Crowdsourcing has become very effective when looking for creative ideas. Brands have spent millions on advertising spots using this method, such as Doritos who have used crowd-generated ads.
Many times than not, consumers who have a creative idea and a decent camera are able to beat many high-budget ads generated by big-name agencies. As a result, big brands such as Doritos moved to create a platform, ‘Legion of the Bold,’ to interact with the crowd on a more permanent basis.
When the purpose of a company is having an original and fresh perspective in its ad, crowdsourcing is perhaps the best way to go for it, and these are some of the reasons:
Firstly, crowdsourcing has a reach larger than the biggest global advertising agency and can bring in more people to focus on a certain ad brief. Marketers receive hundreds to thousands of videos to choose from. So if you receive more ads your chances will be increased in getting some exceptionally creative ones.
Secondly, the diversity of people involved in ad generation is far greater in a crowdsourcing campaign than any agency in the world. This allows marketers to get an outsiders observation on a brand and use their perspectives in generating an authentic ad that represents the consumer.
Lastly, crowds and creatives at agencies have different motivations. Crowds are often motivated by the creative process and their participation is entirely voluntary. Creatives at agencies on the other hand have different motivations that causes there creative process to evoke different ideas and work.
On the whole, crowdsourcing has a competitive edge over traditional agencies in terms of creativity thanks to its ability in activating a large, diversely motivated group of consumers.
Most agencies are understandably sceptical about crowdsourcing. After all, it has the potential to disrupt the entire ad industry. In fact, some of the concerns are quite valid. For example, there may not be any cost-advantages with crowd-generated ads as designing and coordinating a crowdsourcing campaign could be costly. However, creativity is not one of those valid concerns.
Most agencies will realise that the advertising world has changed and will look for ways to adapt to it. The potential of including crowdsourcing rather than fighting against it in campaigns may be the better option longterm. John Winsor, the chairman of Victors & Spoils coined a memorable phrase: “If you ignore the world when you create advertising, the world will ignore your advertising.”
The crowdsourcing revolution is more than likely here to stay. Brands and agencies should embrace it and look for ways on how to incorporate it in to their campaigns.
