EcoAd Program Selected As 2012 Edison Awards Finalist

(3BL Media) New York - February 21, 2012 - It was recently announced by the internationally known Edison Awards that EcoMedia has been named a finalist for the 2012 Edison Best New Product Awards™.  EcoMedia is competing for leading Social Innovation within the Innovative Services category, one of 13 categories honored by the Edison Awards. The Edison Awards symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, inspiring America's drive to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.  Winning an Edison Award has become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business.

"The Edison Awards provide an exclusive platform for honoring innovation, recognizing innovators and encouraging ongoing innovation among today's development teams, researchers, designers, 'intrapreneurs' and entrepreneurs," says Thomas Stat, the 2012 Edison Awards Steering Committee Chairman. 

"This recognition is both a wonderful surprise and a validation of sorts," said Paul Polizzotto, president and founder of EcoMedia.  "Our motivation at EcoMedia has always been to create tangible, meaningful social change in communities across America, to create jobs and to save taxpayer money.  And the truth of the matter is that trying something new – especially in the high-stakes world of advertising – is a flying-without-a-net proposition. This nomination is a gratifying confirmation that taking the risk is worth it. The entire EcoMedia team is inspired by this recognition; it has motivated us to work even harder, to expand our reach even further and to make more of a contribution nationwide. We hope that our story, and the success of the EcoAd program, will inspire other innovators to follow their dreams and stay the course." 

EcoMedia was founded in 2002 with a core mission of creating positive social change. The company was acquired by CBS in May 2010. The EcoAd program, which directs a portion of advertising revenues to provide critical funding for conservation projects in communities across the nation, was launched in January 2011. In its first year the program provided funding for a variety of projects, including solar installations and energy efficiency improvements for public schools and community centers; sustainable landscaping and green infrastructure improvements for public parks; and tree plantings and natural habitat restoration initiatives in open public spaces.

The ballot of nominees for the Edison Best New Product Awards™ is judged by roughly 2,000 members of the not-for-profit Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), an organization comprising America's top marketing professionals and academics.  In a comprehensive peer-review process, the nominees are judged on Marketplace Innovation, Marketplace Success, Technological Innovation, Market Structure Innovation, Societal Impact and Design Innovation. 

Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Edison Awards will be announced April 26, 2012 at the historic Capitale ballroom in New York City.  The annual Edison Awards program encompasses multiple events over a two-day period including a 25th Anniversary Opening Reception, the Meet the Innovators Forum, the Innovator's Showcase and the black-tie Awards Gala itself, where the final Awards will be presented.

The Edison Awards Steering Committee is comprised of senior executives with diverse marketing, scientific and business backgrounds, who monitor the development and successful launch of innovative products each year.  The Committee is responsible for bestowing the annual Edison Achievement Awards and serves as a guidepost in developing the list of nominees that is presented to the Edison Best New Product Award judges.

The 2012 Edison Awards are sponsored by Nielsen, Discovery Communications, Science and USA Today.   For more information about the Edison Awards and a list of past winners, please visit www.edisonawards.com. 

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.

At EcoMedia, we're propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that's been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd program, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local environmental projects which, in turn, creates jobs, saves taxpayer money, and improves the environment.  In the process, we're fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.

We invite you to visit ecoad.cbs.com to learn more about the improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country.

By participating in the EcoAd program, EcoAd advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will benefit the environment. EcoAd is not a certification program nor is the EcoAd logo a seal of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoAd advertisers, their products or services.

SOURCE CBS Corporation