Crowdsourcing in the Idea Mosh-Pit

Sometimes, the internet reinforces my belief in humanity because of the vast amount of creative energy and raw intelligence that I see while surfing. Everywhere I look, there’s an idea being hashed out, a hilariously unexpected joke created, and something new being created. There are people with great ideas all over the internet, but the only place they are able to express these ideas is in the comments section of blogs or on their own blogs and social media accounts.

Advertisers and creative think-tanks are providing a new arena in which people can let their creative juices flow: crowdsourcing.



Regardless of what you call it (apparently it’s now called “creative collaboration”), crowdsourcing aims to take the creative energy of the masses- the “crowd”- and focus it on brainstorming, innovation, and other projects. Think of it as mass freelancing, with even less commitment. Basically, crowdsourcing is outsourcing a project to a large amount of people through an open invitation to collaborate (often on the internet). Crowdsourcing is a major trend in advertising and marketing, and I think it can be beneficial for both parties. Here’s how.

Agencies:
Crowdsourcing can be a valuable and worthwhile practice for agencies. Don’t believe me? Here’s a snippet from the website of a crowdsourcing ad agency in Boulder, Victors and Spoils:

“Current factors such as radical transparency, the consumer’s demand to be more involved and a growing cost consciousness regarding clients’ budgets have all made crowdsourcing especially timely for today’s marketers”

Let’s touch on each one of those points:

-Radical transparency, as I’ve talked about before, is really popular with my generation. We as consumers want to know what is going on with the brands we buy. What’s more transparent than consumers actually having a part in creating the ad? Brands can gain consumer’s trust by using crowdsourcing principles.

-Because we want greater transparency, we want to be involved. Consumers just like to have a say in things; for evidence, just look at how many people vote for the next American Idol every year. People want to participate. Again, this allows the ad agency and brand to gain the trust of the public.

Individuals:
Crowdsourcing can also be beneficial for people wishing to get their ideas out there. As I said before, people just want to participate and help out, and crowdsourcing allows individuals to let their voices be heard. Here are some other reasons why I think the masses want to join in:

-Foot-in-the-door: It’s a tough job market out there. Anything an individual can do to stand above the clutter is great. Your chances of being noticed in the ad community would definitely increase if you showed off some of your work in a crowdsourcing contest.

-Practice: Participating in crowdsourcing also allows you to hone your creative skills. If you join in, you can work on many different projects; use this to your advantage. Play around with different writing/design skills. You know you can’t get fired, so you can really go big or go home. Practice working on real brands and products with real briefs is important, so you should take any opportunity you can to hone your craft.

-Rewards: Sometimes, brands will crowdsource ideas through a contest. Netflix did this about a year ago when they wanted a new recommendation algorithm. The prize was $1,000,000! Crowdsourcing can be quite lucrative for the winners of these contests. Even if you don’t win, you still get some practice in your field and some notoriety in your industry for trying.

Counterpoint:
Of course, there are going to be some horror stories. Vegemite tried to crowdsource a new name, and the crowd picked “iSnack 2.0” as the new name (seriously). Agencies can’t let the crowd do everything; copywriters and art directors are hired for a reason, and many in the crowd simply aren’t as good as agency staff. Crowdsourcing is great for brainstorming new concepts, ideas, and rough drafts, but agencies probably shouldn’t crowdsource an entire project. Brands still want an agency’s expertise.
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Crowdsourcing obviously isn’t the solution to every brand’s problem, but it is an interesting new way to think about innovation and brainstorming. Once we learn how to effectively tap into the internet for ideas and we learn how to incentivize those participating in crowdsourcing, I see it becoming an even bigger trend. Ideas are all around us; it’s just up to us to find out how to use them.

Written by Tom Miesen, tmiesen.com

by ClickFire Admin 08.18.2010

Check Out Checking-In

The other day, an AdAge article came out with the title “Study Says Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare.” It explains that only 4% of adults use the location-based social media service, and 80% of the users are male. It also stated that 70% of users are in between ages 19-35, and 70% have college degrees or higher. Now, do these stats sound like a dead zone for marketers? Of course not! If anything, these stats are conducive to huge growth in the future, as the millennial generation grows older and Foursquare becomes more popular.

Think about it: what Foursquare does is entice consumers into your place of business, restaurant, or bar. It creates competition to see who can visit your venue the most. I recently read an article (http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/geo-location-marketing/) about how you can use Foursquare as a marketing tool, and it gave me some ideas. In the article, Danny Brown mentioned that you can use it as a cross-platform tool (enticing people to go to a bar after a movie, for example). Here are some other ideas on how to monetize Foursquare for your business, beyond just having specials for the mayor.



Loyalty Program: Use it as a reward for stopping by more than once. Make a special that says you’ll get something for free (or a discount) on the tenth time you go in. Entice the customer to continue to come in, and reward them for frequency. This allows more than one person to be incentivized for frequency, while still letting one person continue to be mayor (regardless of the prize, it IS fun to dethrone a mayor).

Swarm Party: Believe it or not, one of the more innovative Foursquare ideas I’ve heard of came out of Milwaukee. AJ Bomber’s has used Foursquare very well, and more restaurants should take notice. Bomber’s had an idea to host a “Swarm Party” on a Sunday. Basically, they offered the possibility of a coveted Swarm Badge (for those not in the know, you get one for checking-in to a venue with more than 50 other Foursquare users). 161 people showed up, and everyone got their swarm badge. Additionally, this stunt increased sales by 110%. Your business could go further and say that everyone in the building gets a free drink if you get enough people for a swarm badge. Even if less than 50 people check in, you’ll still have a decent-sized crowd ready to spend money. This is just a case of people lusting after something with no inherent value; consumers will gladly spend money if they get a chance at a swarm badge.

Check-in With a Friend: Have a special that rewards bringing new customers in. If you can show them that you’re bringing a friend in and it’s their first time checking in, reward the word-of-mouth with a special. This is easy enough to prove (and, I’m assuming that as the software becomes more advanced you’ll be able to track the number of people checking-in to your business), and it promotes new business.

Obviously, there’s a very large space for innovation and creativity when it comes to using Foursquare as a marketing tool. As the stats say, a small percentage people currently use it, but that number is growing. The great thing about technology like this is that the possibilities for using it are endless. All your business has to do is embrace Foursquare and get to work counting your money.

Written by Tom Miesen, tmiesen.com

by ClickFire Admin 08.16.2010

Coupons Drive Sales on Social Media

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by ClickFire Admin 06.17.2010