BzzAgent's Trend Micro Campaign Selected as a 2011 MITX Interactive Awards Finalist

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Nov 7, 2011) - BzzAgent, the social marketing arm of dunnhumby, today announced that its Trend Micro "What's Your Story" campaign has been selected as a finalist in the "Best Use of Social Strategies" category for the 16th Annual MITX Interactive Awards. Held annually by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, the MITX Awards recognize excellence in the creation of web innovations designed, produced or developed in New England.

BzzAgent partnered with Trend Micro, a global cloud security leader, to take on an important cause: educating youth about responsible use of technology. They created a contest that encouraged kids to create videos about their own experiences with Internet safety. The program utilized Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs to promote the cause and give the contestants a voice in the safe and responsible use of technology. A microsite hosted the submitted videos and viewers selected the finalists. A panel of experts chose the grand prize winner, who received $10,000.

More than 140 videos were submitted from 117 countries, receiving 200,000 total views. The videos were so effective many prominent organizations came out to support the initiative, including MTV's A Thin Line campaign, Facebook, Yahoo!, The Cyberbullying Research Center, Childnet International, the State Attorney General offices of Ohio, Michigan, and South Carolina, and many leading youth online safety organizations. A case study video can be viewed at http://u.bzz.com/trendmicro.

"The New England tech community is doing some really great work, and we're honored to have our campaign recognized among the best," said Dave Balter, CEO and Founder of BzzAgent. "The fact that we're a finalist for the 'What's Your Story' program is especially satisfying. Any time you can use social media to spread a positive message, it's that much more meaningful."

"The MITX Interactive Awards draw in digital and creative work of an astoundingly high caliber. Each year the applications grow increasingly impressive, and 2011 brought some of the best work we've ever seen," said Debi Kleiman, President of MITX. "This year's finalists represent true thought-leaders, experts and innovators; they are the best and brightest our community has to offer, and their work bridges the space between creative ideas and technology. MITX is proud to serve as the foundation for this region's vibrant digital community."

Begun in 1996, the MITX Awards has grown to become the largest and most prestigious awards competition in the country for technology innovations, and celebrates the best creative and technological accomplishments emerging from New England.

BzzAgent will be recognized with the other finalists at a ceremony traditionally attended by over 1,000 of the region's top interactive marketing and technology professionals. Winners will be announced at the ceremony, held at the Sheraton Boston on December 5th.

About BzzAgent
BzzAgent, a dunnhumby company, is a social marketing company that accelerates word of mouth to drive sales. Powered by an addressable network of over 400 million shoppers around the world, BzzAgent creates measurable business results for marketers through an influential advocate network, a powerful engagement platform, and a proven analytics approach. BzzAgent has been at the vanguard of word of mouth marketing since 2001, running more than 2,000 programs for global companies including Unilever, Wrigley, L'Oreal, and Michelin. For more information visit: http://about.bzzagent.com.

About MITX
Established in 1996, MITX -- the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange -- is the leading industry organization focused on the web and mobile, bringing together the digital marketing, media and technology community to engage in what's next and how it will impact the marketing and business worlds. Connecting more than 7,500 professionals in New England, MITX is a dynamic community of thought leaders and collaborators in search of insight, education and opportunity. Creator of FutureM, MITX is headquartered in Boston, MA. For more information, visit http://www.mitx.org/.