In the past few years we’ve seen more and more companies using social media contests to find brand ambassadors. Companies like Fiskars have had huge success using these brand ambassadors to influence public opinion in an authentic manner throughout the online space. Now BG is beginning to embark on a social media contest for one of our new clients, and to prepare I’ve been doing some research on what others have been doing and learning what has worked well, and not so well about each. Below I compiled three highly publicized social media contests and my thoughts on the positive and negative aspects of each.

1)  Murphy Goode’s “Really Goode Job”: The company posted job listings on all kinds of sites (everything from Craigslist to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine Blog,  The Cellarist) looking for a social media wine enthusiast capable of convincing the masses to sip, savor and tweet about the product.  To enter, contestants were tasked with creating and submitting a video explaining why they should be given the job.  Once submitted, the videos were uploaded to Murphy Goode’s YouTube and voted on by the public.

Positive: Excitement about the six-month job opportunity, and good PR,  led to over 2,000 entries and a ton of media buzz regarding the winery.

Negative: While the contest was described as social and social networks were used in judging, there was a grey area as to whether or not public/social voting really had anything to do with final selection.  Like many other contests, there was backlash because other contestants and voters felt the social voting aspect wasn’t weighted as high as it should have been.  Moral of the story: Brands should be extremely clear about how they’ll select their winners.

2) Coca Cola’s Happiness Ambassadors: Expedition 206 is currently underway as the top three “happiness ambassadors” chosen via social media travel the world (well, at least the 206 countries where Coca Cola is available).  As noted in Ad Age’s interview with Clyde Tuggle, senior VP-global public affairs and communications at Coca Cola, final candidates were not left up to chance.  After reaching out to multiple experienced marketing firms, Coca Cola acquired their top 60 candidates from around the world (based on social media experience and knowledge).  Of those 60, 18 were interviewed in the U.S. and the final nine individuals were then FINALLY presented to the public as three teams of three for social media voting.

Positive: Coca Cola knew the caliber of contestants they were seeking, and instead of hoping the public would find them on their own, they narrowed the playing field to keep the brand happy and allow the public to make their final selections.  Having done their research, it is expected that the content, along with public interest will both be a high success.

Negative: Now that the three ambassadors have been chosen, the public is also in charge of recommending sites and activities for the ambassadors to carry out.  However, I have to wonder if people will lose interest if the ambassadors don’t choose a recommended activity.  And, with most marketing plans, we like to have a decent idea of the outcome.  As for this campaign, Ad Age’s Natalie Zmuda said it best: “In the case of Expedition 206, there’s not yet any clear sense of how the program will deliver or what brand awareness it will generate.”

3) Groupon’s “Live Off Groupon for a Year” Contest: If you aren’t yet familiar with Groupon, they are an amazing organization offering city-specific hospitality coupons.  The increasingly popular company is going to pay $100,000 to an individual that can live off of Groupon deals for one full year.  (Think 50 percent off sushi, or $25 dollars off teeth cleaning).

Positive: While only brave apply, Groupon has done an excellent job at describing who should not apply.  Their rules and description of the contest are written so there really isn’t any confusion about how this may inconvenience the “winner.” With constant curiosity as to whether or not this Groupon lifestyle is really livable, I predict this social media campaign will continue to bring new and returning readers to check on our “chosen one.”

Negative: The selected individual will only win the $100,000 if she successfully survives with nothing but a laptop, cellphone, and an unlimited supply of Groupons.  What if the individual fails?  Does the campaign just end if and when he slips up and uses his own cash to buy McDonald’s without a Groupon?  I guess that’s the excitement of this whole campaign.  We’ll have to wait and watch…

What do you think are some other brand ambassador programs that have demonstrated the power of social media?  Are there any brands that you’d like to be the brand ambassador for?  Please share your opinions in the comments.