MTV Bump is a digital platform that brings user’s social content to broadcast TV. Viewers can use their Instagram or Vine videos to make “Bumps,” 15-second idents that play between shows. Ultimately, Bump gives control of MTV to its viewers and creates a two-way conversation between the network and the audience.

Bump’s Uploader tool uses content from your Instagram or Vine. Simply add #mtvbump to your content and it can be on-air within 2 hours. It’s a simple, seamless

To encourage as much interaction as possible, we developed a first-of-its-kind submission mechanic. Adding #mtvbump to an Instagram or Vine video would submit the Bump and it could be on-air within 2 hours. Technologically, without real-world considerations like vetting and human review, it’s possible to be on TV in as quickly as 15 minutes.

We built a dynamic compositor that automatically overlaid MTV branding elements to submitted content and rendered a broadcast-ready file within minutes. This system had to be scaled globally to account for 100+ markets and their distinctive broadcast pipelines, some of which were outdated and still relied on physical tapes.

Since its launch in June 2015, Bumps air an average of 1000 times a day across 119 markets globally. People have spent a combined 52 thousand hours making Bump content at MTVBump.com. Fan’s content reached 38.1M people on social media alone and created 16M social interactions, 5.4 M broadcast impressions per hour, and 26.6M earned media impressions.

MTV Bump has created new, deep connections between MTV and its newer generation of viewers. And, it has become a new platform for both show creators and MTV’s brand partners to develop formats for viewing and advertising revenue streams.

It’s only the beginning for Bump. There are plans for new tools, content, and interactions to ensure the platform stays fresh and alive as internet culture. The platform is flexible and reactionary, so the content can evolve to comment on programming, culture, and provide brand marketing partnership opportunities for MTV.

MTV Bump is a new interaction that brings the dynamism of the internet to broadcast TV, giving control of the network to viewers. To create an experience that would engage a younger generation, we had to ensure it was as seamless and effortless as possible.

The agency developed a first-of-its-kind process for users to submit their Instagram or Vine content using only a hashtag.

The Bump back-end had to scale to 119 markets globally, coordinating the disparate, sometimes outdated workflows of each market. Bumps can go from submission to on-air in less than 2 hours.

MTV defined a generation, offering a fresh, authentic perspective. Along with its iconic logo, “I want my MTV” became a rallying cry for a generation in search of an honest, uncensored voice.

MTV had been losing relevance amidst a new cultural and media landscape. Nowadays, internet culture moves at a frenetic pace that TV just can’t keep up with, an ever-changing dialogue between users, brands, and culture itself. Social platforms are the place for cultural conversation, expression, and creativity.

In 2015, MTV relaunched the brand to appeal to a younger, attention-strapped audience that spends all their time on visual, high-engagement platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.

How could MTV evolve to connect with an audience for which interaction is key?

The answer was simple: Empower the audience to help define the launch.