User-Created: Zooppa

Recent results announcements from Frito-Lay declares that Dorito's "Crash the Superbowl" user-generated commercial campaign drove over 600 million views. 600 million views (the Superbowl boasts of 93 million views). Expect many to reduce the clues to tapping this opportunity as "let's hold ourselves a You-Create-It Ad Contest"!

That essentially is the potion that Zoopa offers us treasure-seeking marketers.

The checkered flag is waved and I picture advertisers like the zany comedians of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World in the madcap race to get that easy "user generated pot o' gold".
Zooppa stands to gain from the holy grail of engagement - harnessing the awesome power of user co-creation...but their solution of plug-and-play contests to solicit work from brand superfans for any and all clients seems ham-fisted and too literal. User-co-creation is first and foremost about sincere consumer passion for a brand. And the base reality of consumer-made engagement is that IT AIN'T FOR EVERYBODY NOR EVERY BRAND! But we'll see how these guys fare.

I quote highlights of their schema below:

"Zooppa.com partners with international companies to sponsor their brands through Zooppa's video competitions. Based on the briefs companies provide, users are invited to create their own commercials for that brand. This can mean designing an animated sequence, writing a script or concept for a potential ad, or actually shooting their own video."

"For each company that Zooppa partners with, a new contest is launched for users to compete in."

"Once users have uploaded their commercials, it is up to them to decide the winners. Users rate the videos and it is based on these ratings that Zooppa awards the cash prizes. Each Zoop$ that users earn are equivalent to real US dollars. Once users have accumulated a minimum of 1000 Zoop$, they can convert their Zoop$ into a real cash pay out."

Hey brands! Here is a free treasure map clue to consider: if our brands behave in unique and engaging ways, consumers will co-create with us. Save the money on the contests and prizes and think of really great experiences for your customers to have with your brand.