the only performers confirmed for the annual event. The "Confessions" singer will reportedly debut new music at the show, MTV reported.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old popstrel will be performing her latest single "Break Free" live for the first time at the 2014 VMAs. Incidentally, her album will be released the day after the said event, The Wrap noted.
Other major award-giving bodies have not used a digital strategy in announcing nominations yet. This is due to the concerns about security breaches and leaks, which may defuse anticipation for the annual announcements.
Any predictions for the 2014 MTV VMAs? Let us know in the comments below!
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