USA TODAY and Microsoft Advertising Announce Winners of Inaugural 2011 Young Marketer "Team USA" Competition

MCLEAN, Va. and NEW YORK, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY, the official U.S. representative of the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, and co-sponsor Microsoft Advertising are proud to announce the winners of its inaugural 2011 Young Marketer "Team USA" competition:  Lee Meyers and Kirsten Smith, brand managers within the Beauty Division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.

In collaboration, USA TODAY, Microsoft Corporate Citizenship and the Microsoft Advertising teams came up with a marketing challenge: invite U.S. marketers under 30 years of age to develop a winning marketing plan that focused on 'owned and earned' media for a nonprofit doing important work in the world. The winning team would be selected as the U.S. delegate to compete against global marketers on the main stage at the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes on June 22-24, 2011.

As part of the U.S. qualification process, teams were asked to create a digital marketing plan for Kiva, a non-profit organization and the world's first personal micro-lending website. Entrants were judged on their overall presentation skills and their plan had to include five elements: alignment with stated case objectives, innovative use of digital marketing tools, consumer insight, perceived effectiveness, and accountability to results, with the overall goal of increasing registrations on Kiva.org.

More than 30 teams registered for the contest, including young marketers from notable brands such as Coca-Cola, Del Monte, General Mills, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Unilever, Sony Pictures and others. Bennett Grassano, director of development for Kiva, commented after the final presentation, "Kiva already crowd-sources loans for the world's working poor. This was an amazing opportunity to crowd-source our brainstorming in the constant search for new and innovative ideas."

Some of the winning marketing ideas that Kiva plans to explore further included using social media and brand building programs such as user generated videos of like-minded people with incentives for social referrals via Facebook, and being able to measure lender impact through a 'loyalty program', which could be linked to various badges and achievements. These ideas, among others would help increase awareness and advocacy from their existing base of members to drive membership.

The competition is a part of a broader initiative for Microsoft Advertising to focus on younger marketers. "As future leaders of the creative industry, it's essential to tap into this market and give them a voice," said Marc Bresseel, vice president of global advertising, Microsoft. "We believe the youngest marketing professionals are the experts since they've grown up with and helped create the medium."

USA TODAY in its role as exclusive U.S. representative, facilitated the inaugural Young Marketer competition, working closely with Microsoft and Kiva to develop the brief and enable the online judging to take place. The first round of judging took place online and four finalist teams were selected to present at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash. offices in early April. The panel of judges included executives from Kiva, Microsoft and MEC, a leading global media network.

"Congratulations to our first Young Marketing team. Kirsten and Lee rose to the top of a very tough competition and should be incredibly proud of their work. We wish them all the luck at Cannes," said Dave Hunke, president and publisher of USA TODAY.

The U.S. Johnson & Johnson team will be sent all expenses paid to Cannes, France by Microsoft to compete against 20 global marketing teams at the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes. The other finalists included: Rebecca Rosengard & Joseph Pulido, Toyota; Kathryn Angeloni & Natasha Yemelyanova, BuyerZone; and Elizabeth Green & Kate Barton, General Mills.

About Microsoft Advertising

Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with media, tools and services designed to drive deep and profitable engagement with their audiences. This includes a global media network of Microsoft properties such as Bing, MSN, Windows Live, Xbox LIVE, and partner properties. The Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Suites simplify planning and management of campaigns and content, offering a range of services that help advertisers and publishers untangle the complexities of digital media and get more out of their marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes buying and selling media simple, smart and cost-effective across media and devices spanning 42 markets and 21 languages. Visit http://advertising.microsoft.com for more information.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Kiva.org

Kiva.org is the world's first personal micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. Founded in 2005, Kiva.org's mission is to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty. Over 500,000 people have loaned more than $200 million to 500,000 borrowers in 60 countries. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.

About USA TODAY

USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website  launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.9 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than eight million downloads on mobile devices.  The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE USA TODAY