EcoMedia Adds Nearly 20 New Advertisers to Support Upcoming Environmental Projects in Communities Nationwide

(3BL Media) August 10, 2011 - Environmental Groups Such As I.C.L.E.I., One Atmosphere and The Better World Group Join with EcoMedia to Support the Cause Since Its January Debut, EcoMedia's EcoAd Advertising Program Has Already Launched Projects in Texas, California and Massachusetts, With More to Come in the Fall

EcoMedia's EcoAd advertising program has recently grown its client base, adding nearly 20 new advertisers, each of which have purchased ad time that will in turn support local environmental projects in communities across the country. The EcoAd program, which enjoys broad support within the environmental community, has also added a number of new "green" and community groups to its list of partners and supporters.

EcoMedia's new clients include Boston Properties, Cirque du Soleil, Ford Dealers of Northern California, Solar City and Winthrop Hospital, among many others. The new green and community supporters and partners include Environment California, Environment Now, One Atmosphere, Luminalt, Santa Monica Baykeepers, Solar Schools Initiative, Energy Independence Now, The Better World Group, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (I.C.L.E.I.), The Climate Group and the Foundation for Environmental Education.

"We welcome these new clients, supporters and partners to our EcoAd program, which turns advertising into action," explained Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of EcoMedia. "Every year, corporations spend hundreds of billions of dollars in advertising. At EcoMedia, we leverage that money to fund a wide range of environmental projects in local communities. Ultimately, we want consumers to expect and demand that the commercials they watch, listen to and read will do something to improve the quality of their lives. That's our definition of green media."

"I believe that people – and companies – basically want to 'do good' but a lot of people are skeptics," said Wendy James, President, The Better World Group. "EcoMedia's EcoAd program is a terrific way to actually deliver the goods by making certain that a portion of each ad dollar goes to a great environmental cause. We need everyone pulling together to get closer to our goals, and this is a great way to add to our growing network of sustainable neighborhoods and communities."

The EcoAd program provides advertisers with the option of purchasing advertising that will deliver added value beyond a traditional marketing campaign. With the purchase of every EcoAd package, a portion of dollars spent goes directly toward funding environmental and clean energy projects, all of which have been identified by local municipalities and public entities as being critical. EcoAd advertising packages are available across CBS platforms, including network, local television, radio, outdoor, and online.

In addition to adding new clients, supporters and partners, EcoMedia has also put EcoAd dollars to work by launching projects in California, Massachusetts and Texas with three previously announced clients. Each project will make a significant environmental impact in their respective communities. Additional EcoMedia environmental projects will be announced in the coming months.

The three local projects which launched over the last few months include:

In Texas — EcoMedia partnered with Chevrolet and the City of Arlington to transform Randol Mill Park, where energy efficiency and water conservation measures in the new concession and restroom facility as well as solar panels on the building rooftop were constructed at no additional cost to taxpayers.

In Massachusetts — Residents of Shrewsbury will see solar energy in action at the Floral Street Elementary School, thanks to an EcoAd grant from Avidia Bank and with the participation and support of The Foundation for Environmental Education. The outdoor classroom will be incorporated into the math and science curriculum to help educate students on the concept of renewable energy.

In California — With an EcoAd grant from SunPower Corp., EcoMedia collaborated with One Atmosphere, Luminalt and the City of San Francisco, along with more than 100 volunteers, to install a 28kW solar PV system on the roof of the Tel-Hi Community Center in northeastern San Francisco. It is estimated that this project will reduce the Center's energy costs by approximately 86%, allowing Tel-Hi to fund much-needed services for senior citizens and local youth.

These successful alliances between stakeholders in Texas, Massachusetts and California are examples of the innovative public-private partnership model at the core of EcoMedia's approach. As public budgets face unprecedented cutbacks, municipalities are in urgent need of new and creative sources of funding; the EcoAd program fills the gap, offering advertisers the opportunity to accomplish tangible and lasting public benefits that would otherwise not have been possible.

Support for EcoMedia's EcoAd program has come from leaders across the public-private spectrum.

Michael Schmitz, Executive Director of the international nonprofit International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (I.C.L.E.I.) Local Governments for Sustainability, said, "There's a financing gap that's very real, and it will not be met by the federal government or the state governments, increasingly. But what EcoMedia has figured out is the way to get that bridge financing through this creative advertising model. It’s exactly the kind of thing that’s going to help catalyze these kinds of projects." (I.C.L.E.I. is a potential project sourcing and fulfillment resource for EcoMedia.)

Paul Scott, Executive Director, One Atmosphere said, "The EcoAd grant from CBS was pivotal in helping us put solar (panels) on top of the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center in San Francisco. We had made a lot of good progress toward our goal, but the EcoAd grant put us over the top. The grant will do a lot of good for a lot of deserving people, while also helping the environment."

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. Our premise? That the billions of dollars spent annually in advertising represent a tremendous reservoir of untapped resources – resources that should be directed toward bricks-and-mortar projects which benefit local communities. We develop and nurture a wide-ranging network of partnerships with municipal governments and NGOs nationwide, and connect them with corporations eager to improve the quality of life in the communities they serve. The result is our EcoAd program, a profoundly innovative twist on traditional advertising, which we have protected through a robust patent portfolio development program. Through our proprietary service, we are able to efficiently redirect a portion of every EcoAd-branded media buy to a local community, where it funds a much-needed environmental project: a solar installation on a community center (San Francisco), a refurbished park and playground for kids with special needs (Arlington, Texas), an elementary school solar learning area (Boston suburbs).

In 2008, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of projects including an energy efficiency retrofit and solar power installation at Miami City Hall, a green makeover for public schools in San Francisco, Miami and Cook County, Ill., and a solar panel installation at California's Long Beach airport, we were proud to become the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. The EcoAd program aims to create jobs, save taxpayer money and improve the environment. In the process, we're fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary commercial – and green media, in general – into a catalyst for real, quantifiable, and measurable change. We invite you to visit ecoad.cbs.com to learn more about the tangible improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country. 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.

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Press Contacts:
Shannon Jacobs 212-975-3161 SLJacobs@cbs.com