ITALIAN VIDEOGRAPHER CAPTURES SPIRIT OF SOUTH AFRICA IN WILDLY CREATIVE CROWD-SOURCING AD CONTEST

"One and Eleven" Captures Top Prize in CMO Council's Get Wildly Creative About South Africa People-Inspired Nation Brand Advertising Contest

PALO ALTO, Calif. (June 10, 2010) -A filmmaker from Italy has been awarded the Grand Prize in the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s Get Wildly Creative About South Africa people-inspired nation brand advertising contest, which was powered by Zooppa, a global social media network of nearly 60,000 creative enthusiasts. Known by his Zooppa user name, Booris, the aspiring director used his own journey to South Africa to fuel his call to “stop using old maps to discover new lands” in his video “One and Eleven.”
 
The Get Wildly Creative About South Africa online ad contest was run by the GeoBranding Center of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and sponsored by the International Marketing Council of South Africa, custodian of Brand South Africa, in partnership with South African Airways and South African Tourism. The campaign sought to develop fresh ideas and dynamic creative content, presenting South Africa’s brand face to the world following the global media spotlight and influx of visitors to the country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

More than 10,000 Internet users have viewed contest information and over 400 contestants submitted creative work across three categories including video, print advertising, and online banner display. Booris, as grand prize winner, will receive a cash award along with a trip to South Africa. The winner of the print campaign, known by his Zooppa username, PIKNIK, depicted South Africa as a nation who would only accept color difference based on what color soccer jersey a person sported. Both award winning campaigns will be featured on the GeoBranding Center web portal (www.geobrandingcenter.org) and will be showcased in media partner portals globally.

“Capturing the essence of a brand in an intensely captivating and engaging campaign is one of the most challenging tasks facing marketers promoting nation brands,” stated Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “This collective of creativity has produced a level of inspiration and diversity in message, all centered around core values that embody the brand of South Africa. It was truly amazing to see the variety of content, difference in view, yet singularity of idea that brand of South Africa is one of diversity, inspiration, hope and aspiration.”

The entries were judged by a panel of marketing experts, luminaries from South African travel and tourism and notable voices from South African media including Anitha Soni, chair of the International Marketing Council Board of Trustees, Elaine Youngleson, Managing Director of Club Med, Gregg Truman, VP of Marketing for South African Airways, Andre Shearer, CEO of Cape Classics Wine, Noah Greenhill, Chief Marketing Officer of JSE Limited, Jade Maletsky, Group Marketing Head of Strategy for Liberty Group, Leanne Manas, Morning Live Anchor on SABC, Imann Rappetti, Anchor of ETV News and Current Affairs, Jacqualene Humphries, Chief Marketing Officer of Neotel, Heather Third, Director, Special Projects Africa, Microsoft, and CMO Council Africa Chairwoman, Connie DeLange, Group Executive, Marketing of Dimension Data.

A showcase of winners, including the Grand Prize video, can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.geobrandingcenter.org/zooppa-winners.php. 

About the International Marketing Council of South Africa:
The IMC, which produced the creative brief for the Get Wildly Creative competition, is the official custodian of Brand South Africa. It was established by the South African presidency in 2002 to help align government, business and civil society around a shared value proposition, the more effectively to promote the country as a destination for investment and tourism and as a competitive source of products, innovation, partnerships and fresh approaches to the challenges facing the world at the opening of the 21st century. IMC’s responsibilities the national web portal, www.southafrica.info, which is currently receiving nearly 400 000 unique visits a month, along with www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com, a source of high quality, original content about South Africa, including royalty-free images,  and www.brandsouthafricablog.com, which tells South Africa’s story through independent local and international voices. IMC is also driving the Global South Africans’ initiative to tap into the knowledge and networks of South Africa’s talented and accomplished diaspora. Recognizing the pivotal role the social media conversation has to play in shaping South Africa image and reputation, IMC leapt at the opportunity to get involved with the Get Wildly Creative contest when it was offered by the CMO Council’s Donovan Neale-May, himself a Global South African. For more information about IMC and its work, please call its US County Manager, Simon Barber, on 202 642 4994.

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

Media and Industry Analyst Contact:
Matt Farrell
GlobalFluency
(646) 652-5204