With March Madness getting underway, it's the season for tournament brackets. Even the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is getting in on the action, with a bracket that plays on brand loyalty and regional pride.
PA Chamber is launching its first-ever "Coolest Thing Made in PA” tournament on Tuesday, when 32 interesting products made in Pennsylvania — ranging from food and beverages to automobiles, diapers and steel — will compete over the next few weeks via public Twitter polling.
“This competition celebrates the commonwealth's storied history and continued leadership in manufacturing, and spotlights the amazing companies who are making incredible things right here in Pennsylvania," PA Chamber president and CEO Luke Bernstein said in a release. "We can’t wait to see who comes out on top and look forward to growing this competition in the years to come.”
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The wide variety of competitors includes recognizable Pennsylvania food and drink, like Dalessandro's cheesesteaks, Hershey's Kisses, Primanti Brothers sandwiches, Mrs. T's Pierogies, Utz potato chips, Yuengling lager, the Sheetz made-to-order menu, Martin's potato rolls and Asher's chocolate pretzels.
Twitter users can also vote for unique products like Pennsylvania-made steel, the Duolingo language learning app, Crayola crayons, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Zippo lighters, Aurora self-driving cars and Pampers diapers.
Similar to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the "Coolest Thing Made in PA" competition will be single elimination. Each day during the voting periods, PA Chamber will post public polls to its Twitter page.
The first round of voting will begin Tuesday, March 14 at noon, and the schedule is as follows:
First round: March 14 through March 17
Second round: March 21 through March 24
Third round: March 28 through March 29
Fourth round: March 30 through March 31
Championship: April 3
The winner will receive bragging rights, as well as free tickets to next year’s PA Economic Forecast and Business Leadership Summit where they will be honored.
Participants can download the tournament bracket (seen below) online.
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