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By B.L. Ochman

Given that the average web surfer has the attention span of a goldfish – which scientists clock at 9 seconds– Daily Break is producing some pretty significant results for brands who want to reach a young adult market.

Chevy is the latest brand to choose a DailyBreak challenge – an innovative advertising unit of consumer-generated content that incentivizes consumers to engage with and share brand messages.

Daily Break’s 26 year-old founder, Boris Revsin, claims the site has perfected the Internet’s highest engagement rates for its 10 million members (called “breakers”) who create content in challenges and contests in order to win anything from coins they can redeem for raffle or auction items to a new car. Each campaign lasts two to four weeks, and produces real-time analytics that show sponsors the specific actions participants take within a challenge.

In DailyBreak’s latest challenge, Chevy’s Home for the Holidays, which runs through Dec. 31, entrants have the chance to win either a Chevy Cruze, Sonic or Spark.

To enter, participants enter their email address and zip code and then create and share content in a multi-step process. After answering trivia questions about things like how many airbags are included in Chevy’s economy-size models and what drivers can do with OnStar, entrants have to create a virtual postcard, using uploaded photos of the family and friends they want to see during the holidays and write a message about why they’d excited about seeing them. Finally, they increase their odds of winning by sharing the postcard on Twitter or Facebook, and asking friends to vote for it to help them win a Chevy. The most creative cards with the most votes will win new rides.

General Motors did two earlier tests on its Chevy brand earlier this year and was encouraged by the results. GMs’ target for Chevy is represented in Daily Break members: 18-34 year-olds who play an average of 20 challenges a month with an average of 5 minutes spent per engagement. GM’s first challenge resulted in 500 User-generated content videos and 10,000 email leads in 2 weeks.

“Chevrolet thrives on providing real-life experiences in our vehicles and Dailybreak really understands the relationship with fun gameplay and user-generated content. Together, it’s really a great partnership to help reach a new customer,” said Carolin Probst-Iyer, Digital Manager at Chevrolet.

Performance-based, pay for results model
DailyBreak uses a performance-based model and only charge for engagement, which is the process of completing a challenge, which is then pushed through social channels by participants. Brands get a real-time analytics tool to learn what specific actions were taken.

Other brands who’ve worked with DailyBreak include McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch, Dunkin’ Donuts and Microsoft.

DailyBreak has come a long way since 2008 when Revsin and Jared Stenquist founded the site in their UMass dorm room as Campus Live.The company was completely bootstrapped through 2009, when the pair realized the college market wasn’t big enough to grow a huge business. They’ve since raised $8 million from investors including GSV Capital, Highland Capital Partners, and Charles River Ventures. Unlike a lot of startups, who put marketing on the back burner, Revsin says much of their capital has gone toward sales and marketing. Their strongest asset, he says, is the team that creates their content.

To keep their 10 million members engaged with the site, DailyBreak produces approximately 25 challenges a week, aiming to be engaging enough to keep members coming back regularly.

Next up: a native DailyBreak IOS App with specific challenges for iPad or iPhone.