Spike TV Super Socializes "Guys Choice"

NEW YORK, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV has launched an extensive social-media foray for today's Friday, June 10 network premiere of "Guys Choice."  The network has teamed with Facebook, GetGlue, GroupMe, Instagram, Shazam and Twitter and will tap into each of its partners' specialties to help drive awareness, tune-in and multi-platform engagement with the show.  The event, which taped on Saturday, June 4 at Sony Studios, has already seen a burst of activity, from its pre-show voting on Facebook, to celebrity tweeting during taping, and talent utilizing the backstage SmileBooth to pose with members of the Armed Forces.  The network plans to share these special celeb photos with all social media partners during the on-air telecast. Spike is thrilled to also announce that "Guys Choice" will be the first-ever US televised award show to utilize Shazam.

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"For this year's 'Guys Choice,' we wanted to explore innovative partnerships that will help our audience experience and share the show in new ways," said Erik Flannigan, evp digital media, MTV Networks Entertainment Group.  "Our audience taps into social media multiple times a day already, so it is critical that we create fresh ways to extend SPIKE into those platforms. 'Guy's Choice' gave us a terrific opportunity to try several at the same time."

Spike's social strategy for "Guy's Choice" leverages each social media network's area of expertise to further engage its viewers.  Below is an overview on Spike TV's social media initiatives for the pre-taping and airing of "Guys Choice."

Facebook:

Spike TV created an exclusive Facebook tab for its "Guys Choice" voting initiative. This was launched in May to coincide with the announcement of this year's nominees and was promoted to initially over 300,000 Spike fans. This year saw a 115% increase in voting due to fans utilizing Facebook and sharing their picks amongst their friends.

GetGlue

Spike TV worked with GetGlue, the leading social network for entertainment, to create exclusive "Guys Choice" stickers in advance of the show to drive awareness and generate additional buzz.  There are also a number of stickers that fans will be able to unlock during the June 10 premiere by checking in on GetGlue.com or the mobile apps.

GroupMe

As of June 1, Spike TV's "Guys Choice" is an official GroupMe featured group. Users are encouraged to create their own "Guys Choice" group to talk about the event with their friends. Additionally, Spike TV will provide exclusive content and tune-in reminders to all of the featured groups.  Spike TV promoted GroupMe during the June 4 taping, pre-show and on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Spike TV's "Guys Choice" is also featured on: GroupMe.com/spikeguyschoice and will promote it through its social media channels.

Instagram

During the June 4 taping, the network utilized its official Spike Instagram account and had a roving photographer shooting and sharing pictures from all over the event featuring MAN-bassador Stacey Keibler and talent who attended the show – including the red carpet, in-show and backstage.  Pictures will be posted to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.  Spike TV will tag pictures with the @usernames and the #guyschoice hashtag to improve discoverability and encourage user participation.

Shazam

Spike TV's "Guys Choice" has partnered with Shazam®, the world's leading mobile discovery company, and will be the first-ever US based awards program to use Shazam for TV to give the audience access to additional content on a "second screen," their mobile device. The audio broadcast of the show will be ingested by Shazam and select moments of the show, including appearances by Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck, will invite viewers to use Shazam to access exclusive related content.

Twitter

Spike TV has been Tweeting about the event since the first press release in May announcing the nominees.  #GuysChoice has been actively promoted on Spike.com and Facebook driving over 1100 tweets with the hashtag and 7 million impressions to date.  Spike has also been retweeting its fans who use #GuysChoice.  MAN-bassador Stacey Keibler will be the Red Carpet/Twitter host in advance of airing, during taping and for the online pre-show prior to the network on-air premiere.  Spike will also feature #GuysChoice and other show-related hashtags on-screen during the network premiere on June 10.

Spike also used the "Guys Choice" event to launch official channels on Foursquare and Tumblr.

The official sponsors of Spike TV's "Guys Choice" are AT&T, AXE Excite, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Corona Extra, Kia Motors America, Pizza Hut®, Inc. and Snickers® Brand.

Casey Patterson, Carol Donovan and Beth McCarthy-Miller will serve as executive producers.

Spike TV is available in 99.4 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.  Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

SOURCE Spike TV