In 2013, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission revised its disclosure guidelines for branded content so it is incumbent on the advertiser to make it clear when a brand has material connections to a piece of content. It requires marketers use understandable, easily understood language to connect the brand to the content. This is why the titles for the video generated from the live concert included “Live from Citi ThankYou”, and social media posts included #CitiThankYouRocks. It’s also why Citi-branded bumpers began and closed the 60-second integrated commercial that ran during the BBMA broadcast before flowing seamlessly into Legend’s live performance on the BBMA’s.

CHALLENGE: Citi wanted to increase brand awareness and activate transactions on its Citi ThankYou card, which offers two times the points for dining and entertainment and many related perks. It knew 30% of people aware of the promotions are likely to recommend the card to others because of the special access it provides.

OBJECTIVE: Identify one high-profile awards show sponsorship that would appeal to current and prospective card members across multiple paid, earned and owned channels.

STRATEGY: Music was a natural fit.Nine-time Grammy Award-winning John Legend offered the desired cache; he had just performed his #1 hit “All of Me” at the Grammy’s and he and his record label were looking for a high-profile platform to showcase his follow-up single “You and I” (a love song to his wife). The BBMA deal created a never-been-done-before, integrated mix of global on-air branded content, supported by social media, which mutually benefited Citi ThankYou and Legend

EXECUTION: Here’s how Citi created and promoted the branded content:

o Billboard announced Citi as one of four main sponsors of the BBMAs (April 4, 2014)

o A promotion launched (4/11) via a Citi email to current cardmembers offering tickets to an exclusive, small venue concert with Legend.

o Citi ThankYou, Billboard and Legend posted to their social channels to promote the event, including behind-the-scenes pictures and videos from before, during, and after the performance.

o Hosted the Citi-branded concert in LA (4/21) with décor inspired by Legend’s albums.

o Generated branded content from the concert and distributed via social media (5/12-18) including Legend’s Vevo account.

o Launched an integrated 60-second spot on the BBMA broadcast (5/18) that included a live onstage intro by Legend’s celebrity wife and muse Chrissy Teigen, which was then seamlessly followed directly by Legend performing “You and I” on the show.

John Legend is one of America’s most popular entertainers, particularly among 18- to 49-year-olds. He’s won nine Grammy’s, one Golden Globe and an Oscar. To broaden his appeal, he often collaborates with artists such as Kanye West and Alicia Keys. His songs are infinitely sharable, proven by the 44 million social impressions this Citi-branded content produced. This included the Citi-generated content on his Vevo account, where his most popular tunes had to date earned 1 to 2+MM views. The connection to the BBMAs, viewed as the hipper alternative to the Grammy’s, also added to the cache.

o Citi’s Twitter followers rose 4% during the promotion, twice the company average for comparable periods. Legend’s BBMA appearance was the night’s second most popular Tweet subject; 98 percent of the tweets were favorable.

o The sweepstakes generated 10+ million Twitter impressions in 7 days and 20 million social hits during the week prior to the awards. The resulting 4,000+ entries are 5 times the industry average.

o Social traffic earned 44M impressions from May 1–20, more than double achieved during other #CitiThankYouRocks activations.

o Citi website traffic spiked significantly surrounding the awards broadcast as did card applications.

o The Awards and John Legend’s performance posted 100M press impressions for Citi.

o The BBMAs had nearly 10.5 million total viewers, with more than 50% in Citi’s key 18-49-year-old target.

o The promotion continues to draw attention. Nearly 3.1 million people have since viewed the branded content commercial on YouTube thanks to its engaging, one-of-a-kind approach.

o The Citi ThankYou partnership gave Legend the opportunity to share personal reflections on the genesis of “You and I.” The heightened awareness contributed to that song hitting #1 on the charts, a win-win for Citi, Legend and Sony Music.

Global bank Citi was looking for high-impact white space to stand out in the heavily-sponsored awards arena. It brought together nine-time Grammy Award-winner John Legend and the 2014 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) to create an exclusive, branded content concert before the Awards that was then innovatively promoted on the live program and through paid, earned and owned channels.

Content centered on an intimate, private concert promoted to Citi ThankYou cardmembers. It aimed to raise visibility and trigger transactions for the product. The show included Legend singing two of his most popular songs and telling stories about their genesis and reflections on his life.

Highlights were then distributed in advance through social media and PR. In a music industry first, that concert footage was used to create a 60-second spot on the BBMA broadcast that was then introduced onstage by Legend’s celebrity wife Chrissy Teigen before flowing directly into his live performance.