The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber took full advantage of every aspect of mobile advertising and marketing leading up to and during the event. 

Consumers are pulling the entertainment industry away from live-viewing and more towards an on-demand environment, forcing media brands to promote television events not just for one night but in a timeless manner. That is exactly what Comedy Central did with the roast of Justin Bieber, leveraging his popularity through social media and mobile applications.

?While it certainly isn't difficult to get attention for anything Bieber, mobile and social efforts get people talking, teases the event by way of video clips, and enables the show's producers to extend the buzz well beyond a one-night airing," said Jeff Hasen, founder/CEO of Gotta Mobilize, Seattle. "Behind-the-scenes and first-look content lends itself to mobile."

The network has provided an array of behind-the-scenes photos and content through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, a Tumblr poster-design contest and a partnership with new mobile application Whipclip.

Riding Bieber coat-tails
Justin Bieber is a widely popular music artist, especially in the millennial demographic. Whatever this demo is talking about on a large scale is shown through trending social media conversations, making the discussion even louder. 

This means that Comedy Central had a real opportunity here to fully market the roast via mobile for viewing beyond the original airing. 

The musician?s image has been tainted in recent years due to scandals in the tabloids, so promotion of this roast also benefits Mr. Bieber with hopes to rehab his public persona. 

Before the broadcast of the full show a pre-show director?s cut was available to view in the Comedy Central app. Advertisements for the show were featured on mobile games and apps leading up to also continued after the airing. 

Celebrities who were apart of the roast provided selfies with digital autographs on Twitter. Comedy Central shared these posts on its own Twitter feed as well as collaborative Vine videos featuring multiple celebrities at the event. 

A booth located at the red carpet of the event allowed celebrities and guests to take GIFs that were spread throughout social media with the hashtag #BieberRoast. 

Continuous promotion
The uncensored version of the Roast of Justin Bieber was available for streaming on the Comedy Central app immediately after it concluded.

For the Whipclip app fans are able to view whole episodes of TV shows and edit certain clips to share on social media. The app promoted the roast before and after airing, attempting to jump in on the social media buzz around the event. 

Other entertainment brands are leveraging mobile marketing in ways similar to Comedy Central?s approach. 

The Insidious horror film franchise used an interactive chat to let fans engage with teenage heroine Quinn Brenner on the Kik application in an effort to drive excitement around the recently released trailer for the third installment (see more). 

ALSO, Universal Pictures partnered with the Mobile Motion GmbH application Dubsmash for promotion of its latest installment of the action film series Fast and Furious (see more).

Release of such material can be staged to maintain and build momentum, Mr. Hasen said. 

?The sharing element is key, so Bieber fans can spread the word and drive the audience size,? he said.