Zappos.com and Steve Madden Launch Shoe Design Contest

Online apparel and footwear seller Zappos.com and shoe retailer Steve Madden are using a viral promotion to sell shoes by encouraging consumers to share online content they create with friends and family.

To participate, people visit www.zappos.com/sole-search where they can create shoe designs that have a chance to be produced by Madden and sold.

The program, powered by the Brickfish social media platform, offers tools to help out, such as Madden assets that can be downloaded or the use of the Brickfish Entry Editor to create the shoes.

Three finalists will travel to New York City to pitch his or her shoe design to Steve Madden himself. Madden will then select a winning design to be produced and sold at the online store.

The promo ends Dec. 29.