The MTV EMA is a one-of-a-kind annual event that celebrates music from around the globe, from international superstars to local-favorite artists—and gives fans around the world the power to choose award winners. The 2014 event, hosted by Nicki Minaj, marked the EMA's 20th anniversary and was broadcast live from Glasgow, Scotland. The show aired in more than 160 countries and territories. The event was supported with a wide-ranging digital and social campaign including 37 regional websites in 21 languages, localized iOS and Android apps, and a massive international social media presence. Animated GIFs were one facet of the digital/social campaign designed to generate buzz leading up to the event, and were a part of the night-of-show second screen experience.
The 2014 MTV EMA GIF wall was part of a multifaceted digital/social second screen experience on the night of the show's live broadcast, 10 November, giving music fans around the world a close-up view of the big Glasgow extravaganza.
During the red carpet show and main show, as international music fans were making MTV EMA the #1 trending Twitter topic worldwide, GIFs were dynamically published to a tiled page practically in real time. The GIF wall captured the OMG moments being chattered about on social media. From performer Enrique Iglesias's signature pelvic gyrations, to winner Ariana Grande blowing kisses to her fans, to host Nicki Minaj getting photobombed by a dinosaur… all the highlights of the 2014 MTV EMA could be relived in endless loop. Some of these GIFs were featured in a sharable listicle-style editorial wrapup of the 7 most memorable 2014 EMA moments.
In the lead-up to the show, animated GIFs were posted on the official MTV EMA social media accounts, to drive excitement and awareness around the event. Fans got to see morphing then-and-now images of EMA favorites like Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus over the years. Also, local MTV social managers were provided with GIFs depicting highlights of previous EMA broadcasts, which they could post on their local MTV social accounts to get fans excited about the event.
