Using Fame to Do Good

Disclaimer: this is a work-related post

Being in PR exposes you to a lot of interesting things - be new products, insider news or meeting interesting people. You also get to work with a wide variety of companies. In my role, as director of Digital Communications, my work spans across each of our focus areas - healthcare, consumer and corporate. Today is one of the "wow, isn't this a cool news story" days.

We are currently working with a company called GetScouted.com (think American Idol but for a wide variety of talent verticals). Today they announced a very cool contest that is bringing two former American Idol contestants together in order to "give America's talent a chance at fame." Check it out:

GetScouted.com, The World's Largest Marketplace for Talent and Scouts Will Award One Lucky Person a Starring Role on Its First Ever National TV Commercial

BOSTON, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- GetScouted.com (www.GetScouted.com), the world's leading private online marketplace for talent and scouts, today announced the launch of its "60 Seconds of Fame" talent search. Singers, dancers and musicians are invited to log on to www.GetScouted.com to enter the national competition. Between April 20 and May 18, 2009, U.S. residents age 13 and older can upload a sixty-second video clip of their performance to www.GetScouted.com to enter a chance to win a starring role in an upcoming GetScouted.com commercial. Winners will also meet privately with Broadway executive producer and director, Richard Jay-Alexander and season three American Idol runner-up and Broadway star, Diana DeGarmo.

Five winners will be chosen by GetScouted.com and flown to New York City on June 8, 2009 to compete in the final grand prize round. The grand prize finalists will perform in front of a celebrity judging panel at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. The panelists will include Broadway star and winner of MTV's Legally Blonde, Search For The Next Elle Woods, Bailey Hanks; singer and actress Kimberley Locke, a former American Idol runner-up; an executive from Sh-K-Boom Records who records the best of Broadway's cast albums; and Diana DeGarmo.

"I know first-hand how difficult it is to get in front of the right people when you're just starting out," said DeGarmo. "Not everyone has the opportunity to land a record deal on a live television talent show. That is what makes GetScouted.com so great because it provides aspiring talent with a clear path to scouts who can help them make their dreams come true."

GetScouted.com is unique because it gives talent across a broad range of categories, including performing arts, fashion, sports, academics and more, a way to connect with scouts who are looking for them in a safe, secure and private online environment.

"We've interviewed thousands of talent and realized there was a need in the marketplace to connect talented people to the countless number of scouts in search of them," said Clarissa Rodriguez, president of GetScouted.com. "Through our private online marketplace we aim to educate talent, provide feedback as they pursue their passion, and help connect them with opportunities."

In addition to the national commercial and meetings with Diana DeGarmo and Richard Jay-Alexander, a $25,000 donation will be made in the winner's name to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS organization to support the Actors' Work Program of the Actors' Fund.

For more information and the official "60 Seconds of Fame" rules, please visit www.GetScouted.com. To find us on Facebook, login or join at www.Facebook.com and search for GetScouted.com.

Here's what I find cool about this news:

1. It gives an undiscovered talent the chance of a life-time
2. There's a charitable tie-in
3. Diana and Kimberley are using their fame to do both 1 and 2

If you know someone who has talent, tell them about GetScouted.com. Also, check out the Facebook fan page.