Elite Media Invites Game-Changers to Crash Panel Season and Receive a $50,000 Prize Towards Bringing Their Vision to Life

"Keep it 100" Pitch Competition Launches at the One Club's Where Are All the Black People Conference

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elite Media is looking to flip the ad game on its head. The independent, Black-owned, female-led creative agency recently named one of the 2025 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies, is issuing a challenge to find worthy competitors, partners, and allies to create real-time impact and influence via its newly launched initiative A Crash Course in OutGooding — a series of bold actions designed to call out, shake up, and level up the industry.

The mission? To outgood the industry with moves that create impact, not just impressions.

The first crash out happens Friday, October 17th at The One Club's Where Are All the Black People conference. Elite Media Founder and CEO Chris Crawford will set the tone with a dynamic keynote before kicking off the "Keep it 100 Pitch Competition"—a $50,000 grant into one entrepreneur, one idea, one shot to change the game.

"The time for disruption is now –our communities deserve action," said Chris Crawford. "We are putting our money where our mouth is, already investing upwards of $2 million of our own agency dollars back into the Harlem community that nurtures us. We see the opportunity to broaden that impact within the ad industry, intentionally in non-traditional spaces. We are now challenging the industry and convening spaces to move past the vanity metrics and create real-time domino effects of change that will transform communities."

The "Keep it 100 Pitch Competition" invites entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators who are ready to flip the script, shake the table, and bring their vision to life to pitch their idea. $50K will be awarded for

• An original idea or product that pushes culture forward; or
• The next big media platform; or
• A creative agency that's primed to launch; or
• A concept ready for the spotlight

An "elite" panel of judges will review the ideas and a winner will be announced at the Where Are All the Black People conference.

The move is deliberate. Where Are All the Black People isn't another overpriced industry meet-up that commodifies culture. It's a space that tears down barriers and makes room for possibility.

"At a time when so many doors are closing, this is our way of saying yes," added Adrienne Lucas, head of DEI & Strategic Partnerships at The One Club. "Partnering with Elite Media allows us to put real resources behind creative entrepreneurs, and offer an opportunity that could truly change the course of someone's life. That's the power of investing in our community. I'm proud of this 'OutGooding' initiative, and excited to see the ideas it brings to life."

The Keep It 100 Pitch Competition isn't just about handing someone a check—it's about rewriting the rules of what it looks like when agencies invest in people, not just profits. Sometimes help is mentorship. Sometimes it's opportunity. And sometimes, it's cold, hard cash – $50K worth!

Event Details:

• What: Elite Media Keep It 100 Pitch Competition
• Where: Where Are All the Black People Conference | 117 West 46th Street, NY, NY
• When: Friday, October 17th | 9:45am – (Immediately following Chris Crawford's keynote address)
• Prize: $50,000K

The Keep it 100 Pitch Competition is an activation series where Elite Media will use $100K of their own budget each quarter as a radical commitment to the community, to help push the next idea that will empower the culture.

Find the Keep it 100 Pitch Competition submission details at keepit100challenge.com.

ABOUT ELITE MEDIA

Elite Media is an independent, Black-owned, female-led advertising agency with expertise in understanding and leveraging the influence of celebrity and cultural movements to create win-win partnerships between brands, talent, and content creators. The agency's highly skilled team of dreamers, makers, and doers is coming off its best year ever, with work on behalf of its clients winning numerous awards (Effies, Tellys, American Advertising Awards, ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards, and Anthem Awards). The agency's client and partner roster includes American Family Insurance, NASA, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

ABOUT THE ONE CLUB

The One Club for Creativity is the world's foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organization's four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.

SOURCE Elite Media