As much as some people complain about MTV’s lack of music videos and programs like Jersey Shore, the network has done a lot of good outside the TV screen. MTV, a subsidiary of Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB), recently announced it is creating a Facebook-centered campaign on college affordability. The campaign, called My College Dollars, follows in the footsteps of other social activism campaigns the network has spearheaded, like those against online bullying and their recently renamed young voter initiative.
My College Dollars will focus on a Facebook application that will provide basic financial aid information and match students to scholarships based on information they share on Facebook, like race, age, gender or location. It also will provide videos, both from famous musicians and other 18- to 24-year-olds, encouraging struggling students to stay in school.
The program showcases MTV’s remarkable “1-9-90″ approach to social campaigns: 1% of its audience is heavily involved, 9% is engaged and 90% is passive. That 1% was tapped to suggest programs to tackle the issue of college affordability. After experts narrowed the 200 suggestions down to three finalists, MTV “leveraged” its 9% to vote for their favorite. The network hopes the other 90% will use the site as a quick source for the information they need.
More than 30 years after its founding, MTV’s latest campaign proves that, in the words of MTV’s vice president of public affairs Jason Rzepka, the network still uses its “super-powers for good.”
– Benjamin Nanamaker, InvestorPlace Money & Politics Editor
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