The Most Innovative Book Launch Promotion?

SEATTLE, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Richard Hine has teamed up with Zooppa, the world's largest source for user-generated advertising, for the first-ever book launch to use crowdsourcing for multimedia promotional content. Hine challenged Zooppa's global community of creative talent to produce ads promoting his debut novel Russell Wiley is Out to Lunch - an edgy corporate satire that reflects on the challenges of print media in the digital age. With $15,000 in cash awards, participants were asked to submit creative content to spark interest in Hine's novel and encourage readers to buy a copy. The Zooppa community responded with a wealth of creative content including videos, print ads and web banner ads.

A jury of luminaries from the media and advertising industries were assembled to select the best submissions. In addition to Hine, himself a former VP of Marketing at The Wall Street Journal, the group included the Chairman of Global Strategy at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide and a former Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett International, among others. Members of Zooppa's creative community also voted on submissions to award their top seven favorites. Visit http://zooppa.com/contests/amazon-encore-video-contest for the full list of jury members.

The first-place jury-selected video was awarded to a submission from a Zooppa member from Nashville. The video features a dynamic "Brady Bunch" montage of characters from the novel while an actor who plays Wiley raps about his troubled life. The submission "brings the story to life," says Hine. "The interplay between characters is also excellent." Jury member Jeff Hayzlett, former CMO of Kodak, enjoyed the "out of the box idea" and thought the "visuals mesh well with the storyline." The winner will receive the $6,000 first-place prize and his work will be featured in Amazon's new AmazonEncore imprint website.

Visit these URLs to view the top four jury-selected video submissions and the Zooppa staff award:

1. http://zooppa.com/ads/amazon-encore-video-contest/videos/my-name-is-russell-wiley

2. http://zooppa.com/ads/amazon-encore-video-contest/videos/russell-wiley-is-out-to-lunch-13

3. http://zooppa.com/ads/amazon-encore-video-contest/videos/russell-wiley-is-out-to-lunch-corrected

4. http://zooppa.com/ads/amazon-encore-video-contest/videos/russell-wiley-is-in-deep-deep-trouble

Staff: http://zooppa.com/ads/amazon-encore-video-contest/videos/pieces-v91

Zooppa's work with Richard Hine marks the first time a high-profile book launch has turned to user-generated content for promotional material. Book trailers provide opportunities for authors and publishers to raise awareness about upcoming releases and crowdsourcing this content adds additional impact and engagement. Zooppa CEO Wil Merritt says, "We are thrilled with the collaboration between our creative community and the author Richard Hine. It's cool to see the characters in this wonderful book come to life in so many variations of user-generated videos and display ads."

Find Richard Hine's novel for sale on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Russell-Wiley-Lunch-Richard-Hine/dp/1935597140

ABOUT ZOOPPA: Zooppa is the world's largest source of user-generated advertising. With a community of more than 80,000 people, Zooppa offers brands an innovative model for developing creative advertising, building word-of-mouth and gaining consumer insights.

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Zooppa