A $1 million advertising campaign — primarily out-of-home and radio — has been launched to bring awareness to a new project from Jack Myers, founder and CEO of MediaVillage. 

MeetingPrep.com, an ed-tech platform built on artificial intelligence, aims to support underserved communities with access to educational information on a variety of media and advertising subjects.  

With an investment in the search engine ranging between the “low to mid-six figures,” the onsite tool provides free access to about 15,000 articles, research papers, profiles, interviews and podcasts on MediaVillage, as well as curated content from some 30 publisher partners.

“The problem we discovered with scraping the whole internet for content on Google, LinkedIn or any search engine, it’s loaded with information, but no knowledge,” Myers said. “You search for ‘advanced TV’ and get 1.82 billion results.

The same search query on MeetingPrep.com returns focused content from sites like Forbes, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. It’s designed for users to access a quick tutorial.

The search engine — which has been two years in the making — integrates with MyersBizNet’s education, research and workforce development, MediaVillage,AdvancingDiversity.org, and The Myers Report.

The project has been in beta since June. The awareness campaign is running in five markets near major brand marketers and historically black colleges and universities with the message “Be the smartest person in the Zoom.”

In first quarter of 2021, the tool will get an expanded ad-tech platform and placement on its own web page.

Today, a search bar on MediaVillage.com provides a way to query the vetted information, but Myers said he will replace that with a search bar on a dedicated landing page explaining the service.

Myers views the portal as a way to support underserved communities, people seeking access to educational information focused on the media and advertising industry. For example, job seekers or media buyers and planners wanting to prepare for a meeting.

MeetingPrep.com is a free tool, although MediaVillage is a membership-based platform.

When asked how the search tool will eliminate the ability to query inaccurate information, Myers said “the best way to identify inaccurate or fake information is by eliminating the publishing and resources that publish it.”