Coachella, Tomorrowland, SXSW, Summerfest. The list goes on. Music festivals have become household names drawing both large crowds and brands alike. But as popular as they are, few come close in scale to the Citi [Citibank] Concert Series.

With over 130 live concerts in 2018 reaching over 116 million people; the Citi Concert Series featured top artists performing every week in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza and was broadcast live on NBC’s Today Show. As a result, it’s a massive live music platform. And Citibank is in the center of it all both the live television broadcast and real life experiences.

With increasing competition in the credit card category, Citi set out to differentiate itself by “providing access” to pop culture through live music. However, providing access to music in a way that scales is a challenge. A one-off concert isn’t real access, nor is a sponsorship on a digital music service. Citi took the "once" out of once in a lifetime and enabled mass audiences to experience the very best in live music every week! And their cardholders got even deeper access.

Enter: The Citi Concert Series on TODAY.

With over 130 concerts throughout 2018 that featured top artists including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Keith Urban, Janelle Monae, Sean Mendez, Charlie Puth, Aerosmith and countless others -- the Citi Concert Series on TODAY came alive in New York City weekly and was broadcast on TV during NBC’s highest rated morning news program.

As a counter-programming strategy, the concerts we performed and broadcast in the morning as a whole new way to reach a large fan base as they started their days. Finally, the concert series drove philanthropic efforts including International Women’s Day, No Kid Hungry and Global Citizens Festival. For example, Citi matched fan donations for “No Kid Hungry” which provided over one million meals to kids in need 3 times throughout the year.

Build a music platform that has longevity, large scale and purpose -- because that’s what real access is all about. And, Citibank was at the center of it all. The Citi Concert Series on TODAY has now become a brand in and of itself reaching millions of fans throughout the year every single week. The series was designed to provide music access to the masses and special VIP access for Citi cardholders.

133 concerts. 100 million plus viewers every month. And every live performance was broadcast live on one of America’s top morning programs, the Today Show on NBC. Fans could watch on TV or come in person to New York’s famous Rockefeller Center to experience the concerts. And the best part, they could do it all before work or before dropping the kids at school.

Artists included Shawn Mendes, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, OneRepublic, 5 Seconds of Summer, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and more. Cardholders could meet the artists after performances, and the concerts raised awareness and funds for various philanthropic efforts throughout the year.

The Citi concert series on TODAY reached over 116 million consumers total. The music platform helped to contribute to Citi’s +$18 billion gain in net income for 2018; +14% higher than the year prior. The series helped cement Citi as the world’s largest credit card issuer with 142 million accounts in total.