This contest is so smart I just had to write about it.  It’s  sponsored by CB2 and The Selby which is an incredible photo blog about people in their creative spaces.  Todd Selby shoots people in their apartments or lofts and is kind of a tastemaker of who’s cool right now.  He also shoots spaces as they are and not all styled and Martha Stewart-ed up so it’s appealing to people who want to design their own cool space and are the kind of people who troll through home blogs (like the Selby) of other people’s houses looking for ideas.

Why This Works -

CB2 didn’t pretend to be super awesome. Lots of brands like to say “we are the tastemakers, and we will decide who’s space is cool enough to win this prize”.  CB2 got behind someone who is really hot with trendmakers which makes CB2 look cool without them having to say it. They have created an instant credibility for the audience they are looking to reach with this contest.

CB2 choose a partner who has a trendsetter audience. This is key because the Selby is going to likely be the difference between this contest getting a little attention and a lot of attention.  For example, I would probably not be writing this post about a plain old CB2 contest, their partnership makes this noteworthy.

The prize is SO worth the work. The prize is $10,000 in merchandise from CB2 AND a shoot with the Selby which means that your creative space could be featured between a hip bohemian art loft in New York and a Chanel model’s apartment.  So often, the prize isn’t big enough to justify the tweets and votes and Facebook “likes” that the brand is asking for.  This one is.

You can look at the other entries. Lots of contests aren’t allowing people to look at the other entries!  This is key because everyone wants to scope out the competition and there will also be lots of people that don’t want to upload their space but might still get excited about the contest if they can see some interesting entries.