Climate Matters Video Contest

Hey everyone,

Brighter Planet and 1Sky emailed us about this cool video contest they're doing where the top 10 entries will be shown to Congress and the next President of the United States. Check out the details below and head on over to the News page for more info in their press release.....


Climate Matters: Inspire Your Next President
Brighter Planet and 1Sky are inviting Americans everywhere to participate in a contest to inspire our
next president and political leadership on climate change. Between July 31std and September 22nd, Climate Matters contestants will upload a 30 or 60 second video representing their best attempt at delivering a compelling message to the next president and their political leaders to encourage bold action on climate change. A select panel of prominent judges will choose the winner amongst those ten videos which have accrued the most views in a single day.

The contest will take place during both the summer Congressional recess and during the height of the
presidential campaign season. To elevate the issue of climate change in the Congressional and the
presidential campaigns, 1Sky will organize a strategic D.C.-based event for media and policymakers in
early October to highlight the top 10 videos.  We are also investigating multiple additional pathways for
raising the profile and impact of the video submissions and winners.
 
Guidelines:
• Videos must relate to the topic of climate change
• Videos must be 30 or 60 seconds in length 
• Videos hosted by Vimeo on Brighter Planet/1Sky branded channel on Vimeo.com
• Contest runs 7/31-9/22
• Viewers with Vimeo accounts can express preference with Vimeo’s “like” function 
• Ten videos with the most views per day are brought to judges who choose top three videos for
prizes; Contestants are encouraged to promote their video to increase views
• Judges will select winning videos based primarily on the following criteria: (1) creativity, (2)
coherence of message, (3) potential impact of message on political leaders and, (4) inspiring
message
 
Climate Matters’ Judges:
• Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director and Film Producer, 1Sky 
• Leila Conners, President and Co-Founder of Tree Media, Producer/Director 11th Hour
• Nadia Conners, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Tree Media, Producer/Director 11th Hour
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actress, Rachel Dawes in Batman the Dark Knight
• Anya Kamenetz, author Generation Debt and Staff Writer Fast Company
• Rory Kennedy, Director and Producer, Moxie Firecracker Films
• David Jenkins, Government Affairs Director Republicans for Environmental Protection
• Tia Lessin, Director and Producer, Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine
• Patti Prairie, President and CEO, Brighter Planet
• Bill Stetson, film producer and environmental consultant

Prizes:
• Winner: $3,000 on a preloaded Brighter Planet Visa Gift Card
• Second Place: $1,000 preloaded Brighter Planet Visa Gift Card
• Third Place: $500 preloaded Brighter Planet Visa Gift Card
• Top ten videos will be featured in strategic public event in Washington, DC for Members of
Congress, the media, and both presidential campaigns
• Contestants and viewers can enter a raffle to win the Cannon VIXIA HV30 HDV Camcorder
• Top videos will be broadcast to millions of homes via Link TV, online via www.think.mtv.com,
www.joost.com, www.quarterlife.com; Other broadcast and online partners are in formation
• Additional prizes (e.g. broadcast opportunities) TBD
 
Platform: 
A branded channel on Vimeo to aggregate videos. Current Vimeo statistics include:
√ 4,000 video uploads and 25,000 active users per day
√ 400,000 registered users
√ 3.5 million unique visitors per month and growing
 
Promotion:
• Broadcast partners: Link TV, FSTV, online via think.mtv.com, www.joost.com,
www.quarterlife.com; Other broadcast and online partners are in formation
• Online partners: Vimeo: Vimeo has agreed to promote us on their landing page, through ad
banners and on their blog. 
• Brighter Planet’s and 1Sky’s partnership networks
• New Partners: non-for-profits focused on climate change, political and climate blogs, new media
and organizations, broadcast partners, etc.
• Media: Brighter Planet has a relationship with over 600 bloggers through its 350 Challenge;
Traditional media outreach planned via PR firm
• Brighter Planet and 1Sky’s online social networks/channels: post video, communicate with
friends, fan page, email lists etc.
• Direct outreach to videographers 
 
Timeline:
• July 31st , 2008: Launch contest 
• September 22, 5p: Video submission period closes
• Sept 22:  Begin promoting top 10 videos
• Sept 29 (or sooner): Announce and publicize prize winners
• October:  Host strategic D.C.-based event for media and policymakers to highlight top 10 videos
 
Background on Brighter Planet and 1 Sky:
Brighter Planet is a Vermont start-up committed to fighting climate change and building a clean-energy
future.  Borne out of a Middlebury College classroom, we are dedicated to demonstrating how small
actions can lead to meaningful change.  Our roots are social media. Our allies are innovative leaders who share our zeal to solve the climate crisis. Through our products, services, and expertise, we help you to reduce greenhouse gas-emitting activities, expand your use of green technologies, and build renewable energy projects. For more information on Brighter Planet or Brighter Planet Visa credit cards or other services, visit brighterplanet.com.
 
1Sky (www.1sky.org) is a highly collaborative new national campaign in the United States catalyzing a
society-wide movement in support of bold federal action to tackle global warming.  The 1Sky policy
platform represents the scientific bottom line – the solutions we must implement immediately to avert
catastrophic climate change and transition to a green economy.   The 1Sky strategy combines dozens of allies nationwide in a campaign driven by powerful field and organizing, voter education, and Internet
and communications strategies to communicate a highly visible public demand for Congress and the
President to implement the 1Sky platform as quickly as possible.