Yahoo and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, are partnering for a new, mini-reality series on long distance dating, in which viewers can vote on their favorite couple and send them on a two-week trip to Europe.
The show, IMU: I Miss You follows three college couples as they work to make their long distance relationships last. Through September, mtvU will document each couple as they stay in touch and communicate using only Yahoo communication devices, including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mobile, Yahoo Messenger with Voice and the new Yahoo 360 community service with blogging and photo sharing tools.
Viewers can vote for Jonathan and Christine, who are attending Baylor University in Waco, TX, and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, respectively; Jackson and Marianna, who are enrolled in Tiffin University in Tiffin, OH, and Kent, OH, respectively; and Bernard, who attends Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA, and his girlfriend, Stephanie, who goes to the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO.
Consumers can vote online at Promotions.yahoo.com.imu or mtvU.com
Voting is based on how well each couple communicates with each other using Yahoo communication devices.
“Most of us had situations where we had to deal with long distance relationships,” said Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU. “We want to bring in a partner like Yahoo and its communication devices in a program that lets us see college students and how their long distance relationships works when they have…nothing but Yahoo. It makes great programming.”
“It’s great watching it play out,” he added of the show. “It’s a horse race between different couples. You can really get inside the relationships.”
Each time fans vote for their favorite couple, they will be automatically entered in a separate contest, IMU reunited Getaway Contest, to win a two-week trip to Europe with a friend.
“Yahoo is excited to work with mtvU to create IMU and show how college students today use the Internet and mobile communications as tools in their long distance relationships,” said Sandra Micek, director of marketing, Yahoo Mobile, in a statement.
The last two IMU shows air on Sept. 26 and Oct. 4 at noon ET.
Yahoo is promoting the campaign across is multiple platforms online, while mtvU is running TV spots and online ads to reach the college audience.
In a recent survey by Yahoo and mtvU on the long distance dating and communication habits of some of its audience, online and mobile communication tools are quickly becoming the top means of contact. Only 12% of respondents mail letters compared to more than half of their parents’ generation while in college.
Only 6% of both groups cited “lack of communication” as the top reason their long-distance relationship didn’t survive, the survey found. When it comes to breaking off long-distance romances, one in 10 college students ended their relationship using instant messenger or e-mail, according to the survey.
The survey was based on 200 respondents ages 18 to 24 and 45 to 54.
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