We Heard You America!

NEW YORK, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Reader's Digest, the largest global editorial brand, long trusted with capturing the best of America, today concluded its first, wildly-popular Reader's Digest We Hear You America contest with the announcement of the final 10 winning towns, led by Rancho Cordova, California.  The campaign, which generated more than 31.5 million "cheers" for more than half of all U.S. cities and towns, featured a 100-day, 100-city RV tour and $7.5 million in financial and promotional support for municipalities nationwide.  

"With more than 30 million votes and participation from more than half the communities in the country, Reader's Digest We Hear You America proved to be even more powerful than we imagined," said Dan Lagani, Executive Vice President, Reader's Digest Association, and President, Reader's Digest Community. "To help even more communities, we're committed to bringing back We Hear You America to ReadersDigest.com starting this fall."  

Launched in November 2010, the Reader's Digest We Hear You America campaign is a national grassroots effort created in response to stories of towns facing economic hardship during the recession.  Through this week's voting deadline, each visitor to ReadersDigest.com (RD.com) was encouraged to "cheer" for a municipality to win financial support.  After 10 winners were announced in February, Reader's Digest raised its promotional and financial support to $7.5 million and opened the contest for 10 more winning communities.

Supermodel Niki Taylor, who hosted the campaign's 100-community nationwide RV tour, today announced these new winners during live media interviews:  

1. Rancho Cordova, California – Grand Prize of $40,000
2. Galesburg, Illinois – Second Place Municipal Prize of $25,000
3. Armada, Michigan – Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
4. Boley, Oklahoma – Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
5. Crescent City, California – Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
6. Ely, Minnesota – Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
7. San Jose, California – Category-based (population of 500,000 or more) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
8. Oakland, California – Category-based (population of 250,000-499,999) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
9. Aurora, Illinois – Category-based (population of 100,000-249,999) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
10. Edinburg, Virginia – Category-based (population of 99,999 maximum) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000

In addition to the winning checks, the winners will receive promotional support through coverage in many Reader's Digest Community media outlets including flagship publication Reader's Digest. Reader's Digest is the best-selling paid magazine on Amazon's Kindle, the world's most popular e-reader.

The Reader's Digest Community includes magazines, books, music, video and an array of web and mobile products and continues to expand digitally with more than 12 new applications to be released throughout 2011.  

SOURCE Reader's Digest