The internet, in this author’s humble opinion, is probably the most level playing field humanity has ever seen.  Individuals can now speak with the same authority as global corporations and reach audiences traditionally reserved for world leaders!  This has been a very fortunate side-effect of the internet’s presence in our lives.  Sites like Flickr, YouTube, and MySpace allow consumers to get their pictures, videos, and songs out to the masses.  This also means that traditional media outlets now have millions of new competitors for consumer’s eyeballs…

So where does this leave everyone?  Some advertisers have taken a hint from the sale of user generated content hubs like YouTube and MySpace and realized that the future may be in the melding of amateur content and advertising campaigns.  We’ve seen a steady increase in the number of advertiser promotions over the years that allow consumers to submit their content whether it be recipes, photos, or full videos.  This provides a brand a direct channel of interaction with consumers that are brand advocates, brand fans, and brand aware.  The benefit to consumers is that they are given a chance to publicly attach their identity to a brand while also being given a chance to win something.  Advertisers get an additional benefit, particularly in publicly judged contests, from their participants telling their friends/family/coworkers about their entry into a contest which drives more traffic to the brand’s site.  Who doesn’t want their mom to see their video on Jeep.com?  This trend is likely to continue strongly in to the future, and for now, shows no sign of slowing down…