PRESENTED BY MEDIA SAUCE AND THE INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL | APRIL 30, 2009

Chris Katterjohn
Publisher of The Indianapolis Business Journal

Don Schindler James Burnes
Senior Digital Strategist VP Strategy & Development

hat is
W

t of taking a task
e ac
wdsourcing is th r
y an employee o
Cro
ed b
itionally perform o an undefined,
trad g it t
, and outsourcin n
or community i
contractor ple
rge group of peo
generally la ll.
m of an open ca
the for

What are some simple examples of
crowdsourcing?

Control what
people see

Everyone
has a voice

Companies are
finally tapping
into this brain
trust!

INFORMATION
AGE

INTERCONNECTED
AGE

You have a few fans!

They like you!

They want you
to succed!

They can’t
Wait for your
next product!

Our customers
become our…
brainstorming group

Our customers
become our…
focus group

Our customers
become our…
testing team

Our customers
become our…
marketing dept.

Our customers
become our…
sales force

Our customers
become our…
corporate recruiter

Our customers
become our…
brand ambassadors

Our customers
become our…
graphic designer

Our customers
become our…
fundraisers

Take out a business card
1. What kind of crowd do you need?
R&D, graphic design, marketing, focus
group, etc.)
2. What would you ask them to do for you?

Read this!

Read this!
Wikinomics

Two Case Studies
We Can Learn From

Threadless.com

stats
million
$3 0
All pro
d u cts
sell ou
t
No ads
s force
No sale

novations
half the in
om users
lly come fr
genera

mystarbucksidea.com

Easy t
o
s ub m i
t

system
Voting
p/down
U

In one year

70,000 ideas

Great ideas
oducts
and Pr
os
Prom

Feedba
c k th e y
need to
hear

94 implemented
eview
nder r points
6u
5 0,000
over 5
e had
Som

Who’s in the
rcle of trust?
ci

Where to find your crowd
• Your customer database?!!!!!
• Your email subscriber list
• An existing audience (paid services)
• Identifying an existing social network or
discussion group/forum
• Your web site visitors
• Trade groups or industry organizations

Rules for Successful
Crowdsourcing
• Be clear on who gets to participate.
(Everyone?)
• Clearly define the scope/limit of their
role/responsibility.
• Promote transparency in disclosing
conflicts of interests
• Provide some creative restraints to focus
output (manufacture ring, resources,
budget, etc.)

You like us!

ou value me!

You listened
to me!

I’m going to
consume what
I helped create!

Rules for Successful
Crowdsourcing
• You have to want to listen.
• You must be willing to interact
• You have to show the crowd that you’re
taking them seriously.
• You must thank them.
• You must showcase what the crowd has
accomplished!

hat is
W
you ?
for

Questions?

So how do we
build a strategy?