Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd®, work by CI&T and R/GA, Takes Home SXSW Interactive Innovation Award

AUSTIN, Texas, March 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd®, along with its strategic  partners CI&T and R/GA, received the SXSW Interactive Innovation People's Choice Award at the 20^th annual SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards. CI&T and R/GA collaborated on the interactive and design work. Out of 65 finalists, Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd® was voted the winner by the SXSW Interactive community at the Interactive Innovation Awards Finalist Showcase on March 12. Known for celebrating the most inspiring, creative advancements of the year, the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards embrace the evolving scope of the digital industry by reflecting its increasingly diverse ecosystem of platforms, software, apps and devices.

"It is an immense honor for our collaboration and strategic partnership with Johnson & Johnson CaringCrowd® to be recognized by the SXSW Interactive community and especially with the People's Choice Award," said Bruno Guicardi, President, CI&T. "A recognition from our fellow innovators means the world to us and it continues to validate our commitment to strategizing, designing and delivering top-notch advanced technology solutions to help our partners achieve their vision."

Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd® is a crowdfunding platform built to support public health initiatives in communities worldwide. CaringCrowd® unites users in its mission to crowdfund for global public health projects and empowers passionate people to change the lives of vulnerable communities worldwide. Knowing that it needed a partner that could lead end-to-end delivery of the project, Johnson & Johnson selected CI&T to build out all aspects of the platform, working with R/GA on the design. CI&T delivered by incorporating Drupal as the platform's content management system. In addition to the back-end execution, CI&T identified and delivered on front-end needs including building the technical platform allowing a panel of public health experts to review projects to ensure each one aligns with CaringCrowd's mission and fulfills legitimate needs. With the organizations verified, users needed a simple way to donate — the more hoops they have to jump through, the less likely they are to donate. CI&T presented and implemented a solution based on ease of use, global familiarity, and security.

The Awards Ceremony honored 13 of the best and latest advancements across categories including Health Med & Biotech, Innovation in Connecting People, Innovative 3-DIY, Music & Audio Innovation, New Economy, Privacy & Security, Responsive Design, SciFi No Longer, Smart Cities, Student Innovation, Visual Media Experience, VR & AR and Wearable Tech. Six additional honors were awarded at the Ceremony, including: David Carr Prize, Best of Show, People's Choice, Breakout Trend of the Event, Speaker of the Event and Meme of the Year.

Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd®  had been nominated in the Responsive Design Category for outstanding digital design and excellence in terms of content, aesthetics, and functionality. Functionality is truly of critical importance because so many of the nonprofits that benefit from pledges received at CaringCrowd.org are based in parts of the world where mobile is their primary means of accessing the internet. Organizers work in the field and generally have limited access to computers or offices from which to operate. Being able to manage their local projects, no matter the device or speed of connectivity is of paramount importance. Additionally, many CaringCrowd® project owners cite the site's pleasing and compelling aesthetics as influential in driving credibility, which fuels pledges.

"I thank the SXSW community for choosing CaringCrowd® for this award. It is gratifying to know that this crowd cares and wants to see technology deployed to serve fundamental health needs around the world," said Derek Fetzer, Director of CaringCrowd® at Johnson & Johnson. "I also thank the innovative teams at CI&T and R/GA for designing and delivering an exceptional platform, which provides a seamless user experience and allows the user to focus on global public health efforts."

Last week at SXSW, CI&T hosted Agile Carnival, a Brazilian Carnival-themed interactive lounge coupled with a series of talks on lean digital cultures, agile design sprints, and machine learning for exceptional customer experiences. The "sold out" panels featured the brightest minds in innovation, marketing and design, including speakers from: Coca-Cola, Digiday, Doberman, Fandango, Forrester Research, Google, HomeAway, Hulu, Kohls, Nationwide, The Lean Enterprise Institute and TechCrunch, among others.

Watch the moment Johnson & Johnson and CI&T accept the People's Choice Award, and the complete winners' ceremony on SXSW's YouTube page, then check out the full list of SXSW Interactive Innovation Award finalists and winners here.

About CI&T
CI&T, the digital technology agency for the world's biggest companies, is a pioneer in the application of agile and lean methodologies and next-gen tech including Machine Learning/AI, Advanced Analytics, Cloud and Mobility. For over 20 years, CI&T has been a trusted partner for the most complex global engagements inside companies including Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, AB-InBev, iHeartMedia and Motorola. With over 2,500 digital business experts and engineers in the USA, Brazil, UK, Australia, Japan and China, CI&T is big enough to scale to the needs of Fortune 100 clients yet agile enough to achieve the speed to market today's customers demand. For more information, visit www.ciandt.com.

About SXSW Interactive
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. The event, an essential destination for global professionals, features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2017 will take place March 10-19, 2017.

SXSW 2017 is sponsored by Esurance, Mazda, Monster Energy, Bud Light, Capital One, McDonald's, The Austin Chronicle, Sonicbids and Pandora.

SOURCE CI&T

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