Contest Presented by Verizon and Cisco Offers Free 30-Day
Trial of the Verizon Collaboration Center and a Chance
to Win a Flip Camcorder
NEW YORK – December 9, 2009 –
Small- and medium-sized business owners can compete for a chance to win
up to $2,000 in a reward card and a free consultation with
business-marketing expert Guy Kawasaki — and share the triumphs and
trials of running a business by entering The Better Way Challenge.
The challenge, a video contest presented by Verizon and Cisco, is
designed to encourage businesses to use new collaborative tools to
maintain their competitive edge in a fast-changing environment.
"Innovation and technology will power us out of this recession," said Kawasaki. "The Better Way Challenge
enables entrepreneurs to share their victories and defeats, tips and
tricks, joys and pains of running a business. Online collaboration and
social media can generate business, and these videos will accelerate
the learning process for entrepreneurs and business owners."
Entering the contest is easy: Just submit a video of less than three
minutes that describes "the most challenging part of getting your whole
team on the same page."
Contest participants must either be subscribers to the Verizon
Collaboration Center, located at the Verizon Small Business Center ,
or they may sign up for a free 30-day Verizon Collaboration Center
trial. No purchase is necessary. Entrants whose videos are accepted
for judging in the contest will also receive additional free six-month
subscriptions to the Verizon Collaboration Center.
In addition, any business that signs up for the free 30-day trial
Verizon Collaboration Center subscription will automatically be entered
into a monthly drawing for a chance to win a Flip Mino HD Camcorder. As
many as 90 camcorders will be given away during the six-month
promotion.
A panel of judges will select three contest finalists, based on the
originality and relevance of their videos. The grand-prize winner will
receive $2,000 in reward cards and a free consultation with Kawasaki,
the renowned blogger, speaker and best-selling author of "The Art of
the Start" and "Reality Check." The consultation will take place via
Cisco TelePresence, which transmits life-size images and replicates
face-to-face interaction so realistically that participants may feel as
though they are all sitting in the same room.
The second-and third-prize winners will each receive a reward card
for $1,000 and one-on-one consultations with industry experts from the
Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, which designs innovative
processes and strategic plans for businesses.
All three consultations will be tailored to the specific business
needs of the winners and focus on ways in which collaboration and
online resources can make their businesses more efficient and
competitive.
Monte Beck, Verizon’s vice president for small-business product
strategy, said, "Small businesses need a lot more than e-mail and
Internet access to stay competitive. They need to move fast and utilize
tools like the Verizon Collaboration Center that can help them grow
their businesses, run them more efficiently and, reduce the cost of
doing business."
The Verizon Collaboration Center, powered by Cisco WebEx Technology, offers voice and Web conferencing.
It enables users to instantly and effectively collaborate with
colleagues, clients and vendors in a virtual environment that is
accessible from any web browser. Licensed users can share documents and
calendars, discuss ideas, set goals, and manage projects and business
operations. With Web Meeting, users can meet online – in real time –
with coworkers, partners, suppliers and customers.
In addition to Internet, TV and phone service, Verizon also offers
small businesses encryption and security solutions, as well as
additional discounts on supplies, shipping and much more. For news,
resources and more tools for Verizon’s businesses, visit the Verizon
Small Business Center at business.verizon.net,
a one-stop online portal with easy access to free Webinars,
collaboration tools and a platform for small businesses to network.
Cisco offers small businesses the technology they need to accelerate
and rethink their business.
