The Emmy Awards + Social Media

Monday night was the airing of the 66^th Primetime Emmy Awards. The award show itself was a bit of a snooze-fest, with almost all repeat winners, including “Breaking Bad” and “Modern Family.” However, there were a few new additions to the viewer experience this year through the use of social media. With each new award show, there seems to be an increasing presence of social media, and The Emmy’s were no different.  The precedent was set during last year’s Oscars with Ellen’s record-breaking celebrity-filled selfie. Now it seems that every social media channel wants a piece of the Award Show action.

This year, there was in increase in the amount of social gadgets that were used both on the red carpet and during the broadcast of the Emmys. Facebook teamed up with Access Hollywood for a ‘Mentions Box’ on the red carpet. The concept was that big-time television stars would be able to interact with Facebook fans through an interactive device for a video Q&A session. Much like a magic 8 ball, A-listers could shake a tablet to generate a fan’s question, then record a video response in real-time. The goal was to connect Facebook users to their favorite celebrities, and have them interact during the live event. The videos were then posted all over NBC and Access Hollywood social media pages for fans to enjoy.

Not to be outdone, Twitter debuted a new zip-line camera feed for the Emmy red carpet to provide a new view on the celebrity entrances. The zip line footage was shared on NBC’s Twitter account and on the Access Hollywood red carpet show. There was also a dedicated official live-tweeter from NBC. Actress Retta from Parks and Recreation provided  hilarious commentary, which added a more casual experience to the evening.

The Today Show got into the social media action by presenting a Vine 360- station to record short video clips of celebrities from every angle. These short videos were used during the live red carpet show, and were also easily shared on their social media sites.

Pinterest also seemed to have a bigger presence during the show, which is one of the first time I’ve seen it promoted during a live broadcast. The Pinterest page for the 66^th Primetime Emmy Awards was updated in real time to provide relevant content to what was happening on the show. This included photos of the winners, TV show memes and behind the scenes highlights from the broadcast. This Pinterest board gained over 26,000 followers before and after the show. Viewers are still encouraged to save anything inspirational by pinning it to their own boards.

My personal favorite social media interactions was via Instagram. This gave viewers a more personal glimpse into the Emmy experience by allowing celebrities to post their behind the scenes personal images. This included getting ready shots, candid cast photos and pictures of A-listers getting wild during the after parties.

All the social media presence may have added to the ratings for this year’s  Emmys. It was the second highest Emmy rating in 8 years, with 15.6 million viewers (source). This number is even more impressive since the show faced the challenge of airing on a Monday in August, instead of the usual Sunday night in late September.