In a brave move that could prove to be a major turning point in big brand marketing, Pepsi has decided against doing a Super Bowl ad in 2010, and investing their $20M or so in social media instead.

Meanwhile, at Strutta HQ, we collectively raise an eyebrow. We used to point to Doritos' crowd-sourcing efforts to produce their Super Bowl spot as the ultimate use of user generated content in advertising. After all, that (now 3 year) campaign was birthed in part by our CEO, Ben Pickering. Now, a huge brand has publicly opted out of the bloated Super Bowl advertising one-uppance pissing contest, and is diverting all (not just some) of the funds they would have spent into connecting with Pepsi drinkers online. It makes you wonder whether the next step will involved abondoning tv ads altogether. Time will tell.

This news came to us in the form of a presser released this morning by our neighbors at Adhack. We also found this interview with a spokesperson for PepsiCo.

“Pepsi’s $20-million commitment to social media instead of its Super Bowl commercial is a substantial shift in where they put their marketing efforts, and a groundbreaking shift in how they can measure their return on investment," said Adhack Founder James Sherrett. "It’s a smart move.”

PepsiCo Spokesperson Nicole Bradley confirms that the soda pop company has given this some thought, and they expect it to be a better investment, long term. "...our beverage brands' marketing strategy in 2010 [is] less about a singular event and more about a movement, said Bradley. "We are always looking to further develop our two-way conversation with consumers."

So what comes next? How should Pepsi divert those funds to get the most out of the web, and best connect with fans of the syrupy, bubbly stuff? If you're asking us, we'd like to see some of that invested in online contests and with the talented creatives that make-up the Adhack community, for starters. Seems to us to be a great way to reflect Pepsi's fanbase, and help to distance them from the Britney Spears/Michael Jackson high budget spectacles of old.

If you want to know more about how to invest in marketing on the web and put online photo and video contests to work for you, contact us. We'd be happy to answer your questions. During office hours (Pacific time) we can be reached at 1-877-477-5717.

So you've come up with a fantastic contest idea with an interesting premise and an awesome prize.

You want your contest to:

1. raise awareness of your brand.
2. introduce a new product or feature.
3. engage your existing customers.
4. increase site traffic and attract new customers.
5. encourage the creation of great new user generated content
6. any combination or all of the above.

You've gone through Strutta's promotion builder.  You've chosen a domain name and designed a slick style to match your brand. Your contest is set up for greatness, so don't stop now...You've got to spread the word!

An online contest, no matter how great the premise or prize, could always use a some "word of mouth" help, using social media, in order to be even more successful.  There are many resources available, so here are some tips to help get you started.

1. Website and Blog

The first place you'll want to promote your contest is on your website and blog.  Feature it prominently on your homepage.  Highlight the contest premise and prize, and invite users to participate by demonstrating how easy it is to enter.  Let any subscribers you may already have know about your new and exciting contest!  Users should be just one click away from accessing the contest on your website or blog homepage.

2. Twitter

Tweeting about your contest to your existing followers is a great way to get the word out.  Always include a link to the contest site.  "Retweets" of your contest will reach the eyes of more potential contest participants and promoters.  If you don't know Twitter, acquaint yourself with Common Craft's Twitter in Plain English video.

3. Facebook

It has grown to become the largest social network worldwide with over 300 million active users.  Create a "Page" on Facebook for your campaign.  Update your friends and fans with featured entries, the contest's progress, and encourage participation!

4. Other social networks and websites

Get the word out in other relevant major and/or niche social networks.  Consider promoting your contest on YouTube with a "how to enter" video, or break the news of your promotion to relevant online communities you are a contributor to.

5. Link

Blog, tweet and post quality content that will spark interest, initiate conversation and provoke action.  Generate legitimate buzz that will encourage friends, bloggers, news sources and other website owners to link to you. Turning the spotlight on existing entries is a great way to keep the buzz going. Don't forget to give some love in your messages too.  Include links and thanks to your supporters and sponsors as well.  What goes around usually comes back around again.

6. Connect

Get in touch with friends, family, clients, colleagues, neighbors...tell everybody you know about it!  You can also reach out to the masses at affiliated schools, campuses, sports organizations, clubs, community centers, and cafes.  Don't underestimate the power of your voice and other offline options. 

The key is to find your niche, and to keep promoting the contest and new entries.  Be mindful of your actions, and be careful not to engage in any activity that could be viewed as spam.  Nobody likes a spammer!

7. Repeat

Using the "Custom Survey" tool in Strutta, you can ask up to three survey questions of participants. We encourage you to use one of these to ask permission to contact people after the contest is finished. Sign the "yesses" up to your email newsletter, and share more valuable info about your company. And of course, tell them about your next contest, too. Each subsequent promotion will be more successful than the last!

Contact us to learn more about Strutta, how to create your own online video, photo, audio or text contests, and how to get the most of your online promotion.

These 7 tips should get you on the right track.  If you've got some favorite promotional tactics using social media of your own, feel free to share them in a comment to this post!

For the past few weeks, we've been hosting a live show from the couch here in our office, using UStream.

We've now "aired" five episodes, and plan to continue the tradition on working Fridays. Our first episode was more of a test than anything, trying to determine if it was an idea worth pursuing. We generated enough interest in that first episode to beging a tradition, and now we get great guests joining on the couch for some beer and chit-chat.

Subsequent episodes have seen us discuss "Tools" in episode 2, Viral Marketing, Fashion for Geeks and our most popular episode was dedicated to gaming:

Why not stop by the live page on Friday afternoon and ask a few questions? The topic for this week's show is "#followfriday." The popular Twitter meme become the focus of our whole show. Who do you follow that you want others to know about? Why?

Our guests will talk about their favorite micro-scribes, and we'll take suggestions boh from the chat and from Twitter. Join us at Strutta.com/live this Friday at 4pm, and tag your tweets #couchbeers. Cheers!

In December, we launched our Do-It-Yourself online contest platform. Since then, we've been fielding a lot of requests from clients looking for help with designing and customizing contests, or incorporating contests into their existing marketing mix.

We simply can't keep up. Demand is out-pacing what we can deliver on, and the product is already at a state where fulfillment on these requests can come from other sources.

The Strutta platform is multi-faceted. There is the online solution, which itself is quite extinsible and customizable, and then there is the pending API, which will help put the control in the hands of developers to repurpose as they see fit.

While we work with developers to prepare the API, we have demand for CSS designers too. The online DIY contests still need to deft hands of a CSS designer to make them unique for each client, and we've made the process relatively simple. Ask us about how you can use our style kit to build contests that match existing client websites, or create your own original designs.

We're hoping to team up with a number of trusted partners to help us fulfill many of these requests. Put simply, we may have some work for you, so if you're interested or have questions, please get in touch so we can talk specifics by using info[at]strutta.com.

*img: "Help Wanted" by Egan Snow on Flickr.

It's been several weeks since we first started launching contests built with our platform. Before the inevitable flurry of activity that our launch will create, I though it would be a good time to give updates on some of the recent ones.

1. Operation Gratitude "Letters to Our Troops." We start with OpGrat because the contest is still live, and there are only a few days left to submit your letters to the troops in time for them to receive them this holiday season. This one is one entry per email, but you may submit as many letters as you wish, and THAT is what it's all about. As it stands now, the promotion has generated more letters than in any previous year, but they're still short of the 50, 000 or so that they would need for each care package they'll be sendng to the troops this Christmas. What are you waiting for?

2. Boston Pizza "Designer Pizza Vote" contest. As we've already announced, this one ended a few weeks back, and now a winner has been announced. Bryan Hayter of Woodstock Ontario will be enjoying a free large pizza every week for a year, the lucky devil. 

3. Give a Better Life Foundation "Vote for Your Cause." Launched just a short time ago, this is already gaining loads of traction. Because there are 11 great charities involved, there has been a flurry of voting activity for all of them among their supporters and friends. Visit the site and cast your vote for your favorite charity today while there's still time. 

4.Jiibe and Capulet's "Jiibe Connection." Created by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo of Capulet Communications for their client Jiibe, this little number (that features a videoby GiantAntMedia) is already getting talked about in the HR community. Of all the contests we've built, this one is the easiest to enter. Just make your choice, enter your email address and you're entered to win an iPod Nano. 

Over the next few weeks, you'll be seeing more examples of Strutta contests, but they'll built by some of our friends, who will be the first to access our wizard, which should be very exciting to watch unfold. 

If you have questions about these or any other contests, don't hesitate to get in touch.