Selfie contests have emerged as popular ways for brands to drive user-generated content, partly because of the low creation costs for users (i.e. selfies are easy to take), and partly because of the widespread recognition of what a selfie is (i.e. most users will understand that a selfie contest involves submitting a selfie to somewhere, which is often a hashtag).
However, as the usage of selfie contests grows, so erodes their novelty. Whereas in 2012, when the concept of selfies was fresh, so was the usage of selfies in brand contexts.
Brands currently seeking to leverage selfies will benefit by adding a unique twist to their call-to-action that simultaneously increases brand relevance of the action and differentiates it from other selfie contests competing for the user’s attention and labor.
Below are examples of brand selfie contests with calls-to-action that are unique yet relevant to the brand.
Tostitos
The Tostitos Party Challenge series challenged users to submit selfies wearing their favorite team’s apparel, which helped position Tostitos as a game-day snack and also allowed users to show their team pride.
John Varvatos
The John Varvatos Peace Rocks campaign challenges users to submit selfies with the peace sign, with John Varvatos donating $1 to the Ringo Starr Peace & Love fund for every selfie.
Beachbody Blog
The Beachbody Blog challenged its readers to submit sweaty selfies of themselves training for their beach bodies.
Vancouver Writers Fest
The Vancouver Writers Fest challenged users to submit selfies (cleverly called shelfies in this context) of themselves and the book they were reading in front of a bookshelf.
Colbie Caillat
The singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat challenged users to submit no-makeup selfies, which were incorporated into her music video that promotes natural beauty.
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