27 projects for interactive and multi-platform content have been selected for the final of the third international Content 360 festival competition, part of the 45^th MIPTV featuring MILIA which takes place in Cannes from 7 to 11 April.

The 27 short-listed producers and designers were chosen from 285 candidates across the competition’s eight categories by digital commissioners from Content 360’s partners: the BBC, the Korean Broadcasting & Communications Commission (BCC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and OgilvyInteractive Worldwide.

This year’s competition drew almost 400 project entries in total, and was notable for the upsurge in pitches for the branded-content category “Using the Power of the Brand for the Power of Good,” created by advertising agency OgilvyInteractive  (more than 100 submissions in 2008 compared to 42 the previous year). There was also strong interest from traditional industry players such as Endemol and All3Media International, a finalist this year in the BBC’s category “New IPTV Concepts”. The competition has widened its international appeal, with 42 countries participating in 2008 compared to 36 in 2007.

Slovenia, South Africa, Finland and Norway are all making their first appearance among this year’s 11 finalist countries.

"The continued success of the Content 360 competition demonstrates the need for traditional media to meet today's digital creators. We are excited to bring to MIPTV  the latest content ideas for audience participation, social networking, personalisation and interactivity, across all digital platforms,” said Ted Baracos, Director of Digital Media, Reed MIDEM.

The finalists of the Content 360 competition will be in Cannes to pitch their projects before an audience and a jury made up of executives from the audiovisual, digital and advertising sectors.

The winners in each category will be announced on 10 April during the Zapping Show hosted by Ray Cokes. MIPTV featuring MILIA continues to recognize creativity with the successful pitches sharing prize money worth €113,000 in development financing.

Click here to discover the 27 finalists of Content 360

http://www.miptv.com/en-gb/content_360.cfm

To contact the finalists and other participants of Content 360 on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7762071741

Note to Editors:

 ABOUT REED MIDEM:

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV featuring MILIA, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPCOM JUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, AMAZIA devoted to the creation and distribution of entertainment content, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM HORIZONS and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed MIDEM is a division of Reed Exhibitions, the world’s leading events organiser Reed organises a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 500 events serves 47 industry sectors. In 2007 Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 39 fully staffed offices.

 

For further information about Reed MIDEM visit www.reedmidem.com