Miss Teen Canada-World is launching a social media campaign to maximize exposure for its sponsors before a teen queen is crowned on July 25 in Toronto. Key sponsors include Proctor and Gamble’s microsite BeingGirl.ca, which dispenses advice and articles of interest to teens sponsored by fem-hy products Tampax and Always. BeingGirl.ca will also be linked to on the Miss Teen’s Facebook page which has about 1,500 followers. Other sponsors include Faze Magazine, Elmer Olsen Model Management, Goody and Red Bull, among others.

The competition, which is in its second year, is also open to new sponsors, including a title sponsorship opportunity that would display a logo on the Miss Teen sash. ‘It’s worn at all international competitions [and] appears on camera, and also all the regional pageants that go on throughout the year,’ Ellen Smith, founder of EnCourse Strategic Communications, tells MiC. EnCourse Strategic Communications and DKPR Public Relations, both Toronto-based, were named AOR earlier this year by Miss Teen Canada-World to design the campaign through online social marketing strategies and local and national press exposure.

As part of the campaign the 50 finalists, chosen in regional competitions held across the country, will make up a ‘blog squad’ and write about their experiences while plugging and linking to sponsors into their diaries. The website, MissTeenCanadaWorld.com, launches on Monday, and will be promoted through PR and social marketing plugs on Twitter and Facebook.

The competition, open to girls aged 13 to 19, awards more than $25,000 in cash, prizes and scholarships to the winners. The contestants are also required to raise money in their communities for development charity, Free the Children. ‘The girls are being judged not only on their poise and their prettiness but also their scholastic ability their charitable contribution and community efforts,’ says Smith.