National Tour of SPRING AWAKENING Nominated for Best Brand Use of YouTube in Open Web Awards

The national tour of SPRING AWAKENING, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2007 and now in its second year on tour, was nominated yesterday in MASHABLE'S third annual Open Web Awards 2009 in The category, "Best Brand Use Of YouTube."

MASHABLE, the world's largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news, received over 450,000 nominations for 80,000+ nominees during its initial nomination period. SPRING AWAKENING Tour's YouTube channel, "Totally Trucked," received enough nominations to emerge as one of five finalists in its category and the only Broadway show.

"Totally Trucked," since it's inception in August of 2008, has generated over 150 videos and amassed more than one million views. These videos, created by members of the cast, document the journey of a Broadway show as it tours the country and give viewers an intimate glimpse into the off stage personalities and activities of the SPRING AWAKENING touring family.

FOCUSRELAY, the online and social media marketing company which manages all of SPRING AWAKENING's social media assets including "Totally Trucked," issued this statement: "We thank the cast and crew of SPRING AWAKENING for all of their hard work in making the "Totally Trucked" channel possible. Social media is one of the largest and most influential ways to create buzz around products and is increasingly the place where consumers are making their purchasing decisions. The success of ‘Totally Trucked' on YouTube is confirmation that promotional content must be interesting, creative, and engaging to be effective."

To vote in The Open Web Awards, go to www.mashable.com/owa/. You may vote once every 24 hour period per category. Voting closes on midnight on December 13, 2009.

ABOUT FOCUSRELAY:
FocusRelay, founded by Pun Bandhu, Marc Falato, and Steve Tate, is a next generation online marketing company that develops marketing campaigns using emerging technology and community platforms enabling clients to own the conversation.

FocusRelay goes beyond online advertising by creating and deploying unique content, through a variety of channels, that drives traffic to a client's social media efforts and creates meaningful relationships with customers.

FocusRelay engages the fragmentation of the web, spreads word of mouth online, and contributes to brand awareness.

For more information visit www.FocusRelay.com.

ABOUT MASHABLE AND THE OPEN WEB AWARDS
Founded in July 2005, MASHABLE is the world's largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news. With more than 12.5 million monthly pageviews, Mashable is the most prolific blog reviewing new Web sites and services, publishing breaking news on what's new on the web and offering social media resources and guides.

The OPEN WEB AWARDS is an annual contest highlighting the very best the social web has to offer and is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the awards recognize and honor the top achievements in 26 categories.

For more information, visit www.mashable.com

ABOUT SPRING AWAKENING
Based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind about teenage self-discovery in a repressive and provincial late 19th century German town, Spring Awakening won eight 2007 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Spring Awakening features direction by Michael Mayer, choreography by Bill T. Jones, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and a score by Duncan Sheik. The original cast recording of Spring Awakening won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

The musical deals frankly with social issues that still face our society today. Haunting and provocative, Spring Awakening celebrates an unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, a poignancy and a passion that is unforgettable. The New York Times said, "Broadway may never be the same again!"

For upcoming tour dates and more information, visit www.SpringAwakening.com