For marketers and agencies coming up with an ad campaign, the use of a social network is becoming as de rigueur as the creation of a 30-second spot or a billboard. So far, the typical approach marketers take to social nets is having a page on MySpace—as in the case of Coca-Cola this past summer—and in use of the various, if increasingly, controversial, ad targeting offered by both that Fox Interactive unit and rival Facebook.

But instead of relying solely an established online community, many marketers are increasingly setting up their own branded social nets as part of their larger ad campaigns. As a NYT piece points out, some recent examples include Jockey, which earlier this month set up a promotional site seeking user-generated videos. And Dove has extended its Real Beauty campaign into a site connecting women around self-esteem issues. And, as we noted earlier this week, NBC and Procter & Gamble have recently teamed up to create a social net aimed at pet owners called PetSide.com.

This week, the Times writes that Campbell Soup’s Pepperidge Farm is getting into the act with a site called ArtOfTheCookie, which is related to a campaign whose theme is called “Connections.” The site is positioned as platform for female consumers to discuss ways of improving their friendships. The site is considered a key part of Pepperidge Farm’s estimated $2- to $3 million ad campaign.

The use of social networks is expected to grow substantially over the next few years, as a recent eMarketer article noted that more than one-third of internet users surveyed say they “highly trusted” information from contacts in their social networks.

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