Take it from us, photo and video contests have become incredibly popular. At Strutta, we're proud to be responsible for some of the world's finest photo and video contests, and it is interesting for us to see which industries have been among the first to embrace the technology and services we offer.

The tourism industry is one of the first "trends" we've witnessed, with towns, cities, states and even countries employing our platform to promote their homeland.

It's no surprise either, since photos and videos are the best way to promote tourism (it's the closest you can get to actually "being" there). And the viewpoint of the public, through their lenses, is the most powerful and effective marketing message you can send out into the world.

Proving that our platform is flexible and scalable enough to accomodate all types and sizes of clients, we host all manners of tourism contests. Presently, we have the behemoth that is Tourism New Zealand's film competition, which is presently generating about 200,000 video views a day. Readers will also no doubt recall Tourism Queensland's "Best Job in the World" contest, a campaign that got the attention of the entire PR and advertising world last year (not one of ours, we're just fans).

At the local level, both Maple Ridge, BC and the tiny town of Bloomington, TN have used Strutta as well. Maple Ridge hosted photo contests, while Bloomington is looking for original video submissions to go with the new "unofficial" Bloomington song, recorded by Elizabeth Eckert.

The State of Wyoming is using Strutta for two contests consecutively; one for a Wyoming short film contest, and one for the Wyoming Rodeo.

Sunshine Village in Banff is hosting their second contest with Strutta- "Sunshine Village Rockstar" is a chance for bands to compete to be named the official band of the resort for 2010.

And of course, Tourism Vancouver has been hosting a video competition as well. There are still two weeks left to vote in that one, and it has generated some brilliant entries that reflect very well on the city.

For obvious reasons, we encourage other tourism boards to contact us to talk about how we can help with other promotions of this kind. Browse through the examples above, and click through the online tools we offer by clicking the green "Create a Contest Now" button at the top of this page.

The team at Strutta is proud to launch our most recent custom contest build, "Your Big Break," for the New Zealand Tourism Board, which has been highlighted as innovative by PSFK.

It's a short film competition, judged by none other than Academy Award®-winning director Peter Jackson himself.

Have you seen the movie "District 9?" Maybe you've heard the story of how South African Director Neill Blomkamp came to make it. It started with a short film, "Alive in Joburg." Peter Jackson had seen the film (and several other shorts shot by Blomkamp) and signed on as Producer of what would become District 9, the feature-length version of Alive in Joburg.

Blomkamp became a "player" in the movie biz, seemingly overnight. It was a case of an undiscovered talent, meeting the right influencer with the means to get him the recognition he deserves. Now, Jackson wants to create the same kind of opportunity for five filmmakers who will get to meet him and shoot their films among the majestic natural beauty of Jackson's homeland, New Zealand.

The instructions for aspiring filmmakers are as follows:

1. The first thing you need to do is write a three-minute screenplay on how you would ‘Capture the spirit of 100% Pure New Zealand - the youngest country on earth’.
2. You submit your screenplay. It is highly recommended you also supply supporting material in a 60 second video pitch to camera to bring your idea to life. It could include rough storyboards, stock footage edits, narratives etc.
3. These will be assessed by a panel of experts including Academy Award®-winning producers, editors and filmmakers.
4. The entries will be reduced to a shortlist of 5, which includes one people’s choice entry that is based on the number of votes it receives from the general public. It is to your advantage to encourage your friends and family to get involved and vote for you.
5. Those five successful applicants will be flown to New Zealand early in 2010. They will have three weeks to pre-produce, shoot and post-produce their idea to the budget of NZ$100,000, with the help of a small crew and Peter Jackson’s post-production facilities in Wellington.
6. Your return airfare, accommodation, production facilities, crew and core casting are covered as part of your prize.
7. The five completed three-minute films will then be viewed and judged by Peter Jackson.
8. You will return home.
9. The winning film will run on US television in 2010, crediting you.
10. You will be famous.

Click here to find out more and enter now.

Jackson's own rise to fame as a filmmaker started when the New Zealand Film Board funded the post-production of his first film. He had funded all of the photography and editing up to that point by himself as a hobby in his spare time. The Film Board intervention ensured that "Bad Taste" saw the light of day, and was subsequently viewed the world over. Jackson is now in a position to return the favor. Coincidentally enough, Bad Taste also started as a short, and it too is a sci-fi film about an alien invasion. Here's Mr. Jackson telling that story himself:

The contest site offers inspiration in the form of stock New Zealand footage and photos from 100% Pure New Zealand's YouTube and Flickr channels, and for your further inspirations and viewing pleasure, here is Neill Blomkamp's "Alive in Joburg," in its entirety: