Eight brands that have run video contests using Twitter's Vine

Since launching back in January Vine has been downloaded more than 13 million times on iOS, so there's potentially a sizeable audience out there even taking into account people who have used the app once then never gone back to it.

As with Instagram, brands were quick to begin experimenting with Vine and several launched competitions using the platform.

This generally achieves several goals – it shows that the brand is forward-thinking and innovative, gains exposure as people will be sharing branded content with their friends, and also help to attract lots of new followers.

So having previously showcased brands that have run competitions through Instagram and Pinterest, here are eight examples of businesses that have launched contests using Vine. Not all of them were particularly successful though...

And for more information on this topic, check out our blog posts detailing seven tips for creating awesome Vines and highlighting six fashion retailers that have used the platform.

Paddy Power

Never afraid to be bold with its marketing campaigns, Paddy Power ran a Vine competition during the Cheltenham Festival to give punters the chance to win a free £100 bet.

To enter users had to tweet a video showing where they planned to watch Cheltenham Festival using the hashtag #LuckyPants. The winner was then chosen based on the number of retweets they received.

Paddy Power even created a leader board where you could check who was winning. The eventual victor received 43 retweets, so assuming the other entrants gained similar numbers then Paddy Power will have gained some decent exposure for a relatively low investment.

Tribeca Film Festival

The organisers of the Tribeca Film Festival challenged budding filmmakers to create six-second movies that had a beginning, a middle and an end.

More than 400 people entered the competition using the hashtag #6SecFilms, with winners in four different categories taking home $600.

This is a great example as Vine is the perfect medium for drumming up interest around a film festival.

Madhouse

Marketing agency Madhouse Associates ran a Vine contest over Easter giving people the chance to win a hamper of seasonal treats.

To enter Vine users had to create a video from one of three themes: eggtastic, bunny mad and chocoholic. 

As far as I can tell there were only a handful of entries using the hashtag #easteratmadhouse, so it doesn't appear to have been a roaring success. Credit to them for trying something new though.

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters went big with its Vine contest, offering entrants the chance to win two nights in San Francisco, $1,500 in gift cards and 10 pairs of Converse trainers.

To win entrants just had to upload a video documenting a day in the life of their Converse shoes using the hashtag #YourChucks.

But despite the attractive prize on offer, it appears that there were fewer than 20 entrants, which is a bad return in my opinion.

Michelin

To raise awareness of the perils of driving Michelin ran a Vine contest that required entrants to create a video showing what road safety meant to them.

Each entry had to be uploaded with the hashtag #michelinyoungdrivers, with the eventual winner decided through a Twitter vote. The prize on offer was an iPad plus the chance to make an official company video for Michelin. 

Unfortunately it appears there were fewer than 10 entries, so again it doesn't appear to have been a great success. Here's the winning entry...

The Saturdays

Pop group The Saturdays gave fans the chance to win clothes from one of their videos by creating a Vine themed around their song 'Gentleman'.

A blog post suggested that fans could "sing along to 'Gentleman' with your friends, make a dance routine, or do something completely out of the box!"

A search of the hashtag #GentlemanVine on Twitter suggests that there were about 20 entries, which actually isn't bad going compared to the other examples on this list.

Confused.com

Insurance brand Confused.com has a history of running interesting social campaigns, so it's no surprise that it was quick to experiment with Vine.

It tried to tap into the popularity of animal clips online by asking people to produce a creative video of their pet.

Once again it seems that the number of entries was relatively low, however asking people to video their pets is a great idea for a competition as people love to show off their animals.

Ping Pong

Dim sum chain Ping Pong put a slightly different spin on its Vine contest. It posted videos of an unseen person moving three pots around and entrants had to guess where the middle pot ended up.

This type of contest has the potential to attract far more entrants as there's obviously less work involved for people who want to take part.