Giuseppe De Cristofano, the BPI's Digital and Technology Manager for the past three years, has been promoted to the newly-created position of Head of Digital for BPI and BRIT Awards Limited.
 
This expanded role, which comes into immediate effect, will see Giuseppe take on primary responsibility for digital strategy around the BRIT Awards alongside his current remit for the BPI.  This appointment recognises Giuseppe’s close and broad-ranging work with the event’s many partners and contractors in recent years, including record labels, ITV, MasterCard, Twitter and YouTube that has helped to make a significant contribution to growing the BRIT Awards brand online and globally.   
 
2014 has been a breakthrough year for the BRIT Awards on the digital front.  The awards were streamed live to a world-wide audience on YouTube for the very first time – receiving 1.8m activations outside of the UK during the broadcast itself and 7.5m views of the YouTube content in the week following the show – more than twice the figure last year.  This year’s event also generated 4.15m tweets during the show – more than twice the highest ever recorded tweet volume for a non-sport related UK TV show – and up 180 per cent on the previous year.
 
Giuseppe will also look to draw on this experience and knowledge to further develop other BPI digital initiatives, including the recently launched YouTube channel for music fans – Transmitter, while the increased commercial opportunities for both the BPI and the BRIT Awards resulting from the huge growth in digital will be another key focus.
 
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI and BRIT Awards Limited, comments:
 
“Over the last two years we have greatly expanded the digital initiatives undertaken by the BRIT Awards and BPI. Giuseppe's new role will see him take primary responsibility in this area, helping to ensure that we connect with music fans in the UK and around the world in innovative and exciting ways that are relevant to how they want to discover and enjoy the music they love.”