Pepsi, Dove, Sprint, Doritos have all staged User Generated Contests asking for content in the form of possible advertisements. UGC contests are sometimes effective in promoting the brand, receiving quality ideas as well as content, and detailing information about the demographic of the brand. UGC contests also can achieve brand awareness within a company, an assessment of the personality of your brand for managers and employees within.
However, user contests today do not always have the greatest of marketing effects and could are costly. As the Vice President for Heinz ketchup said regarding their follow up $57,000 contest for creative TV ads, “Many entries are mediocre, if not downright bad, and sifting through them requires full-time attention. And even the most well-known brands often spend millions of dollars upfront to get the word out to consumers. “That’s kind of a popular misnomer that, somehow, it’s cheaper to do this,” he said. Also they have the possibility of unintended brand messages, “Some people, meanwhile, have been using the contests as an opportunity to scrawl digital graffiti on the sponsor and its brand,” says Heinz VP.
Some recent contests have been flops and some have been great successes. For example, Chicago Opera Theater, asked users to upload an up to 3 minute video of you explaining why you deserve two free opera tickets. The reward wasn’t great as it only gave two tickets to the opera and the suggestion video for contestants was the Chicago Opera Theater sexual innuendo about “my first time” at the Opera, not setting the bar high for a more upscale brand. Their efforts delivered 18 total videos though their costs to get the word out were probably low.
Murphy Goode Winery is running a UGC contest asking for applicants to submit a one minute pitch to them on why you would make a “goode” Murphy Goode employee. The winner receives a $10,000 a month salary for 6 months to consult with them on Web 2.0! I emailed them to ask what the purpose of their contest was. They also used an email verification process for those who wanted to vote on the best video. Was their purpose to promote the brand? Get a solid database of emails for marketing purposes? Maybe get web metrics of the areas of the country receiving most interest and start a marketing campaign there first? I think a combination of these reasons as well as a novel way to ask for resumes! So far no comment from the company but I will edit the post once received.
Brickfish CEO Shahi Ghanem, whose company has run 120 contests since August 2006, and Ben McConnell, consultant and coauthor of "Citizen Marketers" offer the following tips for User generated contests which I summarized below and are found here.(http://www.clickz.com/3627018)
Understand What Motivates Participation- win, recognition, or care for a cause.
Recognize People's Passions- usually a consumer brand like pepsi isn’t one which is where prizes come in.
Pick the Best Format for the Demographic- a UGC contest is not always best by video content.
Ensure Transparency- people will participate if others are, show the buzz
Maintain Realistic Expectations- don’t expect a viral buzz, market across channels
Offer Unique Prizes- sometimes fun prizes trump money, including trips to big events and meeting top people
Don't Be a Bore- UGC contests are everywhere now so they must innovate and be fresh to compete.
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