Crowdsourcing: Are the crowd getting creative while the brand gets the credit?
‘Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to a large group of people or community (a crowd), through an open call.’
(From Wikipedia).
For brands this means sourcing creative content and ideas for future campaigns or product development.
As I read that ‘Unilever is poised to launch the first crowdsourced ad for its Peperami brand’ (read the article), I found myself wondering about who will take the credit if the campaign is a success? Ultimately it will of course be Unilever and I began to question whether this credit would be merited based on the fact that the creative idea had come from elsewhere. I couldn’t help feeling that it seemed a little un- just that brands are getting recognition and status for producing brilliantly successful campaigns that ultimately they didn’t produce.
As I began to think about the concept of crowdsourcing further though I realised my initial reactions may have been a little hasty and came to decide that it doesn’t take away all the creative input from a brand and is more about co- creation between brand and consumer or designer and that there are benefits for both parties involved.
The creative content is just one element required in order to deliver a successful campaign. It is a vital element but is not all it takes. Good creative ideas go a long way though and therefore count. It can often be what gets your campaign remembered and becomes one of reasons people love your brand.
So brands are understandably careful when deciding on creative content but whether it’s crowdsourced or not the format is really the same. The brief is outlined, creative ideas are pitched and the favorite idea is chosen. The only difference with crowdsourcing is it gives more people the opportunity to input their ideas and often allows for input from the consumers of the brand themselves which makes the potential for quality even greater. What better way to speak to your target audience than to speak from your target audience?
The recent initiative by Waitrose demonstrates why looking to your consumers for creative ideas make sense. Waitrose have turned to crowdsourcing by inviting members of their online club to create a dessert for them with the winning idea being created into an actual product in store (Read more). Waitrose will do well from this initiative if the dessert is a success, but the consumers will benefit too by taking a part in the creative process and by seeing their ideas and opinions come to life. Although the idea for the new dessert may not come from the brand themselves they still have a vital role in the creative process in part by recognizing what a wonderful resource of quality ideas their consumers can be and utilizing that in their campaign. Crowdsourcing can give a brand the information needed to reach its target audience but how this is incorporated into a campaign and made relevant to the brand identity is a skillful job and no simple task.
It must also be noted that a campaign; using crowdsourced content or not, that demonstrates a brand engaging with its customers by embracing them and their ideas is certainly something to be praised. Consumers are looking for new levels of brand engagement and want to feel valued. If this is achieved through crowdsourcing then it is a positive initiative for brands to undertake. It is in a sense a new form of market research; one that allows consumers to not only have their say but to see that they are actually being listened to. It opens up doors for struggling designers or artists who are looking to promote and gain recognition for their work.
A final point which I came to realize was that nobody is trying to cover up how creative ideas are being generated, brands are going public about their use of crowdsourcing and individuals are not participating against their will and that is because it isn’t just the brand that gets all the credit from crowdsourced content. The consumer and designers or artists who contribute are reaping the benefits too. Crowdsourcing can be an open and equal partnership, a two way process between brand and consumer or designer that ends up resulting in both partners feeling rewarded for their part.
It must also be remembered too that crowdsourcing initiatives are just one of many methods used to strengthen the profile of a brand and engage consumers. It is not the only creative process used in a campaign and a brands success is not possible through crowdsourcing alone. Creativity isn’t being bypassed or taken away from brands; there is just a new solution on offer; a solution that has the potential to make positive changes for both brand and the crowd being sourced. Brands engaging with interested and valued customers to produce targeted and relevant campaigns, what could be wrong with that? We shall have to watch this space and see.
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