• May 8, 2008

ForRent.com has tapped social ad developer Vitrue to launch a contest that invites participants to submit videos online explaining why they deserve a $10,000 furniture makeover. Contestants are asked to make their case "through the eyes of their furniture" in the WinApartmentFurniture.com promotion.

Clients including Procter and Gamble, TBS, VH1 and Cincinnati Bell have used Vitrue's video-centric platform to run social media campaigns and contests. The company's technology also includes a syndication widget that lets users distribute branded videos to more than 20 popular social networking sites including MySpace and Facebook.

In this case, clicking on a watermark in the videos will take visitors to ForRent.com, which offers listings of 50,000 apartments nationwide.

Borrell Associates estimated in a recent report that online promotions will reach $8 billion this year and will nearly triple to $22.8 billion in five years, overtaking all other types of online marketing.

--Mark Walsh