On Friday, American Airlines (AA) announced its MEGA VIP Video Blogger contest on its AAdvantage Facebook brand page calling for video bloggers to submit a 30-60 second video that includes three items delivered in a creative manner. The three criteria are: 1) why the blogger should be selected as AA’s official video blogger for the MegaDo trip, which is a four-day trip that starts in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas (DFW airport), stops in Seattle for a visit to Boeing, and ends in Los Angeles, CA (LAX airport) with a stay at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in LA; 2) which leg of the trip is most exciting to the blogger; and the third criterion is for the blogger to share a little bit about who they are.

The contest is designed to drive new Facebook fans and AAdvantage memberships since people have to like the Facebook brand page to participate, and on the contest landing tab/page there’s an offer for non-AAdvantage members to sign up and receive 500 bonus miles for signing up using the offer code OWMGD. In addition to the grand prize, the top five entries will receive 25,000 miles on their AAdvantage membership. 

In general, video contests tend to get the lowest amount of entries among contests and sweepstakes because of the higher barrier of entry due to the skill and time that’s involved to produce a video. Sweepstakes that are promoted on Facebook brand pages where one only has to “Like” the page and provide their name and email seem to get the highest level entries. 

However, for those fans who do enter video contests run by brands, they have a greater chance of winning given there’s less competition. So for eager fans it’s a great way to win a prize; and for brands it’s a great way for them to get fans to submit user generated content that hopefully delivers information about the brand in a fun and entertaining manner that compels viewers to share it with their friends, and therefore, those videos have the opportunity to go viral and extend the reach of the contest and campaign’s message.

If you decide to conduct a video contest for your brand and don’t see a large volume of entries, do not consider it unsuccessful because historically most brands do not experience a high number of entries like they do with sweepstakes that require very little on the entrant’s part. Video contests are more challenging, but they’re an excellent way to acquire creative user generated content with viral potential and new fan/customer acquisition.

Last year Fidelity Investments conducted their “Be The Green Line” video contests on YouTube where entrants had to submit a video that creatively demonstrated being the “green line” and delivered Fidelity’s message to stay on the green line, meaning to save and invest wisely. The video contest was tied into Fidelity’s “Turn Here” advertising campaign that also incorporated the green line, which represents, according to its video contest launch press release, ”the firm’s ability to help investors navigate all stages of life with financial guidance and appropriate investment options.”

The winning video was very well done and as of this writing has received 3,007 views (watch below). Click here to learn more about AA’s MEGA VIP Video Blogger video contest.