3foldComm

Crowdsourcing is all the rage lately, but what is it? Basically, it’s a theory based on group intelligence, inviting large numbers of people into an issue to create the best solution together. (Not to be confused, apparently, with “mob mentality,” which operates the same basic way except it produces really bad results…anyone seeing a slight disconnect here?). In fact, the trend is so popular, a recent episode of House featured a patient using it to diagnose his illness online (didn’t work as planned). Still, while crowdsourcing has found its way into primetime, it may not be the best idea for managing your brand.

No company is learning this lesson faster than Kraft. Following in the footprints of Netflix, who successfully used crowdsourcing to improve their customer recommendation system, Kraft invited users to submit names for re-branding Vegimite, a product popular in Australia.

From the 8,000 potential names submitted, Kraft chose “iSnack 2.0,” submitted by an Australian web developer as a joke. Unfortunately, outsourcing a rebranding project to the masses resulted in a new name that has nothing to do with the brand…not to mention one that only makes sense when the marketing department explains it. Loyal Vegemite fans revolted, leaving the company with a PR nightmare and a major social media backlash.

Another example of crowdsourcing gone awry is NASA’s invitation for online users to name a new module on the International Space Station. Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, had already expertly called on his personal crowdsourcing army to have a bridge in Hungary, a minor league hockey team mascot, and an American Bald Eagle named for him. Colbert won the naming vote, leading to NASA negating the results and creating an embarrassing PR dilemma for the organization. In the end, to save face and calm enthusiastic fans, NASA ended up naming a treadmill on the space station after Colbert.

What to take from Kraft’s and NASA’s misguided forays into the crowd brain? Think. It. Through. Know what you want to accomplish, ask yourself what could go wrong, and identify potential Plan Bs and Cs in case things don’t go according to plan. Just remember, like any other marketing effort, strategy is key and expert planning is essential.

As a theory, crowdsourcing has unimaginable problem-solving potential. The Internet and social media have opened entire worlds of information connections that were previously unthinkable. Even the mainstream news media has begun drawing on Twitter and Facebook users to expand the reach of traditional news coverage.

Even in scale, say for small businesses and nonprofits, the future potential for crowdsourcing is truly exciting, with so much unexplored opportunity just waiting for the right minds to get together and find it.