Social Advertising Community Will Promote Country Superstar's New Album
SEATTLE, June 3, 2009 — In a first of its kind, Sony Music Nashville has partnered with social advertising community Zooppa to promote country music superstar Brad Paisley's latest release, American Saturday Night. Zooppa, the web's top destination for user-generated advertising, will host a competition to create ads featuring the title track from the album, American Saturday Night, which will be released on June 30th. The competition runs from June 8th until July 27th, 2009.
This is Zooppa's first competition with a major recording artist. The site's 40,000 members will craft their videos from a special 90-second version of the title track.
After uploading their submissions to Zooppa.com, members will view, comment on, and vote on the entries, helping to choose the winning video. There will also be a competition category for banner ads promoting American Saturday Night.
According to Heather McBee, VP, Digital Business, Sony Music Nashville, "We're very excited about the integration of Zooppa into our marketing plan for Brad Paisley's new album. The Zooppa platform provides a unique way to creatively engage fans and enable them to share their expressions of American Saturday Night. We're looking forward to seeing the Community's contributions."
Winning entries will be chosen by Zooppa community vote. Sony and Zooppa will award special prizes. Winning entries will receive cash prizes of up to $1,000. Other prizes include a plaque commemorating the album's release and ten autographed CDs.
An acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, and entertainer, Paisley is a three-time GRAMMY Award winner and the reigning multi-year Male Vocalist winner for both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. In all, he has amassed 14 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including American Saturday Night's first smash single, "Then." The new album marks his eighth release, with total career sales now in excess of 10 million albums.
This marks the first time a record label has created a user-generated advertising campaign for a high-profile release. However, as Zooppa CEO Wil Merritt noted, the music business has always relied on fan endorsements to spread the word.
"Music is such a social thing," Merritt said. "Sharing the music we love with friends can be a really powerful experience. With our creative community, Zooppa can recreate that experience on a global scale."
About Zooppa
Zooppa is the largest social network for user-generated advertising. With a community more than 40,000 people strong, Zooppa offers brands an innovative model for developing creative work that connects with a new generation of consumers.
About Sony Music Nashville
Sony Music Nashville includes its four country label operations – RCA, Columbia, BNA and Arista Nashville – and Provident Music Group, one of the world's leading Christian music companies. Sony Music Nashville is a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
To learn more about Zooppa, visit http://www.zooppa.com, or contact Wil Merritt, CEO, at Email or (206) 605-7828.
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