Challenge

• One of MTV’s brand offerings in Northern Europe was an international ‘virtual’ mobile phone subscription, but it was lacking in differentiation and becoming uncompetitive.

• AKQA was appointed to conceived, design and develop an app to create value and drive retention for the Millennial target audience.

Solution

• We discovered that target customers were content-hungry control-freaks. They wanted MTV content on their own terms, and were even having discussions on MTV’s own website about where to illegally download it.

• So we gave them total control, through a new platform and app that let them not only watch on-the-go, but also use the app as a remote control, chat and even synchronise viewing with friends.

Learning

• Think big, start small. A North Star for a new product should feel like an inspiring stretch, but the MVP must be achievable and pragmatic.

• We created not just an award-winning app, but a product and a platform, with the potential to grow a community and a standalone business model.

• MTV Under The Thumb was launched at Barcelona Mobile World Congress, targeting tech and TV enthusiasts. Even before the conference had finished, the app was achieving one download every minute. It featured in the Apple App store ‘New and Noteworthy’ section, and received numerous 4 and 5 star reviews from users and bloggers alike.

• Launch film. https://youtu.be/gOyIORvziKg

• Launch article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2012/feb/28/mtv-under-the-thumb-app

Team

• I was product strategy director (actually this was the first project I worked on at AKQA) responsible for user research and insights, feature prioritisation, constant liaison with creative and technology leads, and very active in stakeholder management.

• Brilliant creative lead Matt Longstaff, supported by Hannah Bain and Martina Transtrom. Technology lead Stuart George.