SA Rocks

It seems as though even countries are rallying around the concept of crowdsourcing and using the Internet to promote brands virally. It is now the turn of the International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) and they’ve jumped in with both feet.

The “Get wildly creative about South Africa” campaign will be asking everyone who has an interest in SA to band together and prove it!

Here’s the a bit more info:

South Africa’s International Marketing Council, custodian of Brand South Africa, is sponsoring a first of its kind online ad competition to “crowdsource” creativity and insight from around the world to showcase South Africa as a vibrant and competitive nation brand.

Launched in conjunction with the Chief Marketing Officers Council, a global organization of senior marketing executives, the Get Wildly Creative About South Africa ad contest is being hosted on Zooppa.com, a revolutionary social media site which brands like Microsoft are using to generate people-inspired viral advertising.

The IMC, the CMO Council and its new GeoBranding Centre will use viral communications, online conversations, blog postings and cyber chatter to talk up interest and participation in this innovative country branding initiative targeted at the world’s 1.7 billion Internet users.

Current and aspiring creative professionals, digital media buffs, South Africans at home and abroad, and anyone whose heart and soul are stirred by South Africa and its continent are invited to come up with inventive ways to produce a fresh and evocative message about a country on which the world’s attention will be riveted when the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 100 days.

Entry information and a creative brief designed by the IMC, giving background on the contest assignment and links to South African resources, are available on Zooppa.com when the campaign launches in the coming week.

So get your thinking caps on.

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I have been involved with the It Starts With You organisation (see the video to your left) and the IMC on and off over the past few years.

I am absolutely blown away by the campaign that the Jupiter Drawing Room has put together for them. Have a look:

What are your thoughts? I am quite intrigued by the pay it forward sort of approach that they have taken. I like it. You give, others will see you give, intervene, be nice, kind and do the same and the process is doubled in effort and so on and so on. Let’s hope it’s a real possibility.

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Yes, it has happened. I am finally making me TV debut! WooHoo!! It was a long battle let me tell you, I have emailed, called and contacted so many people that I’ve lost count. But it eventually happened!

The IMC has offered to put me in their series called “Movement for good”.

I can’t really say much more but to tell you that if you are awake tomorrow morning (August 7th) at 6:45am, watch e-TV and you’ll see me talking about this very website, SA Rocks!

I will post the video later in the day as I am assured that it will be available online by some very resourceful people (more on that tomorrow).

Popularity: 4% [?]