• by Tameka Kee , July 9, 2007

Warner Premiere, the direct-to-DVD division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Alloy Media + Marketing have launched an online casting call for "The Clique," a 2008 series based on the bestselling young adult books by Lisi Harrison.

At SugarLoot.com, Alloy's contest-based social community, teen girls can audition for the two lead roles by uploading videos to SugarLoot; the community will choose who makes the first cut. Then, on Sept. 21, a group of judges from Warner Premiere and Alloy Media + Marketing will choose five of the users' top picks to meet with the casting team in person.

"When we first looked at 'The Clique' series with Alloy, we always saw some version of an online casting search coming to life, and we hope to build as robust an interactive experience as possible," said Irika Slavin, senior vice president of marketing, Warner Premiere.

The contest sponsorship highlights how niche social networks can serve as highly targeted marketing tools for entertainment and media companies.

"Media companies know that users are going to make content, but with a contest, they can say 'why don't you create something like this and upload it in a place where a lot of people are going to see it,'" said Andrew Bender, general manager, SugarLoot. "Then the content is immersed in the brand, and it reinforces the message across the whole community."

SugarLoot's community has amassed more than 100,000 users since its launch in April, with contests that cross gender and age demographics.