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PALO ALTO,
CA
(April 5, 2010)
- Seattle-based filmmaker, Zeek Earl, has been awarded
the Grand Prize in the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Council's Pause to Support A Cause public service
advertising contest, which was powered by Zooppa, a global
social media network of nearly 60,000 creative enthusiasts
developing people-inspired brand marketing and non-profit
campaign concepts.
The young,
up-and-coming director developed a 30-second television spot
focused on a key premise of the
Pause to Support a Cause
campaign, namely that anyone can take a few moments of time
from their day to support a worthy cause. ?Pause Your Life?
was one of over 300 entries to the contest supporting the
milestone CMO Council program (http://www.surveyforgood.org/),
which raises funds for
non-profits based on public participation in online market
research.
For every
survey completed, companies donate dollars in the
participant's name to their charity of choice. Hundreds of
non-profits are participating, including the
American Red Cross, Special Olympics, March of Dimes,
Malaria No More, Feed the Children, Marine Toys for Tots
Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, American Kidney Fund and the
Humane Society of the United States.
The
contest tapped the talents and innovative thinking of
Zooppa's international online community of independent and
'wannabe' creative professionals and students. It gave
entrants the opportunity to showcase their creative skills
in front of a jury of marketing and social media leaders
like Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer of Eastman
Kodak Company; Eric Lent, Vice President Marketing
Excellence of The Hershey Company; and Kristen O'Hara,
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Time Warner
Digital Media Group.
" I
loved [this video]," said judge Chris Stephenson, CMO of the
Interscope/Geffen/A&M Universal Music record label. "It was
smart, engaging and clear. I knew exactly what to do and it
had a direct call to action," Now!??
The grand
prize is a trip for two to
Africa to document the
deeds of the Freeplay Foundation, a favorite charity of
actor Tom Hanks. The contest recognized the best category
submissions across print, Internet banner display and video
commercial spots. This collection of multi-media executions
will now promote the Pause to Support a Cause program via
public service messaging across participating print and
electronic media channels. The CMO Council is currently
partnering with media outlets interested in joining the
coalition of brand leaders who are supporters of the
cause-marketing initiative.
" Pause
to Support a Cause is a program that will rely on word of
mouth and social media and passionate communities that will
band together to find new ways to give and engage," said
Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council.
"This process of creative development through a community of
independent, committed creative talent was the ideal
think-tank for how to communicate this opportunity to
consumers through inventive, creative and stimulating
messages."
Zooppa CEO
Wil Merritt said he was heartened by the volume and quality
of contest entries they received for a public service
campaign. This contest was unusual in that there was no
financial incentive, apart from the trip to Africa and
some computer equipment,? Merritt said. "What we saw was a
creative community rising to the occasion in support of an
important cause."
The CMO
Council estimates that the Pause for a Cause campaign could
divert as much as $2 billion per year from funds that
corporations typically spend on market research into
non-profits. For media outlets, online and offline, who are
interested in getting involved in this program, the CMO
Council has created a portal to access creative assets and
information about the program.
A complete
list of winners, along with previews of their submissions
can be seen at
http://www.surveyforgood.com/
About the CMO Council
The Chief
Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level
knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal
relationship building among senior corporate marketing
leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of
global industries. The CMO Council's 5,000 members control
more than $150 billion in aggregated annual marketing
expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and
sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and
its strategic interest communities include over 12,000
global executives across 100 countries in multiple
industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and
advisory boards are active in the Americas,
Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The
Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to
Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Marketing
Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board,
LoyaltyLeaders.org, Online Marketing Performance Institute,
and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME).
www.cmocouncil.org
About Zooppa.com
Zooppa is
the world's largest source of user-generated advertising.
With a creative community of nearly 60,000 people, Zooppa
offers brands and ad agencies innovative model for producing
cost-effective advertising content, volumes of creative
ideas and authentic consumer perception feedback. For more
information about Zooppa, contact Wil Merritt, CEO, at
wmerritt@zooppa.com or
(206) 623-1587.
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