Prizeo on Tuesday announced the successful launch of its first US/International prize campaign starring Jamie Oliver. The company announced the campaign during the Y Combinator Demo Day.
The young platform that was started by three friends at Oxford University has already lined up some impressive talent including Stephen Fry and One Direction who starred in the company’s first UK beta campaign.
If you are unfamiliar with the Prizeo platform here is a quick run down of how the social good system works:
- Prizeo is the first unified fundraising platform to connect stars, fans, charities, and brands under one scalable, customizable, tech-focused ecosystem.
- Prizeo eliminates the costs, inefficiencies, and limits most charity drives suffer.
- The YC-backed startup will be the preferred digital platform for all WME client charity initiatives, in addition to collaborating with Lady Gaga’s management agency, Atom Factory.
The Prizeo campaign allows A-List stars to offer fans chances to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences in exchange for micro-donations to charitable causes.
Here’s a Prizeo created YouTube video that showcases exactly how the campaign platform works:
[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sjy4QGwFgtE” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
Along with announcing its international expansion the startup also revealed a funding round led by William Morris Endeavor (WME).
Speaking about the new social good platform Reddit co-founder and Y Combinator Ambassador Alexis Ohanian said of the platforms quick and widespread success:
Team Prizeo (from left): Leo Seigal, Andrej Pancik, and Bryan Baum.“It’s wonderful watching three geeks from Oxford winning over high-caliber legends and megastars. It’s ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ in the most positive sense.”
Prizeo has also partnered with Atom Factory, a partnership that will provide access to many top celebrities for future campaigns.
Speaking of its ability to attract A-list stars Prizeo co-founder Leo Seigal says, “Prizeo’s tools let celebrities and influencers connect directly with their fans in a more meaningful way. By offering creative and unique prize experiences, stars get to highlight causes close to their hearts and mobilize fans toward a common good.”
In the UK the company’s campaign with Stephen Fry and One Direction raised a six figure sum with a 14% conversion rate. The campaign raised money for Cancer Research UK and Comic Relief.
“When I first heard the idea I thought, why has nobody ever thought of that before?” recalls Fry. “Prizeo is a fresh, innovative, and above all inclusive approach to fundraising. I’m a strong believer in using technology for good.”
Prizeo was refined at Y Combinator with the help of co-founders Bryan Baum, Leo Seigal, and Andrej Pancik. With the product now refined Jamie Oliver has helped launch the platforms first international campaign which will benefit the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. The campaign was launched on March 22 with the help of Oliver’s Twitter and Facebook pages. The campaign has already raised tens of thousands of dollars and is moving towards the six-figure mark.
Just as important as raising money the Prizeo platform allows A-list stars to raise awareness about causes close to their hearts, a fact that should help attract many more celebrities to the platforms campaigns.
Prizeo is advised by Nancy Lublin, CEO of DoSomething.org, and Michael Lynch, Visa’s former Head of Global Sponsorship. Speaking of the platforms abilities Lublin writes, “Prizeo is the ultimate marriage of tech and social good. The fundraising industry needs a good shake!”
During its tenure at Oxford University the group raised $1 million and gained support from Princess Beatrice, Anna Wintour (Vogue), Graydon Carter (Vanity Fair), Chanel, Armani, Maserati, and Evian.
Here is Jamie Oliver announcing his Prizeo campaign:
[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/vU8ndEfEki4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
Participants in Prizeo campaigns not only earn content entries with their donations, they can also earn badges that display on their profiles. Here are the badges being offered via the Jamie Oliver campaign:
If you visit the Prizeo.com website you can following along with a countdown timer that marks the end of the Jamie Oliver campaign.
Prizeo sounds like an interesting idea – motivating people to donate to a charity/organization in order to be entered to win a prize. Jamie Oliver is doing some great work!