February
06
Tags
Hands up all those who think the age of crowdsourcing is at hand?
Tapping up the endless funding resource
E pluribus Unum (from the many, one) is the motto of the United States of America. How appropriate then that a couple of American editors for Wired Magazine, Jeff Howe and Mark Robinson, should be the first to conjure up the now familiar phrase ‘crowdsourcing’ way back in 2005. I say way back because the rate of development in crowdsourcing has been astonishing. Today, the main crowdsourcing categories include: crowdvoting, wisdom of the crowd, crowdfunding, microwork, creative crowdsourcing and inducement prize contests. According to Daren C. Brabham, in his 2013 book, Crowdsourcing, the subject can even be defined in terms of a problem-based typology of that includes:
- Knowledge Discovery & Management
- Distributed Human Intelligence Tasking
- Broadcast Search
- Peer-Vetted Creative Production.
Whether you adopt the populist or the academic approach to crowdsourcing, there is something truly democratic and liberating about the very idea at the heart of the concept. Not just for the people directly involved but for society as a whole.
Is it just me?
I have long suspected that the oligarch brands are sitting on warehouses full of patents that will never see the light of day until they have milked every last drop of potential from existing iterations. I also grieve for the piles of genius ideas and dashed hopes and aspirations that clutter the cutting room floor that cover the average is the bank manager’s office floor. Not to mention the soul-destroying act of having to exchanging every ounce of ownership to line the pockets of a dragons’ den of puffed-up venture capitalist with no real interest in you or the subject.
Where the is a crowd there is hope
One company that floats my crowdsourcing boat is Indiegogo. They make the process of telling the world about your big idea and letting them in on the act easy. What’s more (and in some cases much more) is that you get to keep 100% ownership of your campaign and you don’t owe them anything until you have raised your target funds. Indiegogo uses a unique combination of algorithm, social media tools and their site to make your fundraising campaign look attractive, engaging and manageable. The system is built around offering contributors ‘Perks’
Indiegogo has over 2o different categories of creative, cause and entrepreneurial crowdsourcing opportunities. Each category contains an amazing variety of ideas from all over the world. Contributions can be made in variety of currencies and progress is publicised in the form of a fundraising graphic and countdown combo. The variety is amazing, the amount of money is astonishing and the feel good factor of it all is great. It has the effect of making you want to dust off that old notebook full of un-actioned ideas you have or reaching for the debit card and putting it to work for a good cause.
Crowdsourcing puts the wind up ad agency creatives
In my digital marketing lectures, I like to put a rocket or two up the proverbial backside of the myth that creativity is the preserve of the Creative Department. The biggest rocket comes in the form of Tongal, a company that facilitates connections between creative people from all walks of life and brands, causes, and people who are looking for great creative without the attitude and an overhead-blowing atrium in reception.
As the Tongal team observes, “Great ideas and creative work can come from anyone, anywhere.” They even have a name for these nomadic idea generators, “Tonglers.” I am dying to be featured as this weeks, “Tongler of the week.” It is amazing how many major name brands are using Tongle: Gillette, Lego and Pringles to name but a few. Clients get access to a community of thinkers, ideas people, fully-fledged filmmakers and production companies. Imagine, inexpensive access to a limitless, global supply of hungry cutting-edge creative resource for your brand? Doesn’t sound like your agency does it? Moreover, the talent is also highly motivated. One Tongler who has succumbed to the life of agile creativity is quoted as saying, “I don’t get up to go to work anymore, I get up to create.”
Its so easy to be brave with relatively little at risk
Tongal works by helping a Sponsor define a creative objective and establish a prize pool. Operating through the Tongal platform, the community of creative talent can deliver everything you need: TV commercials, social videos, music videos, branded entertainment — even product innovations. Thereafter, the Tongal community submits ideas to the Sponsors who pick the ideas they want to see developed and only then do the originators get paid. The next stage sees Tongal’s body of filmmakers pitch to produce the winning ideas. Pitch-winning directors are given money to develop their take on the winning ideas. Additionally, anyone who wants to submit a video on spec is invited to create wildcard video. Finally, sponsors select the winning videos, pay the winners, launch the brilliant campaign and then sites back and watches as the innovation plaudits, traffic and ROI roll in.
Crowdsourcing goes all the way
Well would you Adam and Eve it? Indiegogo and Tongal are now official partners. The partnership means you can crowdsource your way from product development to brand development with a sense of aligned continuity that might just make all the difference. The whole thing is achieved by developing the your crowdfunding on Indiegogo and then associating the whole shooting match with a Tongal Partner Page. In the process, Tongal’s expanding community also get access to Indiegogo’s well developed suite of educational tools and support resources. So what’s stopping you?
