NCA launches YouTube video contest
While film-goers would be hard pressed to find a major motion picture focussing
solely on dramatic drycleaning situations at their local theater chain, it is
likely that Web visitors will be able to see shorter films on the subject at
YouTube soon.
The National Cleaners Association is sponsoring its first-ever Dry Cleaning Dramas Video Contest to give aspiring
filmmakers a shot to showcase their talents and possibly earn a $2,500 grand
prize for their efforts.
“The cleaning industry has struggled for many years to harness the resources
necessary to have the media deliver our side of the story to millions of
consumers,” said NCA Executive Director Nora Nealis. “Now, thanks to the inspiring words of David Merrman Scott, who presented his ‘New Rules of Marketing and PR’ at the recent NCA Brainstorming Conference, we have decided to capture the
online opportunities available.”
Contest applicants will be asked to submit 30- to 120-second videos that
emphasize a drycleaning story with either a comical, serious or satirical tone.
The submissions should also portray one of NCA’s key message points, such as the value of professional cleaning; an explanation
of the gender pricing question; a showcase of good environmental practices; or
simply an illustration of just how much time and skill goes into stain removal,
cleaning and finishing.
The potential for drama and comedy is endless. NCA has recommended some examples
of classic drycleaning stories, such as when a cleaner is asked to pay out a
claim for a customer who is obviously not being honest about their damaged or
lost item.
Or, hitting closer to home is the scenario of a man who brings in a shirt with
lipstick on the collar. How did it get there? More importantly, what would be
the difference if the man tried to use a home stain removal kit as opposed to
the professional cleaner?
To make such films possible, NCA has asked drycleaners to make their facilities
available for filmmakers in the contest.
The association will be accepting submissions through the end of July. Entrants
will be allowed to submit one entry per week until the deadline.
In addition to the time limit, NCA will also ask applicants to keep video files
less than 40 MB in size and submit them in either a Microsoft, AVI or QuickTime
format.
Once all the videos are turned in, a committee at NCA will review them by Aug.
4, 2008. The judges will pick the top 25 based on the following criteria: file
size, segment time, theme, message and creativity.
Then, the video that receives the most views on the site between noon on Aug. 14
and 10 a.m. on Sept. 20 will be declared the winner of the contest. That winner
will be announced on Sept. 5 and he or she will earn a $2,500 grand prize
check.
All submitted videos will be the property of NCA.
“If contestants are wondering exactly how many ‘hits’ a video like this might generate on YouTube, I suggest participants go to
www.YouTube.com and enter ‘Will it Blend?’” added Nealis. “You’ll see that several of these Blendtec video clips generated more than three
million hits each! This is a great chance to have some fun, educate consumers
and maybe even win some money.”
