With less than a week until the stars descend on Toronto for the MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVAs), MuchMusic has kicked off the latest phase of promotions for the show.

Executed by the Bell in-house marketing team, the awards show has been promoted by an internal campaign, with ads that feature co-host Psy airing across Bell’s TV, digital and radio assets, targeted at its audience of youth and adults aged 12 to 49.

The latest leg of the campaign, which features additional creative from Grip Limited, launched over the weekend and relies on in-stream video ads and rich media masthead takeovers on YouTube. The Bell team has also designed a “Save your Screams” masthead that will run the day of the MMVAs. It will feature Damian Abraham, host of MuchMusic’s The Wedge, who will be screaming out fans’ tweets.

The YouTube buy is supported by two pieces of sponsored content on BuzzFeed, as well as a heavy social media presence.

Mike McShane, director of marketing, MuchMusic, Bell Media, tells MiC that MuchMusic has increasingly been migrating its advertising for the MMVAs to digital because the platform offers the ability to better target specific audiences.

He adds that the first-time YouTube buys were seen as a way to leverage Psy’s appearance at the MMVAs, while tapping into the viral popularity the South Korean pop star has enjoyed over the past year thanks to his hit, “Gangnam Style.”

The MMVAs take place June 16.

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