I didn't know much about CampusLIVE when I jumped on board as their point person for Project Beacon.  A little ironic, considering they operated out of the cool basement space in my condo building until the end of last summer when they left for bigger digs.  Shame on me for not stopping by given the cool stuff happening down there.

What started as a series of college-specific portal pages combining academic information, the local food and social scene, and networking tools has evolved into a real content powerhouse, filled with "challenge"-based destinations for students to compete with each other to win recognition and some pretty sweet prizes.

The CampusLIVE crew's combination of deep knowledge of the often hard-to-reach college demographic, the expertise and resources to create rich, engaging content, and the ability to measure brand engagement within each challenge is a special mix that works.  CampusLIVE partners with brands, many of them major players, to bring challenges to their members.  The challenges range from caption contests to word games to pop culture trivia.  Social sharing is encouraged (and often thoroughly embraced) and some challenges include real-world extensions.  For example, a recent challenge includes NCAA March Madness tickets and a $500.00 Radio Shack gift card as potential prizes.  In addition to the online game, there will be challenges in certain cities where students will be able chase down a ticket guy for the free tickets.

At a time when brands are struggling to generate "engagement" beyond a like, tweet, or fleeting impression, CampusLIVE is building branded experiences that an increasing number of users spend significant time with and share out to their social graph.  "Procrastination that pays."

We're excited to be partnering with them as they continue to expand and evolve.  Here's a bit more on how it works.