Bush's Beans enlists TikTok, Reels creators for Can Film Festival

Dive Brief:

Bush's Beans is calling on creators to submit bean-themed content for a chance to have their video aired as a commercial, according to a press release. The winning creator will win a $50,000 prize and four runners-up will receive $2,500 prizes.
Creators can enter the contest by posting a 15- to 30-second video about Bush's beans on Instagram or TikTok and tagging it #BushsCanFilmContest through Feb. 11. Top finalists will have their videos screened on March 3 at 2:00 p.m. ET as part of the Bush's Beans Can Film Festival, which will also feature insights from several popular content creators.
Bush's Beans is tapping into consumer and marketer interest around user-created content on TikTok and Instagram Reels with a livestreamed event that riffs on the Cannes Film Festival, which occurs in May.

Dive Insight:

With the Bush's Beans Can Film Festival, the food brand is modernizing its iconic "roll that beautiful bean footage" tagline for a new era of video. User-generated content (UGC) accounts for 39% of media hours, with teens spending 56% of their time with the format, according to research from the Consumer Technology Association and YouGov. Bush's Beans is embracing this trend by calling on creators to share bean-related content.

"With all the fun bean content online, we've had a front row seat to see just how talented some of these up-and-coming creators are," Director of Marketing Brittanie Weaver said in the press release. "Why not showcase that talent and invite them to roll that beautiful bean footage with us?"

By putting out the call for bean-related content on TikTok and Instagram Reels, Bush's can spur engagement with its brand while also sourcing UGC that will be used as its next commercial. A similar tactic was utilized this month by Taco Bell, which turned to Twitter to crowdsource its next ad for its popular limited-run menu item Nacho Fries. Previously, Frito-Lay's SunChips ran a virtual art contest that gave entrants a chance to see their art placed in ads across the brand's social channels.

Plus, Bush's is embracing livestreamed entertainment by including a panel of top creators who specialize in content creation, filmmaking, special effects, stop motion and transitions as part of the Can Film Festival. This could increase engagement with the livestream as the creators' fan bases — and other users looking to get into the increasingly lucrative field — tune in.