Launching a New Product - We've seen this a lot in the music industry as bands like "Simple Plan" have created photo or video contests to promote the release of a new album. In these campaigns users might submit photos representing songs on an album, develop posters for album artwork, or create music videos for a new single.

Looking for New Talent - Casting calls are another excellent use of a user-generated video contest. Gamefly was looking for a Super Fan to appear in their next commercial. LX.TV's 1stLookLA, a weekly talk show on NBC was looking for a new host for their show.

Reaching a New Customer Segment - One of my favorite examples is the "Real Men Eat Gardenbuger" Contest where Gardenburger used a combination photo and essay contest to extend its reach beyond its core customer base of women and vegetarians to attract male burger junkies. It was creative and fun, and yielded a diverse crop of entries.

Acquiring Advertising Materials - Let users create your next TV commercial, banner ad or poster like this contest for Pandora, showing off what appeals most to them about your product. We've had very successful TV commercial contests including on for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) with new user-generated ads touting the benefits of ethanol that ran during an Indy Car race in 2008.