Coke Zero's NCAA March Madness Blogger Fan Contest

Now that the calendar as turned the page to March you can't help but start to get caught up in March Madness. Only 13 days left till the NCAA's Selection Sunday on March 16th in which the teams competing for the 2008 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship will get underway.

Coca-Cola is a proud corporate sponsor of the NCAA and this year they've tied in their Coke Zero brand with an interactive promotion that consists of a nationwide “job search” to “hire four fans who never back down when it comes to following the exciting action of NCAA March Madness". 

This contest will select four lucky individuals for the Coke Zero “Ultimate Dream Job,” who will go to San Antonio, the site of the 2008 NCAA Men's Final Four®, where they will be “challenged” to watch every minute of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and live blog about the games.

The four new “employees” will live in “CokeZeroVille” beneath the official giant Coke Zero Tournament Bracket at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio from Sunday, March 16, through Saturday, April 5. There they will view every game on flat screen televisions and laptop computers via NCAA March Madness on Demand and live blog about the games and their experiences. They will then be escorted by former NCAA great Sean Elliott into the Alamodome on Saturday, April 5, to sit in the lower level for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Semifinals.

"NCAA basketball fans are among the savviest and most demanding in all of sports and are uncompromising about immersing themselves in March Madness,” said Caren Pasquale Seckler, group director, Low Calorie Colas, Coca-Cola North America.  “That never back down attitude that sets NCAA basketball aficionados apart is shared by Coke Zero drinkers who never compromise when it comes to enjoying real Coke taste and zero calories.”

The entry period for the Coke Zero “Ultimate Dream Job” is now closed. The website, www.cokezerodreamjob.com, was accepting the consumer-generated content entries up until midnight of Feb. 27. Coke Zero will announce the four new hires, as selected by a panel of judges, prior to the start of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

The Coke Zero “Ultimate Dream Job” final candidates are described as being intense, relentless, dynamic, unpredictable, dramatic, inspiring, authentic and youthful. They embody the passion and tenacity of NCAA March Madness and believe that anything is possible, including improbable upsets. Each resume submission needed to explain in 200 words or less how the candidate never backs down when consuming the heart-pounding drama of NCAA March Madness. They also needed to submit a photo of themselves demonstrating spirit and creativity.

“Through this distinctive call to action, Coca-Cola is creatively highlighting the central role that fans play in adding to the excitement of NCAA basketball and March Madness,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA Senior Vice President for Basketball and Business Strategies. “This is a dream opportunity for any NCAA basketball enthusiast and we look forward to seeing which four candidates get the chance to follow NCAA Championship action from San Antonio.”

The four participants can also use the Coke Zero “Bracket-O-Matic” to help them fill out their individual NCAA March Madness brackets. For the second season, fans who visit www.bracketomatic.com, can use a special online tool to weight different preferences – such as “underdog,” “dynasty,” and “offense.”  Based on their selections, the “Bracket-O-Matic” then automatically fills out their bracket.

Coke Zero’s NCAA March Madness program also includes special packaging and point-of-sale materials with the NCAA Men's Final Four graphics, branded vignettes that will air during NCAA basketball game broadcasts, and extensive brand sampling and activation in San Antonio.

So, we'll have to keep an eye on how well these dream job candidates do their job and blog about their experiences from San Antonio. Maybe we'll end up with a new sports blogger star. You never know.