Dec 28, 2006 6:01 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

It's not every day you'll find high school students volunteering to take a test.

But, GSN, the cable network for games, found 23,000 teens ready, willing and able.
The stunt was part of GSN's Nationwide Vocabulary Challenge. The task? Quiz high school kids on their comprehension and word usage skills. The top scorers moved on to compete for a chance to win $40,000 toward college tuition.

Some 50 finalists (42 online test-takers and eight top scorers from participating cities) will face off in a live competition slated for March 5 in New York City.

GSN will launch a Win With Words week in April supported with network shows like Lingo and Chain Reaction to lead up to the big finale on April 15. The campaign, which cost just over $1 million, dovetails with the network's first cause-marketing initiative designed to promote the importance of vocabulary skills, said Joel Chiodi, GSN's vice president-marketing and promotions.

"We really identified that this could be something that could work for us in a cause marketing way, but represent our brand attitude of game play," Chiodi said.
About 23,000 students in grades nine through 12 competed in schools in eight markets or online at WinWithWords.com last fall (PROMO Xtra, Oct. 11, 2006).

The vocabulary challenge event took a year of planning. The Princeton Review, the network's educational partner, provided study materials and fresh content for the WinWithWords Web site.

GSN will use the 7,000 e-mails it collected from students to promote the finale, new online Win With Words content and its marketing for a second National Vocabulary Championship planned next year.

"We want to take what we have done and build on it," Chiodi said.

Civic Entertainment Group, New York, handles the event.

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