Palo Alto, CA (November 9, 2009) – The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council today announced a creative advertising contest that invites consumers to produce attention-getting public service announcements for its Pause to Support a Cause corporate social responsibility initiative. This milestone program donates money to charities of choice based on individual participation in online market research funded by global companies.

The contest will be run on the Zooppa creative platform and will draw on the talents of its global online community of 42,000 aspiring creative professionals, students and wannabe advertisers, graphic designers and digital media developers. The eight-week program gives contestants the opportunity to produce and submit print ads, online banners and videos in support of the newly launched CMO Council campaign (www.surveyforgood.org ).

Winning entrants will have their work showcased globally to the CMO Council’s 5,000 members who control more than $125 billion in annual marketing spend and to a network of non-profits seeking new ideas and assistance with other communications needs. In addition, major media partners in the print, online and broadcast sectors will feature winning creative and category leaders will win trips to New York City for an introduction to the ad industry and have the chance to take a field trip to Africa to take part in the Freeplay Foundation’s distribution of wind-up radios and flashlights to remote villagers.

Pause to Support a Cause is a major new global business and public sector coalition that aims to “survey the socially beneficial way” by making donations to causes on behalf of those individuals participating in funded market research programs around the world.

Every contestant is given the chance of a lifetime to have their creative work judged by global marketing and non-profit leaders. More than 200 advisory board members of the CMO Council and Pause to Support a Cause campaign will judge the best submissions online and select winners in cooperation with partner organizations and media representatives. All finalists (12) will be featured on the CMO Council and Pause to Support a Cause websites and promoted through advertising, marketing, media, non-profit, association and education channels worldwide.

Each contestant also has the unique opportunity to be selected as a creative resource for global non-profits.  Every entrant qualifies for the selection and inclusion of their work in a new online Non-Profit Creative Sourcing Center (on the Pause to Support a Cause web site) that will connect creative talent with causes seeking to better present and take their public service messages to donor audiences worldwide. Participants can gain further recognition for their work and have their portfolio accessible for review by potential non-profit clients. The CMO Council and Creativebrief, one of the largest agency sourcing hubs on the Internet, will also feature and promote the Creative Sourcing Center on their respective sites.

Contest winners will be invited to take a life-changing trip to Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia or South Africa) to help distribute wind-up, self-powered radios and flashlights in remote villages and scenic areas of the world’s most intriguing continent. This is a unique opportunity to do good work in the field, get an introduction to African tribal customs, view spectacular wildlife, and experience a novel social and educational advancement program supported by Tom Hanks and other stars and celebrities.

Awards will also be presented to the top offerings within each category including Best Print Campaign, Best Online Banner Campaign, Best Video PSA. Each Best in Class winner will receive a creative suite technology prize that will include software and hardware from today’s top providers and channels.

"The CMO Council is dedicated to helping marketing professionals engage, understand and improve best practices in all marketing sectors," said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council.  "Not only does this campaign help to challenge the traditional model for generating creative advertising, it also provides creative professionals and students with a tremendously unique opportunity to take an entrepreneurial approach to developing and showcasing their creative work."

The Zooppa creative community platform will allow users to easily upload their creative work to a hosted platform where CMO Council and Pause to Support a Cause board members will have the opportunity to review and judge each submission.  Pause to Support a Cause will develop a creative brief describing their brand's attributes, the target audience, and the objectives of the campaign, and users can design ads to support that brief.

For creative guidelines and to submit an entry to the Pause to Support a Cause PSA Contest, users can visit http://zooppa.com/contests/pause-to-support-a-cause .

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 $125 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and it's strategic interest communities include over 12,000 global executives across 90 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), Brand Management Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). www.cmocouncil.org

About Zooppa
Zooppa is the world’s largest social network focused on user-generated advertising. With a community more than 40,000 people strong, Zooppa offers brands an innovative advertising model for developing creative work that connects with a new generation of consumers actively engaged in the social web. For more information about Zooppa, visit http://www.zooppa.com.
To learn more about Zooppa’s user-generated advertising revolution, contact Wil Merritt, CEO, at wmerritt@zooppa.com or (206) 605-7828.