Design & Crowdsourcing

Power Shifts in The Conversation Age: a Social Marketing view.

Pascal Beucler, SVP & CSO MSLGROUP,

Paris College of Art/Ecole Parsons à Paris,

Oct. 22, 2012.

• By culture, tradition, sometimes « ideology », designers are not very comfortable with the new peer to peer culture, where collaboration, co-generation and co-creation are cornerstone realities

• How can the « genius of one » cope with the wisdom of crowds? Would Starck crowdsource???

• Let’s share a few facts & figures on this, and discuss!

CROWDSOURCING: A FAST-GROWING TREND

• Crowdsourcing is a distributed problem-solving and production model

• An open call for solutions: users submit solutions. Solutions are then owned by the entity that broadcast the problem in the first place—the crowdsourcer

• The contributor of the solution is, in some cases, compensated either monetarily, with prizes, or with recognition

• Crowdfunding, Open Innovation, Collaborative Social Innovation are other fast-growing parents of Crowdsourcing at large

THE PATH TO INNOVATION?

• The growing power of insights & foresights• A « People’s inside » Age• The will to inspire and innovate by bringing the voice of the

people to life• Turning people’s intelligence and passion into innovation: this

is what the digital & social revolution makes possible• Innovation is not anymore a top-down/guru process: it’s no

surpise that P&G, Unilever and many other leading companies use crowdsourcing massively

• Collaboration leads creativity, innovation and growth: the best and more sustainable growth needs to be people-led, today

• People do expect, more and more, to be involved into the content/substance as well as into the form/shape of projects/objects which at the end of the day will touch their life

• It is crucial for brands to generate people-centric solutions, not just « products »: solutions in terms of concept, design, function, packaging, and messaging/telling stories that matter

Dell pionnered in this area, opening its sharing and collaborative platform years ago

http://www.ideastorm.com/• « IdeaStorm was created to give a direct voice to our customers

and an avenue to have online “brainstorm” sessions to allow you the customer to share ideas and collaborate with one another and Dell. Our goal through IdeaStorm is to hear what new products or services you’d like to see Dell develop. We hope this site fosters a candid and robust conversation about your ideas. »

• « Since Launching, IdeaStorm has crossed the 16,000 idea mark and implemented nearly 500 ideas! As Dell is always moving forward and innovating, so is IdeaStorm. In addition to the open discussion IdeaStorm site, in December 2009, Dell added “Storm Sessions” where Dell posts a specific topic and asks customers to submit ideas. »

Starbucks digital strategy director, Alexandra Wheeler, gives a few hints:–The journey really began with the launch of My Starbucks Idea in

March 2009An online community where customers and employees can

submit their ideas, vote for other people’s ideas or add to ideas in the community. They can also see what Starbucks is doing with those ideas through their “Ideas in Action” blog

–It’s a pretty robust community. It has over 75,000 ideas in it In its first year, 25 ideas were activated through that program. It’s

a significant way to co-create, to inform business decisions –It was important for them to go where consumers are and to

provide a valuable and meaningful brand experience

Mastering the Art of Crowdsourcing is what helped make Starbucks the Top Brand on FB

http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/learn-more/my-starbucks-idea

From Ideas to Action• "You know better than anyone else what you want from Starbucks. So tell us.

What's your Starbucks Idea? Revolutionary or simple – we want to hear it. Share your ideas, tell us what you think of other people's ideas and join the discussion. We're here, and we're ready to make ideas happen. Let's get started".

• Submit Your Idea• « Ideas In Action• What are we doing to make your Starbucks experience better? These are some of

the things you've asked for ».

– However-you-want-it Frappuccino is Officially Here May 4, 2010 by Jennifer K– New Highly Energy-efficient LED Lighting Coming to a Starbucks near You April 26, 2010 by

Sue Long– Molasses Cookie Returns April 23 by sbx_mdro– One Person Can Save Trees. Together we can Save Forests. April 12, 2010 by Heidi Durham– Help us Develop a More Recyclable Coffee Cup – Join the Beta Cup Challenge April 2, 2010 by

Sue Long– Starbucks Card Mobile Payment Now Available at all Target® Starbucks Stores April 1, 2010 by

Chuck Davidson

People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Insights & Innovation

People’s Lab

• Image source : www.peopleslab.mslgroup.com , http://ps.thomasnet.com/productsearch/results.html?pskwid=146&pskw=aluminum+bench

• People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insight for innovation, storytelling and change.

Fast, cost effective,

lightweight platform

Built to share information the

platform provides fast and secure processing. Built in-house it is the

most cost effective choice on the market.

Highly visual & Appealing

Visual representation of all inputs with automatic video

embeds and URL screenshots; image sharing

and file uploads are all available on the platform from a single input box.

Flows designed to maximise

participation

Built specifically for collaboration use-cases

the system-flows are very intuitive and the user

interface is easy to master.

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Why People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform & approach?• MSLGROUP created People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform &

approach in response to market trends, competition dynamics and client needs.

Crowdsourcing is a strategic priority for global CEOs

Business leaders believe that crowdsourcing people’s insights are one of the main drivers for leading innovation and change. (PwC Global CEO Survey 2011)

Our competitors are crowdsourcing insights

From holding companies to PR agencies and creative agencies to startups: the need for insights & foresights is everywhere in the Communications Industry

Our clients are demanding new types of insights

More and more clients expect us to share meaningful insights with them, not only tactics. In response, we created People’s Lab to crowdsource insights.

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People’s Lab crowdsourcing approach • The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform enables our three-part approach for distilling insights from conversations and communities.

Organic conversation analysis

To identify themes from public social web conversations using third-party tools like Radian6 and Sysomos.

MSLGROUP’s own private insight communities

To crowdsource solutions around specific client needs like crisis or citizenship, or internal themes like storytelling.

Custom public or private communities for clients

To crowdsource insights in the context of a specific client need

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CROWDSOURCING OR…CROWDSOURCING?

And what’s happening, when it comes to the world of design?

• The same CMO, who’s fond of crowdsourcing for innovation and communication, may be tempted to extend its use to design

• What’s the insight, in the CMO’s head? « Instead of trying to make myself a logo for the company, or spending mynmarketing budget on a design consultant ,who will provide limited design choices at the end of a long design process, I can have hundreds of designers work on my project for a fraction of the cost of a traditional designer. I will have more ideas, more routes, more freshness, for a much lower price ».

• In Design too, crowdsourcing is outsourcing to a crowd of people via an open call for contributions

• Like David C. Baker from ReCourses puts it, crowdsourced design is “an irreversible movement”, in fact just one of the many forms of desintermediation which the digital and social turmoil allows, and accelerates

• Baker adds that it gives a chance to designers who otherwise wouldn’t be given a chance to show their talent• His conclusion: “Terrifying or not, crowdsourcing is a reality.

Fear is only useful to the extent that it motivates you to get your act together so that crowdsourcing isn’t a threat.; Here’s another way to say that: If you’re terrified, well, you ought to be, because the movement is highlighting how poorly prepared you are. Consider this an early warning sign. »

• Other people are strong opponents to any form of crowsourced design, for they believe it’s killing their discipline

• Debbie Millman for instance, president of the design division at Sterling Brands, and president emeritus of AIGA (AIGA is the largest professional association for design: http://www.aiga.org/), argues that crowdsourcing « prevents designers from practicing the discipline of design as a problem-solving process, and it fails to respect the profession and the value it creates through designers’ creative gift and professional discipline ».

IDEATION VS CREATION

• There are obviously different ways to crowdsource design

• What you’ll see most, online, is about creation/challenge: « Get more for less, as you’re a small business »– “Get the Most From Crowdsourced Design Competitions” is

the motto of many newcomers, like DesignCrowd

• Such an approach can indeed be seen as toxic, in terms of business model, for most of Branding & Design companies which have to deal with fixed costs, and can hardly accept speculative (not compensated) competition

• Quite different is the use of crowdsourcing for collective ideation purpose

• The brand submits a brief to a community of people who’re willing to raise their ideas, their vision and even their sort of « sketch » in 3D

• Instead of a somehow « dry » words-only brief, you provide art directors and their team with more « right brain » (creative) ideas in terms of forms/shapes, colors, look & feel

SO, CAN YOU CROWDSOURCE A NEW LOGO?

Coke thinks so

Refreshing your body, mind, soul and …logo.

• It is a logo that is plastered worldwide on cans, on drinks machines, and around major sporting events, but Coca Cola want someone to re-imagine their iconic logo.

• What is more, they are throwing it to the masses and are going to crowd source the process

• The competition is going to be run in association with design agency Blank You Very Much, and is open to US residents only. It is a good choice of partner for Coke, as Blank You Very Much focus on reinventing iconic brands and symbols that we already know

• As the competition is focused on crowdsourcing the BYVM community, not Coke execs ,will choose the winning design. The person behind it will win $5000 and have the design put on a limited edition t-shirt. The idea for Coke is obviously to inspire their community to think about what they love about the brand and engage with it more, and perhaps make the monolithic brand feel a bit more personal for people

Refreshing your body, mind, soul and …logo.

• Even though the new logo is going to be crowdsourced, the brief given is quite strict

• Rules include banning the use of the colour blue and international flags, keeping the ribbon running horizontally and keeping the bottle pristine

• Coke also want to ensure that the design reflects a balanced, healthy lifestyle and is targeted at a demographic of 12 years and older

CAN YOU CROWDSOURCE A NEW PRODUCT?

Nissan thinks so, with their online « Innovation Garage »

Nissan Innovation Garage

• A platform dedicated to crowdsourced innovation– Everyone can suggest an idea, a project, his vision for

tomorrow’s car– Best contributions will be recognized by Nissan, legally

protected and the author will be financially rewarded• Nissan’s point of view is that only crowdsourcing may

ensure that all ideas will be given a chance to arise – even the most unexcpected or disruptive one

• Already fond of User Generated Content, Nissan goes a step beyond with this « Open Innovation » initiative, which is by nature limitless

CAN YOU CROWDSOURCE ART?

JR thinks so: Co-Creation in Art

• The French-born artist and his crew have traversed more than 100 countries with their crowd-sourced social-sculpture photo projects.

• Whether in Israel/Palestine, in Rio, in Africa, in Paris or in NYC today at the Ford Foundation, it’s all about raising people’s voice thru painting, pics, sculptures…

Massive « Inside-Out » in HK

http://www.jr-art.net/

• If even art may consider Co-Creation & Crowdsourcing, will Design be The Last of The Mohicans?

COUPLE OF QUESTIONS TO OPEN THE CONVERSATION

What & Who?

• What exactly should be crowdsourced? Insights, ideas, elements of content for the briefing …or directly graphic solutions?

• What would the SWOT be here?• Who should manage? • Should design companies themselves create

their own crowdsourcing solutions – even if « just » design-centric?

Should dialogue be limited to two?

• Richard Grefe, AIGA's executive director, says:– "Successful design work results from a collaborative process between a

client and the designer, developing a clear sense of the client's objectives, competitive situation, and needs.

– (…) Design creates value for clients as a result of the approach designers take in addressing the problems or needs of the client and only at the end of that process is a "design" created. »

• Should really this « collaborative process » limited to a dialogue between the client and the designer? Why shouldn’t people – future consumers – be kept away from the process, when people now can raise their voice on everything?

Let’s discuss!