Conswala on the Cadbury Bunny Trail
Conswala has been chosen as a finalist in the Cadbury Bunny Contest 2020! But this isn't her first trip on the Bunny Trail. A good friend of mine and co-creative, Amy Zimmerman of www.zimmermandesigns.net , and I are always dreaming up creative ways to promote the farm, the animals, and quite honestly...to amuse ourselves. So Amy encouraged me to enter Conswala in the Cadbury Bunny Contest 2019. We never even considered that we stood a chance of actually winning, but we found the whole concept of bunny ears on a llama amusing.
To my great surprise, we were selected as a Top-20 semi-finalist! To my greater surprise is what ensued. Kevin, my husband, and I were overwhelmed with the level of public interest in the contest and with Conswala. At that point, Conswala was a true farm girl, rarely taken off the farm and never fussed over by anybody other than ourselves. Overnight her social schedule resembled that of a rock star's. A bit uncomfortable with the initial attention, we took each visitor and each event one step at a time. I was very protective of her well-being and was always her best advocate. Conswala proved to me that not only was she capable of personal growth and socialization, but that she actually enjoyed it! Thanks to the opportunities that the contest provided, and the fact that the contest forced me to go places and socialize Conwala in ways that otherwise I would have avoided, I gained a much greater level of confidence in her abilities and mine! I became aware of how much she truly brought joy, serenity, and llama llove to those that met her! Because of this entire experience, I pursued the goal of our becoming a registered therapy animal team with Pet Partners www.PetPartners.org. Before year's end, Conswala and I achieved that goal!
As we turned the page to 2020, we contemplated whether I should enter Conswala in the contest again. Part of me thought 'no', we had our fun last year and gained so many positive outcomes from it, time to step aside. And the other part of me thought 'yes', we are both so much better prepared in every way, and Conswala has built quite a fan base over the past year, who knows what other positive outcomes might result. The 'yes' vote won out and here we are, a Top 10 Finalist! Things are a bit different this year in that the public can vote for their favorite contestant. Two weeks of voting is a long time to be on the campaign Bunny Trail! And quite honestly, a lot of pressure.
This year's contest entry started with Conswala's entry video: Conswala being featured on the imaginary Llama Baking Channel. Initially I wanted to hide underneath her and be her arms, as Conswala baked a Cadbury Egg cake. (Amy gets credit for that amazing cake!) Amy and I soon came to the realization that we were aiming a bit high with that vision, and resorted to Plan B, that Conswala would be my baking assistant. It must have caught the eye and amusement of the Cadbury judges, because it launched us into Finalist status!
Amy and I are at it again, cracking ourselves up with ridiculous campaign ideas that we brainstorm together. Amy then creates the photos and I create the social media posts. It's been a lot of fun and laughs for us.
Luckily the final winner isn't based solely on votes. Cadbury tells us that the final decision will go down like this: "During the Winner Determination Phase, all eligible Finalist Video Submissions will be re-judged by the Judges. The Judges will score each Video Submission according to the following weighted judging criteria: (i) Relevance to Contest theme (showing off your Cadbury pet in bunny ears): 20%; (ii) Creativity: 20%; (iii) Brand appeal: 20%; and (iv) Public Appeal: 40%. The Finalist whose Video Submission receives the highest score from the Judges applying the Finalist Judging Criteria will be deemed the potential winner".
We're up against some very worthy opponents. Many of which tug at my heartstrings. I know that we can count on Conswala's loyal fans to give them some hoppity competition! And I'm hopeful that even if we don't win the vote count, that hopefully our creativity and Conswala's public appeal, as demonstrated by the passion of her fans, will help her clinche the title. In the meantime, our goal is to entertain her fans every day with amusing and engaging content that helps show off Conswala's whimsical and playful nature. We truly are having a great time and absolutely love the positive feedback.
I am SO VERY grateful for every person that votes and helps to spread the word of Conswala's run for Cadbury Bunny. I feel like it not only promotes Conswala, but promotes the gentle nature of llamas everywhere. It truly is humbling to think how many people care, make the effort to vote daily, and share our posts. It feels so uniting during such a divisive time. We feel the llama llove! We can't thank you enough.... and honestly, win or lose, it's been a really fun ride! Nothing short of llama magic.
There's one week left in the competition. Voting ends March 18, 2020. We would appreciate it SO much if you would take the time to vote daily and spread the word! You can watch Conswala's Llama Baking Channel entry video and vote here: https://bunnytryouts.cadburyusa.com/en-us/Detail/a4b1eabb-42ed-4291-a602-ef2c51fd99fb?Gallery=Gallery
Thank you so much for your support! #TeamConswala