PERFORM. CREATE. COLLABORATE. LENOVO AND MTV INVITE MILLENNIALS TO MAKE MUSICAL HISTORY IN ASIA
World’s #2 PC maker and MTV launch the Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB, an integrated social platform for Millennials to showcase their musical talent and stories through technology
Singapore, 25 February 2013 – Lenovo, in collaboration with MTV, today announced the launch of the Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB, an integrated social platform that will enable the most progressive, creative and talented Millennials from seven countries – India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – to share stories about their communities through music. Winning participants will connect and collaborate using their different skill sets in order to showcase their talents through an original MTV music video production relating to the theme of the ‘Pulse of the World”.
Leveraging the resources provided by Lenovo and MTV, the concept of the six-month platform is to enable Millennials in the seven countries to connect with like-minded individuals with different artistic skills across DJs, Vocalists/Instrumentalists, Film Makers or Motion Graphic Artists, where the winning talents across these four categories are determined by public votes through the Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB website and regional mentors. The platform that will go across TV and online, will be run simultaneously across the seven countries.
Building on Lenovo’s “For Those Who Do” brand campaign, and MTV’s deep knowledge of music, lifestyle and the Millennial generation, Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB will inspire and encourage audiences to take action, connect, collaborate and create music using technology.
To help support participants, Lenovo and MTV have assembled a panel of local and regional mentors, each of whom are established leading individuals in their respective areas of expertise. Mentors will play an important role throughout the entire campaign, sharing their valuable experience and knowledge in order to guide and inspire country and regional winners. Acclaimed contemporary design and art collective, PHUNK and renowned international DJs, Brendon P (The DJ Dispensary) and Matty Wainwright (The DJ Dispensary) will act as regional mentors throughout the campaign, as the public vote for their favourite talent.
MTV has been instrumental in discovering untapped talent in the past. Just recently, musical sensation Ebony Day became the first unsigned artist to win MTV’s “Brand New” for 2013 where she was awarded a dedicated on-air spotlight, online profile page on MTV and an invitation to perform at an MTV live showcase. Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB will similarly seek to propel musical talents across the participating countries into the spotlight.
“Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB aims to inspire Millennials to take action and turn their dreams to reality,” said Howie Lau, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Lenovo Asia Pacific & Latin America. “Both Lenovo and MTV are innovative companies, with dynamic brand personalities, that are focused on the Millennial generation who don’t just dream about achieving, but go out there and do. We chose to collaborate with MTV because it is the iconic destination for global Millennials and represents the sweet spot for music and entertainment for this unique target audience.”
“We take pride in making the right connections as we engage with the Millennials, the youth today. The collaboration with Lenovo on Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB, reflects a clear brand synergy between us as we continue to promote and reflect local cultural tastes and music talents. MTV’s wealth of research has shown that technology is an enabler for our audience. Technology doesn’t make Millennials who they are, but it lets them be who they are. Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB is a great initiative that shows how we make that happen as we bring together technology and creative, talented young people,” said Tan Sian Ju, Vice President of MTV & Comedy Central Brands, Viacom International Media Networks Asia. “The next six months will be an exciting partnership as we support each participant in their collaboration and showcase of their creative talents. We can’t wait to see what talents will surface through Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB!”
In order to engage and excite audiences across the seven countries, a full-scale promotional campaign will be run by Lenovo and MTV throughout this collaboration. This will culminate in MTV airing the final music video as a showcase of the winners’ talents for a period of eight weeks over the participating countries.
In addition to having access to mentors, attending a five-day workshop and being part of a regional promotional campaign, regional finalists will also have the opportunity to be profiled in local and regional media.
For more information about Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB contest mechanics and official rules please visit: www.project-colab.com/
Contact Information:
Stephanie Shi
Lenovo
Phone: +65 68271169
Email: stephanies@lenovo.com
Adeline Ong
Viacom International Media Networks Asia
Phone: +65 6420 7240
Email: adeline.ong@vimn.com
Loh Bi Feng
Viacom International Media Networks Asia
Phone: +65 6420 7154
Email: loh.bifeng@vimn.com
Suzy Kooy
Text100 Global Communications
Phone: +65 6603 9010
Email: suzy.kooy@text100.com.sg
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), the world’s second-largest PC vendor, is a $US30 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile Internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
About MTV
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. Outside of the United States, MTV is part of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For information about MTV in Southeast Asia, visit www.mtvasia.com.
Note to editors:
Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB contest mechanics:
- The entire Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB campaign will run over the course of six months, with the first round focused on the theme, ‘Pulse of Your City’, challenging participants to tell the story of their city using sight and sound.
- Participants can submit a total of four pieces of work across the four creative-industry verticals: DJ, Vocalist/Instrumentalist, Film Maker and Motion Graphic Artist.
- April 25, 2013: Top 10 in each creative-industry vertical are announced, resulting in the Top 40 for the country.
- April 26 – May 8, 2013: Public can vote for the best submission in each vertical via the Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB website.
- May 13, 2013: Country winners for each creative-industry vertical are announced.
- May 20, 2013: Regional winners for each creative-industry vertical are announced.
- All country winners will receive a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, a laptop that combines the productivity of an Ultrabook with the touch experience of a tablet.
- In Round two, regional winners are given the opportunity to participate in a five-day workshop in Singapore with MTV and regional mentors, to create a music video relating to the theme of the ‘Pulse of the World”.
- Prior to the workshop, regional winners will have a chance to engage with regional mentors who will provide them with guidance on what they can expect during the workshop and how they can improve their skills.
- After the production of the video, the four regional winners will receive a cash prize of USD 10,000.