The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard sets sights on record social engagement for its first Saturday night show

07 February 2023 - Press release

Official Digital Music Partner YouTube Music bring fans closer to the event through Sam Smith, Wet Leg and FLO and YouTube stars Amelia Dimoldenberg and The Unknown Vlogs

Public voting returns for a second year powered by TikTok across four genre categories 

Nella Rose is joined by Michelle Visage for the BRITs Red Carpet Live Stream 

Jack Saunders will be backstage as the winners step off stage

10th consecutive year for the show's international YouTube broadcast

500 BRITs viewing parties in homes across the UK

 

The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard today reveals its social and digital plans for this weekend's main show. With a Saturday night audience to engage, the strategy is built on strategic platform partnerships to engage younger fans alongside big-name social talent and comprehensive live coverage. 

The whole evening will be distributed to fans through multi-platform live streaming. The 2023 Red Carpet Live Stream will see the multi-talented Nella Rose host alongside broadcaster and icon Michelle Visage. Nella, who returns for a second year in the role, has just finished the first season of The Red Carpet Treatment, a podcast launched by The BRITs in the run-up to this year's campaign. Nella and Michelle's show will be a 60 minute broadcast, live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as our nominees get ready for a huge night of celebration.

On Monday, Mastercard hosted The Digital Junction - an evening merging the digital and physical worlds of music to showcase the next generation of talent in celebration of its 25-year headline sponsorship of The BRIT Awards. Breaking boundaries between music and technology, futuristic digital artist VNCCII performed an exclusive metaverse inspired act alongside some of the brightest stars enrolled at the BRIT School.

This year's Official Digital Music Partner, YouTube Music, will once again bring fans closer to the BRITs through multi-platform storytelling. On YouTube Shorts, fans will be taken inside the worlds of Sam Smith, Wet Leg and Rising Star winners FLO in the lead up to the main event, while a who's-who of the UK's top creators will be lifting the lid on their BRITs journeys before, during and after the ceremony via the #BRITsUnseen hashtag. Over on the red carpet and backstage at The O2, YouTube royalty Amelia Dimoldenberg and The Unknown Vlogs will be interviewing artists in their respective signature styles, and sharing their unique firsthand experience of the BRITs. Follow #BRITsUnseen on YouTube Shorts to see it all go down. 

For a 10th consecutive year, the Awards Show will be live streamed across the world on YouTube for those outside the UK via The Official BRIT Awards YouTube Channel. For the first time, there will be two separate streams, at 9pm GMT for the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and 2am GMT for Asia and Oceania, meaning the whole show can be viewed at a convenient time, no matter where you are on the globe.

TikTok have powered fan voting for a second year running, to enable fans to vote for their favourite artist in the four genre awards; Alternative/Rock Act, Dance Act, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act and Pop/R&B Act. 

It's has already been a significant campaign for BRITs digital, with official BRITs YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter accounts being home to the nominations live stream, which saw over 1 million viewers watch Vick Hope announce the 2023 nominations, along with help from Jack Saunders and an influencer fronted campaign featuring Tom Daley, Jack Saunders, Yung Filly, Jill Scott and Joe Baggs, alongside his brother George Baggs. 

Radio 1 presenter Jack Saunders also returns on the night of the Awards, hosting a backstage area bringing fans all the latest gossip and exclusive news from the Winners. 

The BRITs will also be introduced to the youngest audiences through a curated playlist on YouTube Kids, put together by three-time nominee Cat Burns. Vevo will also providing editorial support across their connected TV partners, and performances from the Awards will be viewable across the Outernet complex following the show. 

The night will also see 500 BRITs Parties in homes across the country, thanks to Come Round, the marketing agency dedicated to harnessing the power of real people going about their everyday lives recommending the products and services they genuinely love.

For the first time, fans at home will be able to get involved with the Awards through fan engagement platform Filmily, which will see user-generated content integrated into BRITs social media activity.

Within the Arena, The BRITs social team, the work of SE Creative Studio, are focused on delivering real-time updates for fans across all platforms. With live teams positioned on the Red Carpet, backstage and arena floor, the journeys of nominees, performers and winners will be captured through with clips, gifs, photography and commentary. The night's performances will be delivered for on-demand viewing on YouTube on artist channels. 

The BRIT Awards 2023 digital campaign is led by Anya Du Sauzay, Head of Marketing at Parlophone and BPI Director of Digital Giuseppe De Cristofano who jointly co-chair The BRIT Awards 2023 Digital Committee working with content agency SE Creative Studio led by Exec Producer Darren Struwig.

Anya Du Sauzay, Head of Marketing, Parlophone - Co-Chair of the BRITs Digital Committee -
"It's been a total privilege and pleasure to have been asked to Co-Chair this year's Digital Committee alongside Giuseppe and the BPI. Having been involved with the BRITs from a label and artist perspective for the last 8 years, being given the opportunity to be on the inside of this year's operations has given me newfound respect for what it takes for the whole team to deliver these best in class social and digital campaigns, year on year. I'm humbled to have been part of it."

 

Giuseppe De Cristofano, BPI Director of Digital - Co-Chair of the BRITs Digital Committee -
"This has been a really exciting campaign, from FLO winning Rising Star last December through to our exclusive multi-platform live stream for the Nominations, we continue to build our social presence,  grow our online audience and bring fans closer to their favourite artists.

I want to thank my Digital Committee Co-Chair Anya Du Sauzay for her passion, vision and creativity and to the whole team at Somethin' Else Creative Studio who work tirelessly to deliver the campaign. We are all really excited to deliver a really special BRITs on a Saturday night to an even wider global audience!"

 

Darren Struwig, Executive Producer at SE Creative Studio  -
"SE Creative Studio has been proud to work alongside Giuseppe and Anya on the 2023 BRITs digital campaign, which has felt like our most comprehensive to date. From our first time streaming the nominations on Instagram Live, to our multi-platform influencer led teaser campaign with top tier talent such as Tom Daley and Jill Scott.

We can't wait to take this even further by granting fans around the world even more exclusive access to our first ever Saturday night Award show, with Jack Saunders hanging out backstage with this year's winners, in addition to our usual high energy red carpet live stream hosted by the incredible Nella and Michelle."

 

Michelle Visage -
"A wise woman once said: "Music makes the people come together" and I am THRILLED to come together with the fabulous Nella Rose to host the Red Carpet at the world famous BRIT AWARDS! P.S. If Beyonce doesn't make it, I'll do pretty much anything for a Crunchie bar. Call me, BRIT Awards 😉

Jack Saunders - "This is gonna be the best night ever. Interviewing all the BRITs winners is gonna be a huge career highlight and I can't wait to do shots from Lewis Capaldi's belly button at the after party."

 

Agnes Woolrich, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, UK&I, Mastercard  -  
"As headline sponsor of The BRIT Awards, we are always looking to find new and exciting ways for fans to explore and experience their passion for music. We're excited to showcase how the latest innovative technologies offer a whole new realm and opportunity for artists and fans alike, setting the scene for the next generation of talent."

 

Dan Chalmers, Head of Music EMEA YouTube - 
"We're thrilled to be returning for a second year as Official Digital Music Partners and creating a vivid universe online for fans to engage with the BRITs. From all the behind the scenes action on Shorts via #BRITsUnseen, to capturing the not-to-be-missed red carpet moments and streaming the show live to a huge global audience, YouTube provides audiences with what they want - quality content they can access multiple formats."

Andy Doyle, founder of Filmily Ltd, said "We are thrilled to be working with the BRIT Awards to create a truly interactive experience for music fans. Our platform has been designed to help the BRITs connect with their fans in new and exciting ways, and we are thrilled to be applying our technology to one of the most iconic music awards shows in the world."

2023 will mark 30 years of ITV as broadcast partner, with headline sponsor Mastercard reaching 25 years and 13 years at The O2 arena. All three long-standing partners support The BRITs' ambition to host an unforgettable and far-reaching evening of live music and entertainment that, additionally, helps raise money for The BRIT Trust, the charitable arm of the awards, who distribute funds to charities that promote education and well-being through music, including The BRIT School and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.

Mastercard returnsas headline partner of The BRIT Awards for the 25th year, bringing cardholders closer to their passion for music through a range of BRITs experiences. This year, Mastercard will continue to partner with The BRIT School to celebrate and give a platform to the next generation of creative talent and will again sponsor the much sought after Mastercard Album of the Year award, as well as Song of the Year with Mastercard.