I've said for a while that actors and directors with big social media followings will have significant added-value when it comes to negotiating their film fees. The same can be said for endorsement deals, as well. In this case, Ashton Kutcher is rallying his 3.9 million fans to participate in the latest Nikon UGC contest. Think about that. A potential reach of 3.9 million just through 1 celebrity. What else is interesting is the agency person quoted in the story is the technology strategist. Look for a lot more from people with similar titles.

The idea is, you can tag your own photos on Facebook (and soon MySpace) with a brand name, and if that brand is working with Udorse, you'll get payment on any transactions that ensue from the click. That may be a low odds game, but the direction of this is what's interesting. The payment structure could clearly change in the future. Note that they have 10,000 users, and some initial funding from the company that first funded Facebook.

Many social media campaigns feel light weight. Interesting ideas, but not broad enough in scope to really make a broad impact. Ford's idea of giving 100 YouTube celebrities a Ford Fiesta, to create content around, is proving to have had that impact. For one, brand awareness rose 38% for the car during the campaign. Another interesting bit .... some of the YouTubers said the vids they created around the car gathered more views than their regular content. Which spurred them to create MORE content than their original agreement required.

This is just great content for a lifestyle brand. Humorous event, good music bed, and fun slide show commentary. What's perhaps best is that it was done by a 3rd party. More authentic, less cost.

This contest is being done internationally in celebration of 6 dozen years of Krispy Kreme. The contest allows winners to design their own doughnuts.

Krispy Kreme's search for its "fave fans" invites doughnut lovers aged 18 and older in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines and the United Kingdom to submit a photo with a 72-word (or less) caption that answers the question, "How has Krispy Kreme made your life special?"