Is it possible that crowdsourcing has become even trendier since we last spoke?  In just the past six weeks, we’ve seen everyone from bands, non-profit organizations, premium liquors, and auto manufacturers turn to the crowds for assistance.  I’m scared to blink, for fear of missing the newest collaboration between a brand and their consumers.  But for all of the hype, there is a level of redundancy to nearly every project announced.  Despite the subtle twists, there is a common thread: a distinct focus on advertising.

Though a bit dated, my favorite example of collaboration has always been The GoldCorp Challenge.  Frustrated with in-house analysis, GoldCorp published all of their geological data on the web, offering a total of $575M in prize money to participants who submitted the best methods and estimates for finding previously untapped gold deposits.  GoldCorp received over 1200 submissions from individuals in 50 different countries. 110 new sites were identified, with 80% producing gold. 8 million ounces of gold was found, driving the company’s value from $100 million to $9 billion.  All of this occurred despite the fact that many employees were pushing to abandon mining that particular location all together.

The GoldCorp challenge is a great example of leveraging the wisdom of the crowds to solve for a specific business problem.  By publishing their data online, the mining corporation was able to get a fresh perspective from a wide variety of viewpoints.  Traditional means couldn’t solve the problem at hand, and what the masses were able to bring to the table was an attack from a new viewpoint, using different technologies that GoldCorp employees would have never thought to use.  Netflix is another great example of a brand leveraging global talent to solve an internal problem.  It wasn’t a Netflix coder that came up with their proprietary movie recommendation algorithm, which generates an average of 30 billion predictions per day.  It was a group of engineers that had never met in person sending emails back and forth.

As the above shows, it’s possible that the best solution to a difficult organizational problem may not come from someone inside the building.  Yet another way to leverage the masses is not by having them focus on a single problem, but instead letting them point out what needs are going unmet.  This can take multiple-forms, such as a new product, process, way of interacting with consumers, or a new business model all together.  Take Starbucks for example.  The coffee manufacturer built a social platform for consumers to interact with the brand, a place where registered users can suggest ideas relating to product offerings, in-store experiences, and community outreach.  Since launch, it’s been consumers that have provided the inspiration behind the coffee giant.  And the results?  Head into any Starbucks and you’ll see Starbucks Petites and the Mocha Coconut Frappuccino on the menu.  Both those ideas came from requests on My Starbucks Idea.

Collaboration with consumers provides a powerful tool for organizations, but as of today many are not maximizing their fan’s potential.  Not to say that, when done correctly, a campaign focused on advertising can’t be an effective tool.  But as Netflix and Starbucks have shown, the crowds can also solve for real problems that have a direct affect on bottom line.  Additionally, these type of campaigns offer access to the top individuals, technologies, and expertise from across the globe.  GoldCorp received submissions from over 50 countries; Netflix had registrants from over 150.  These are somewhat dated examples, but they remain the gold standard and there is no reason we can’t continue down this path and start solving for problems that actually impact bottom line results.  You never know where that next great idea may come from, but when you’re leveraging the talents of a global R&D department, chances are you won’t have to look far to find it.

Related posts:

1. Peace, Harmony, Tranquility, Advertising
2. Crowdsourcing Evolved: Using the Whole Crowd
3. Solve the Problem. Save the World.

In our industry, collaboration is put into practice every day. Whether it’s a group of employees working towards a common objective, agencies swapping secrets to execute a campaign, or a community of fans working together to get their favorite actor cast as the next Peter Parker, the idea of coming together to achieve a shared goal is a beautiful thing. But what really gets us at Denuo excited is a new kind of collaboration in which brands directly engage with consumers to create something neither group could do on their own. You may think you’ve heard this pitch before, just with a different label: crowdsourcing. But true collaboration is something different.

Crowdsourced campaigns are typically very straight forward: a brand makes a request for a specific output and individuals are motivated to participate by some sort of reward. There are tons of examples of companies who have had success with these types of campaigns, especially when they are consumer facing. But crowdsourcing isn’t truly collaborative. In fact it’s just a hair different from outsourcing. But what makes collaboration special is the opportunity it provides for brands to speak directly with their primary consumers, resulting in insights that can be applied across business units.

We’ve seen collaboration result in new products, processes, and consumer outreach programs. This year alone, Wrangler asked its fans to invent the next great jean design, Home Depot is asking consumers where they should spend their grant dollars and volunteer hours, and Fashion Stake is letting customers decide what items go from sample to retail. Collaboration in this way provides an opportunity for loyalists to directly influence the direction of their favorite brands, while some even serve as advocates. Who doesn’t want to show-off their newly created Ben & Jerrys ice cream flavor? Certainly, there are risks associated with these types of campaigns, and in 2011 two of the more successful and highly visible came under public attack.

First, Pepsi was forced to deal with cheating allegations by participants in their online fundraising contest, Pepsi Refresh. Around the same time, Doritos was hit with a whirlwind of controversy when one of the submissions to their Crash the Super Bowl campaign created uproar amongst the Catholic community. You can read more about each brands response here and here, but below you’ll find 3 lessons we learned from these incidents:

• Lesson 1: Communication is Key –Ongoing community management can be the difference between success and failure when collaborating with consumers. Just like a project handled internally, it’s key that everyone involved remains up to speed on the project as it progresses. Much controversy can be avoided by simply addressing community member’s questions and concerns as they arise. Collaboration creates a platform for open dialogue between brand and user, so why not take advantage?

• Lesson 2: Be Proactive, Not Reactive – Speed is mandatory whenever the community starts to show signs of agitation. The longer you let concerns hang out there, the worse things will likely get. More people will take notice, mob mentality kicks in, and next thing you know you’re dealing with a full blown riot. Nip controversy in the bud before it has a chance to fester. As soon as you notice unrest amongst the community, start preparing a response. The worst thing you can do is let the unrest build, and hope it’ll magically go away.

• Lesson 3: Be Transparent – It’s easy to try and ease community concerns with a simple “don’t worry, we got this.” But collaboration with consumers should spark open dialogue, so don’t be afraid to be honest. Open the curtains and give individuals a peak at what’s being done to address the issue at hand. Instead of encouraging consumers to trust the process, Pepsi may have gotten a better response from the community if they had explained what that process was, and provided ongoing updates as the investigation took place.

The opportunity to collaborate with influencers and loyalists is undoubtedly an exciting proposition. In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at different aspects of the collaboration process, including determining the potential value for a client, building the communication scaffolding to do it effectively, and managing it throughout. No one knows where that next big idea will come from, but with collaboration you put the power to innovate directly in the hands of those that know your brand best: the consumer.

Related posts:

1. Why collaboration might save marketing agencies
2. WHY CROWDSOURCING IS NOT JUST FOR ADVERTISING
3. Being Human: Community Management Demystified

A long time ago we started a tradition at Denuo. Once a week, someone would teach the rest of the group something. Anything. As you can imagine we’ve managed to cover a broad range of topics since it started.

Somewhere along the line someone thought, “Hey – we should share some of these presentations!” And since we have a website where we can do such things – we’re sharing them here with you.

So in honor of the first official game of NFL Football tonight – Denuo is proud to present its inaugural DenuoU.

Chris Blumberg schooling the group on potential Fantasy Football draft strategies.

Class is in session after the break. Enjoy.

Related posts:

1. Denuo-U: Hitchcock’s Finest Films
2. Denuo-U: Stephanie’s Blog Lessons
3. Denuo-U: Smizing Explained

That’s right twitterverse; the industries’ premiere sports publisher is leveraging the internet’s hottest tool to reach sports fans and gamers everywhere. And get this; they are doing it in a smart way. The EA feed doesn’t just spit out generic information about their lineup of titles or spam your cell phone with tweets drooling over KB24 (ahem, @mattestory). Rather, the feed provides fans with valuable information they can’t get anywhere else. Want to ask Madden cover athletes Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu what it was like to compete against each other in Super Bowl XLIII? Better submit it to @ea first. How would you like a free copy of Connect Four, Battleship, and Yahtzee for your Xbox 360? All you need to do is think of a phrase to replace “you sunk my battleship.” Best 2 get codes. EA has also started leveraging multiple accounts to better tailor their messaging to the subscriber. Tiger Woods fans can get all of the info they need to hit the long ball via @easports. Gamers on the go however may find the information coming from @eamobile much more relevant.

EA has some of the most dedicated followers in the industry (I personally haven’t missed a copy of NCAA Football since Danny Wuerffel was on the cover). It would have been easy for this giant to patronize fans with product information, links to their homepage, and other info readily available all over the web. Instead, @EA is leveraging the power of twitter to start a conversation with their fans, providing them with coveted content and engaging with them in a real way. Utilizing twitter in this way also allows EA to send targeted messages to their fans, as well as make recommendations and drive interest in new IP. So as a marketer and a fan I salute you EA for avoiding the traps so many corporate tweeters fall into. Keep the content coming.

Related posts:

1. DenuoFlash: Matt Story Talks Sports Gaming in Vegas
2. PLAYED – October 2009
3. Putting the N-E-R-D back in Sports

Two weeks ago, quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles admitted to not knowing one of the NFL’s overtime rules when his team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals ended in a 13-13 tie. McNabb, a 10-year NFL veteran, said that he didn’t realize games could end in a tie until the final play of the game. “I never even knew that was in the rule book,” McNabb was quoted as saying. Since his admission, McNabb has faced massive amounts of criticism, with many calling for the former All-Pro QB to loose his starting job. But is the criticism really warranted? Who amongst us knows all the rules for our chosen profession? Below is a list of 5 industry specific rules we should all take note of, lest we have critics come calling for our starting job.

1. FARMING – By law, you can not plow a cotton field with an elephant in the state of North Carolina.

2. BAKING – In Lehigh Nebraska, store owners are forbidden to sell donut holes to hungry patrons.

3. ADVERTISING – Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine are the four states in the U.S. that do not allow billboards.

4. TRANSPORTATION – All taxi drivers in Australia are required by law to carry a bale of hay in their trunk at all times.

5. RETAIL – According to law, no store is allowed to sell a toothbrush on Sundays in Providence, Rhode Island.

Related posts:

1. Are We Listening?