This piece of jewelry news is particularly appropriate this week, as I work on a series of articles tackling the topic of how jewelers can leverage the power of social media to raise awareness of their brand and increase sales.  David Kodner Personal Jewelers have launched a design contest to come up with a new piece of jewelry centred around the focal point of a large moonstone.  Ok, nothing new there, we see jewelry design contests all the time.  The twist is that all entrants must not only visit the brand's Facebook page to find full details about the competition, but must also become fans of the page.   The entries will also be judged on Facebook, with the winner being the design which receives the most votes from visitors to the fan page.

It's an interesting way to try and take the brand viral and increase their exposure on a site that now has over 325 million users, however there is one major flaw in this contest as a marketing venture:  their target audience ispresumably people who want to buy jewelry, rather than people who design it.  But leaving the issue of misaligned marketing aside for a moment, the contest is a genuine opportunity for designers to put another feather in their cap, as well as walk away with the $500 cash prize.

The winning design will be created by David Kodner, and placed on display in their gallery in Clayton, Missouri.  It will also be showcased on yup, you guessed it, the company's Facebook page.

For more details, you know where to go!