Viacom International Media Networks is making a bigger push into mobile marketing this year, with Twitter playing a key role in how the broadcasting company ties together television and social media.

Via the partnership, Viacom International Media Networks will develop social and mobile campaigns for programs and events with MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central and Paramount Channel. The mobile, social initiatives will kick off in conjunction with the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards show.

?Mobile is fundamental to engaging our audience,? said Philip O?Ferrall, senior vice president of digital at Viacom International Media Networks, London.

?Three quarters of Twitter followers access the platform on a mobile device, so mobile will be a dominant platform for this activation,? he said.

Watch on mobile
Viacom International Media Network?s partnership lets advertisers of the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards show push out real-time tweets in the form of a video clip.

Marketers will essentially be able to target the show?s most popular performances and appearances with branded tweets from MTV?s account, many of which are likely being read on a mobile device when consumers are watching live programming with a smartphone or tablet in hand.

The broadcaster is stepping up its mobile efforts this year after the 2012 MTV EMA show claimed to bring in a record number of tweets for MTV. The show last year generated 5.7 million tweets, up 104 percent from 2011.

The goal of the partnership is to build marketing campaigns around the exact moment that consumers are talking about a show while watching it.

MTV will extend the advertising opportunities for marketers within the United States as well for American consumers watching the show.

MTV initially tested Twitter Amplify during the recent 2013 MTV Video Music Awards with brands including Unilever?s Degree Women and Pepsi as sponsors that developed social video campaigns.

Viacom then extended the program to include Twitter Amplify components to 30 different programs and events though 2013.

The 2013 MTV EMA show airs on Nov. 10 at 9 p.m. central European time and will take place from the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.

Mobile is social
Other broadcasters that have tested Twitter?s Amplify program include Turner Broadcasting, ESPN and A&E.

As broadcasters roll out these TV and social media campaigns, mobile is an inherent part of the marketing mix.

Twitter recently revealed that 75 percent of the company?s users accessed the social media site from a mobile device during a three-month period this summer. With this strong group of mobile users, 65 percent of Twitter?s revenue during the same time period came from mobile devices (see story).

For Viacom, mobile is naturally one of the primary ways that consumers will share moments from the awards show.

?Our viewers are platform agnostic, they watch and access content on many different devices, and mobile is the fastest growing platform right now for all publishers,? Mr. O?Ferrall said.

?Our audience has FOMO (fear of missing out) for major pop culture events,? he said. ?Our audience expects immediate access to these moments, and mobile is ideally suited to providing this.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York