WILMINGTON, Del.—December 18, 2007—Natalie Kroc of Elmwood Park, Ill. is the grand prize winner of eBillme’s Shopping Confessions Video Contest. The 28-year-old substitute teacher received the surprise of her life on Friday, a check for $20,000 from eBillme for her winning secret shopping confession video, which revealed how buying an HDTV was part of her master plan to get her fiancé, Chris Hong, to spring for an engagement ring and propose (finally!) after seven years of dating. The eBillme team along with her fiancé Chris surprised her on Friday during her last day of substitute teaching at the John Mills Elementary School in Elmwood Park, Ill, to present her with the news in-person and a giant check of her winnings. Footage from the grand prize reveal can be viewed by visiting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nuXkfXcTkA.
The contest proved to be so successful that eBillme has announced they will continue to accept video confessions from shoppers at www.shopandconfess.com and will award new monthly prizes valued at a minimum of $1000 for the best video or text confessions submitted.
“All of the finalists’ videos were great, but in the end, the judges’ decision was unanimous: Natalie’s secret shopping confession was the best,” says Marwan Forzley, President and CEO of eBillme. “Her video is a contemporary, digital-age romance that artfully shows what a woman in love will do to hitch the man of her dreams. We were thrilled to surprise Natalie with the $20,000 grand prize, and we hope it will help this cute couple make their wedding dreams come true.”
eBillme’s contest judges included Alison Deyette, television correspondent, style expert, and co-founder of Stylebakery.com; Natalie MacLean, national wine connoisseur and author of Red, White and Drunk All Over; and Marwan Forzley, eBillme’s CEO and founder. The videos were reviewed and judged on a number of criteria, including creativity, production value, entertainment, and votes by fans on YouTube.
“Hooray for plasma screen girl for working it,” says guest judge Alison Deyette. “The video was well done technically and most importantly the story piqued my interest. I applauded her effort and while the video was short it immediately had me rooting for her and wondering for a full minute if she got the ring. The check should help pay off the TV, the ring and still have money leftover to put towards the honeymoon.”
“I thought this video showed real spunk and personality,” says guest judge Natalie MacLean. “It was a mini-drama that drew me in and in a short time, made me cheer for the gal when she finally got her ring. If only all our problems could be solved so easily … oh wait, they can now with eBillme!”
On Oct. 25th the search for secret shoppers began at www.ShopAndConfess.com. For 4 weeks eBillme sought out video confessions from shoppers who make purchases and then hide them from friends, family, and significant others. The contest received submissions from shoppers across the U.S. and Canada through Nov. 26. Each week, one video was selected as the week’s best, and awarded $1,000 from eBillme. eBillme’s judges then selected five finalists, from which they chose Natalie as the $20,000 grand prize winner.
Coincidentally, week one’s winner was Natalie’s fiancé, Chris Hong, of Chicago. He confessed the secret behind his glowing complexion: men’s beauty products, used in the privacy of his bathroom. Kristina Zalenski, Philadelphia, won week two, confessing how she snuck $5,000 worth of clothes, shoes, handbags, and more past her boyfriend in a gym bag. Up next was Sophie Braun, New York, who won week three by revealing how she opted to buy designer shoes over a bed for her new apartment. And the fourth weekly winner was Winston Hoy, Palm Harbor, Fla., a 19-year old who confessed to a boyhood obsession he can’t shake: collecting Pokemon trading cards.
“The Shopping Confessions contest was a huge success,” Forzley says. “We gave consumers a rare opportunity to confess their secret shopping story to the world on YouTube, while raising awareness for eBillme. We’re so pleased with the contest’s results and since we know there are more shoppers out there with purchases to confess, we have decided to keep it going and we will continue offering prizes for secret shoppers with the best shopping confessions. Starting Jan. 2nd we will award new monthly prizes valued at a minimum of $1000 for the best YouTube video confessions or text submissions. So keep shopping and keep those cameras and pens rolling!”
For more details on the continuation of the contest and the new weekly prizes visit www.shopandconfess.com.
ABOUT eBillme
eBillme™, brought to you by MODASolutions, is the only online payment solution that extends the convenience of online banking to the merchant’s checkout, reducing the security risks of shopping online for both consumers and retailers. No financial data is exposed over the Internet to the retailer, and the payment transaction is securely transferred from the customer’s bank to the retailer’s bank. Consumers can shop online, by catalog or through call centers, and pay for their purchases at their bank, credit union, or bill pay portal, with the security and convenience of online banking. eBillme allows retailers to access the over 84 million Americans who use online banking. For more information, please visit us at.www.MODASolutions.com and at www.eBillme.com.
PRESS RESOURCES
Press contact:
eBillme Shopping Confessions Video Contest Web site: http://www.ShopandConfess.com
eBillme YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/group/shopandconfess
eBillme Web site: http://www.ebillme.com/
MODASolutions Web site: http://web.modasolutions.com/template.php?unique=132
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