Continually driving and increase in viewing audience to an annual awards show is always a challenge, but how do you top ratings driven by a tribute show for the King of Pop, following his untimely death?
Only days after Michael Jackson's death, the retooled BET Awards premiered paying tribute to his life and career. This brought record viewership to the 2009 BET Awards. The challenge for the network in 2010 was to retain as much of this audience as possible without the benefit of a one-time historical event.
Through strategic analysis of BET viewing data, we were able to pinpoint the two key growth segments from 2009 who were more likely to become repeat viewers - older African-Americans (age 35-49) and General Market 18-34 year-olds with an affinity for urban music. The team analyzed every impression executed, choosing more general-reaching vehicles based on delivery to the core AA market. We also developed synergies between BET and entertainment programming, introducing new types of rich media, social media and high impact executions in online strategies to replicate the "event-like" atmosphere from 2009.
The results were clear. The 2010 BET Awards was the #1 Cable Award Show with Adults 18-49 for the entire TV season, and the second highest BET telecast of all time!
television
radio
digital
I can always count on the BET team at Harmelin to develop a strategic approach for all of our off-channel campaigns. They stay ahead of the market and industry trends to develop ideas that consistently work to achieve my goals. 2010 was a banner ratings year for BET, and my team at Harmelin worked hard to help us make it happen.
Brucetta Williams
SVP OCM, BET Networks