Mika Brzezinski is looking to give away $50,000.
The co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and her employer, NBCUniversal (CMCSA), are announcing today that a “Grow Your Value Bonus Competition” will be part of the new “Know Your Value” conference that Brzezinski plans to bring to five U.S. Cities starting in April. Brzezinski is calling for women to upload 60-second videos explaining to her why they deserve a $10,000 bonus. She and a panel of judges will choose 15 finalists—three in each city—to pitch their stories at her five conferences in front of live audiences and viewers across NBC platforms.
The contest—which Brzezinski described to me as “game show meets pageant meets makeover show like you’ve never seen before”—casts the ever-aspiring cable news star as a sort of Alex Trebek of the women’s empowerment circuit, combined with career coach. Brzezinski will join a corps of professional career experts to advise the finalists. The coaching role is one she’s embraced ever since she wrote her best-selling Knowing Your Value four years ago. She has another book, Grow Your Value, coming out this spring.
Speaking of value, the five winners of the bonus competition will get more than just $10,000 checks. Additional prizes come from sponsors like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), JetBlue (JBLU) and clothing company Milly. J&J’ is giving free admission to its “Corporate Athlete Course” at its Human Performance Institute in Orlando.
Contestants can submit videos for the first “Grow Your Value Bonus Competition” in the Philadelphia market starting today at msnbc.com/knowyourvalue. The “Know Your Value” conferences will be held in Philadelphia on April 10, followed by Washington, D.C. May 15, Chicago September 25, Boston October 23 and Orlando November 20.