The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council will launch a contest on March 15 inviting advertising professionals and digital media buffs to create a campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup host country, South Africa.
The contest, developed in partnership with the International Marketing Council of South Africa, is called “Get Wildly Creative about South Africa.” The World Cup begins June 11 and runs for one month.
The CMO Council is promoting the contest with e-mail marketing to its “tens of thousands” of members, according to Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the group. It is also using social networking Web sites to reach design and advertising schools around the world.
The contest’s target audience is creative pros, students and digital media aficionados, he added.
The contest will run for eight weeks, followed by two weeks of judging by a global panel of marketers and South Africa residents.
“The winners will receive a cash prize, a trip to South Africa and rich media solutions to help further the winner’s digital repertoire,” Neale-May said. Categories include best print campaign, best online banner campaign and best video segment or commercial. The winner’s ads will run across CMO Council partner sites in South Africa.
South Africa, which is hosting the World Cup for the first time, “is seeking to establish itself as a competitive and relevant nation brand,” said Paul Bannister, CEO of the International Marketing Council of South Africa, in a statement.
Throughout the contest, the CMO Council’s GeoBranding Center will analyze the tonality, sentiment and prevalence of conversations, commentary and news about South Africa.
