SMT Partners with IMG Productions to Deliver Social Media for Food Network’s Thanksgiving Live!

SMT partnered with IMG Productions, the production division of IMG Worldwide, to provide social media data integration for the Food Network’s third annual Thanksgiving Live! annual call-in special last Saturday.

The popular holiday cooking show provides expert food advice to the home audience from four celebrity chefs who will cook seasonal dishes while answering questions and comments from a variety of social media platforms. SMT is teaming with the show’s producer, IMG Productions, so that the chefs can share turkey tips, dessert recipes and Thanksgiving stories with viewers as they prepare to host holiday feasts.

“SMT is a trusted partner of IMG Productions,” said Steve Mayer, Executive Producer of Thanksgiving Live. “Their innovative team has been a huge asset in putting together what promises to be an amazing live production that will allow viewers to interact with their favorite stars in a totally unprecedented way.”

SMT provided its signature GOTO interactive touchscreen that combines real-time live data, graphics and video integration. A wide variety of selected content submitted by viewers will be displayed on-air, including messaging from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and even video chats via Skype and Vine. The GOTO board will display questions for the chefs and hosts to review and answer, as well as permit people at home to participate in discussions about food preparation and related holiday topics.

SMT gathered the data for the GOTO through its Data Matrix Switchboard (DMX) and social media publisher. The DMX serves as the core data integration layer, as it aggregates and parses multiple social media data streams. With the social media publisher, IMG Productions and Food Network producers can easily streamline searches of the content gathered by the DMX in order to prioritize questions and conversations.

“This is the most elaborate use of social media ever included in Food Network’s programming, so we are excited to help generate social media buzz with this show,” said Dino Hall, SMT business development manager. “We have taken Food Network’s art and designed it to serve as part of the graphics we are providing to them, which we think will encourage greater viewer participation.”

Thanksgiving Live featured Food Network star chefs Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis, joined by first-time Thanksgiving Live guest Ina Garten, cooking at Food Network’s headquarters in New York City.