Danish audio and video brand Bang & Olufsen is spreading holiday cheer through the use of carols posted to Instagram.

Categorized under the hashtag #BeoXmasMusic, Bang & Olufsen is encouraging its Instagram followers to share a photograph that symbolizes a Christmas favorite. By organizing user-generated concepts that ask for personalized content put forth by consumers, the effort appears more authentic and gives a brand an opportunity to become familiar with its audience.

So this is Christmas
As an audio visual brand connecting to the music played through its equipment, Bang & Olufsen places itself into a larger context, relying more so on how its products are used rather than their specifications.

Bang & Olufsen says in text announcing the contest, “The holidays are all about enjoying your favorite classic tracks.” By uploading photos reflecting those favorites, consumers are then entered to win a pair of BeoPlay H6 headphones and Band & Olufsen’s new book “The Art of Impossible.”

Consumers have so far uploaded images using the hashtag that reflect a range of musical tastes from Mariah Carey to Korn, and seasonal classics such as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “White Christmas” as sung by Frank Sinatra.

In a similar campaign for Valentine’s Day 2014, a number of luxury brands, including Bang & Olufsen, sought out aspirational consumers with social contests centered on user-generated content or peer-to-peer communication.

Bang & Olufsen took the idea of a couple in love and translated it to a Facebook contest, giving consumers the opportunity to win two pairs of its BeoPlay H6 headphones.

Through the brand’s Facebook app for the contest, users could choose between two colors for their own and their Valentine’s headphones. Below that were fields for contact information, including a button to register for email updates from Bang & Olufsen.

The copy in the contest form told users they can plug the headphones into each other to share music, telling users that they would be the only ones listening to their song (see story).