CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 10, 2012 ---- The Business Journals today announced the launch of Social Madness presented by Capital One Spark Business - a local and national corporate social media challenge spotlighting the best social media programs of companies across the country. Open to small, medium and large companies, the challenge will measure the growth of a company's social media presence as it competes in a dynamic and unpredictable tournament style challenge.

Companies will compete in 43 U.S. cities, with local winners squaring off in a national challenge.  Three overall champions get the right to designate a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice.

Social Madness is a bracket-style, tournament challenge in which companies compete against others of similar size. Participants will be ranked based on a scoring algorithm that measures social influence. The algorithm will track votes on bizjournals.com, LinkedIn connections, Facebook activity and Twitter followers during the challenge period.

Why enter? Social Madness could help your company improve its social profile, increase followers and gain valuable exposure to business journal readers. And if you're one of the three national champions, The Business Journals and Capital One Spark Business will donate $10,000 to the charity of your choice.

You can enter the local challenge in your company's headquarters market at www.socialmadness.com. Companies will compete in one of three size classes, based on the number of full-time employees ? small (1-99); medium (100-499); and large (500-plus).

The nomination period ends May 15. No points are accumulated during the nomination phase.

"This is a one-of-a-kind challenge that companies of all types and sizes will get excited about, and there are already more than 1,200 nominations to date," said Whitney Shaw, CEO of American City Business Journals, the parent company of The Business Journals. "Social Madness is all about growing your social-media engagement, which is critical in business today."

"With the power of social media and its explosive impact on business growth, Capital One is pleased to support and present this opportunity to help businesses grow their social communities," said Derek Mohar, Vice President of U.S. Card for Capital One. "We're all about helping small business owners realize their dreams and hope this competition will help educate them on how social media can build their business."

The local-market challenges kick off June 1, first in an open, all-comers format, then ? as the field is narrowed ? in a head-to-head bracket challenge.

In July, the challenge moves to the big stage, with local winners squaring off for national bragging rights in three categories based on company size. The final match ups will be completed in early September.

Throughout all phases of the challenge, results will be updated on socialmadness.com every 24 hours, so competing companies and observers alike can track the competition as it develops each day.

For more information, including official rules and eligibility requirements, visit www.socialmadness.com.

About The Business Journals

The Business Journals is the premier media solutions platform for companies strategically targeting business decision makers.  We deliver a total business audience of more than 10 million people via our 42 websites, 62 publications and more than 700 annual industry leading events. Headquartered inCharlotte, NC, The Business Journals has sales offices in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.  It is a subsidiary of American City Business Journals, a unit of Advance Publishing, Inc., whose properties include Conde Nast Publications, and the Fairchild and Golf Digest Companies.

About Capital One Spark Business

Capital One Small Business (www.capitalone.com/smallbusiness) offers a range of products and services to meet small business needs, including business money markets and Spark Business credit cards.  The Spark portfolio consists of six products offering rich rewards and features designed to meet the unique business needs of small business owners while providing tools and benefits designed to manage a business and save time. The Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards offer double rewards on every purchase, every day. We also offer loans and lines of credit; business checking, money market and savings accounts; and payroll and merchant services in our branches located in New York, New Jersey,Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Capital One has a team of bankers committed to deepening our relationships with small business owners and helping them achieve their financial goals.

Headquartered in McLean, VA, Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $128.2 billion in deposits and $206.0 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2011. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

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SOURCE The Business Journals