Lights, Camera, Amazon

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN ) is experimenting again with broadband media, but this time the online retailer is asking customers to be critics. The latest marketing gimmick may not have a huge impact on sales, but it could raise Amazon's profile in certain circles, and it certainly shows that the firm is thinking outside the box.

On Thursday, Amazon issued a press release announcing that its site will play host to the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition. The contest is a collaboration with Tribeca Film Festival founders, including actor Robert De Niro, and founding partner American Express (NYSE: AXP ) .

Amazon plans to accept short film submissions from contest contestants until April 13. Customers will get a chance to view and judge the entries on the site, and the five films with the highest customer ratings will be screened at Tribeca Cinemas in New York. What's more, the most popular flick among Amazon customers will receive a $50,000 grant in the form of a prepaid American Express Card.

The Web retailer's latest broadband initiative is a major improvement on its holiday short film series. That marketing effort featured high-profile stars, but offered viewers a mostly passive experience. This time around Amazon is leveraging the reach of the Web to tap into the creative juices of aspiring but unknown film makers. At the same time, the firm is bringing customers into the experience by letting them choose the winners. The contest's prospects for attracting a range of potential shoppers, from film buffs to the mildly curious, seem pretty promising. Best of all, the project is probably pretty low-cost for Amazon to run.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Amazon's film contest will be a hit. After all, heavily promoted online video offerings have flopped in the past. But it's clear that Amazon and companies such as Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO ) are determined to maximize broadband technology. And Amazon just may have taken one step closer to finding the right formula.

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Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.

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