Viralsourcing: Let Crowds Create Your Ad Message

(page 2 of 2)

Viralsourcing has been gathering steam for a while. In 2004's The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki argued that masses of people can be remarkably accurate in their predictions. Fields including open-source software development, Wikipedia entries, stock photography, and even border-monitoring in Texas borrow elements of crowdsourcing. Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (GOOG) take the concept further.

Web companies are leading the charge to use the Internet to create products and ad campaigns. In the most vivid example, Twitter has viralsourced much of its business model by opening its software to third-party developers who can add features. Brian Morrissey, an editor at Adweek, has noted that Twitter's most basic problem—how to make money—has in some ways been outsourced to other companies that experiment with advertising on the site.

When something works, such as Summize.com Twitter search engine, the success becomes a new product feature. If it fails, such as attempts at sponsored "tweets" that users have perceived as spam, Twitter can walk away with clean hands. Firefox Web browser creator Mozilla has used a similar model for years. Recently, software developer Ken Saunders, who is legally blind, created a tool that makes the browser's video player easier to use by people with vision problems.

lower barriers to entry

Another appeal of viralsourcing is that it can slash the costs of doing business. "In the past, [artists] needed at least $100,000 to $200,000 from the decision to record an album to [the time record companies] put it in stores," says Crowdbands' Sorgenfrei. "You would get dropped by your label if you stopped selling a quarter-million albums" each time out. With big labels out of the picture, bands can keep more profits, and individual investors may be happy with smaller returns, he says.

One of the perils of viralsourcing, though, is that it's risky for companies to appear too self-serving. Tyson Foods (TSN) is an example of a company that has avoided this pitfall through "cause marketing." Tyson community relations director Ed Nicholson this spring created an "open-source donation network" to give 35,000 pounds of food to charities, but only if participants helped direct Tyson's largesse.

Tyson asked groups to design marketing campaign elements, such as which social-networking sites should be used to promote the food handouts. The company promoted the campaign at a conference and made 560,000 meal donations.

Epidemiologists have known for a century that viruses spread after mutating; opening a service or idea to crowds allows for the same type of evolution. But viruses can also hurt if your service isn't up to par. United Airlines (UAL) found this out recently when its baggage handlers damaged the guitar of musician Dave Carroll. After getting no compensation from United, Carroll posted a music video on YouTube called United Breaks Guitars. To date it has had more than 3 million views.

include success incentives

When enlisting crowds for help, it's important to balance guidelines with freedom. "People are only willing to put their name to [a campaign] because they can tell their own story," says Scott Henderson, a director at agency MediaSauce who worked on the Tyson Foods project. An ideal approach is for organizations to set a premise, then let consumers "fill in the blanks," he says.

Companies should also be aware that consumers can be shortsighted. Would a crowd have predicted five years ago that people would want video cameras in their cell phones? Or that SUVs would be out and fuel economy in? Professional organizations can foresee demand because of their industry expertise; consumers often think only in the present. And many lack the specialized knowledge needed to make informed decisions.

A solution may be to give crowds incentives if a product or message succeeds. For example, automotive designers could give consumers discounts for submitting great ideas.

Viralsourcing is a bold move for companies used to a command-and-control approach. But the odds are that any one organization doesn't have all the answers. "No one can see the future," says Sorgenfrei. "But everyone in the process can have an interest in getting the future right."

Ben Kunz is director of strategic planning at Mediassociates, a media planning and Internet strategy firm. He is author of the advertising strategy blog ThoughtGadgets.com.

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.