RSS Feed
July 30th, 2009 
Dean 
Social media is about getting your stakeholders fully engaged with your brand or marketing message and encouraging them to spread the word about the products. However, companies are starting to actively get their stakeholders to help come up with marketing campaigns. Introducing to you “Viralsourcing”.
What is “Viralsourcing”?
Viralsourcing is a new way for marketers to tap into the internet to help design and distribute products. It is a twist on the original practice of crowdsourcing, where companies solicit ideas from large number of people on the internet.
Viralsourcing combine the elements of crowdsourcing with viral marketing. In viralsourcing, the crowd helps design and promote products. For example, Burger King’s offbeat “Subservient Chicken” Web video reached millions of people, but it’s an agency that designed and shot it. With viralsourcing, the crowd creates the content and help spreads the campaign.
Viralsourcing have been gathering steam for awhile. In a book “The Wisdom of Crowd“, author James Surowiecki conclude that masses of people can be very accurate in their predictions. We have seen fields include open-source software development, Wikipedia entries, stock photograph and even social networking site Twitter.
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 to it. 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. If the application succeed, the success can become Twitter’s main feature. But if it fail, Twitter can wash it’s hands off it and walk away.
Several industries have also began to combine the cleverness of the crowd and viral marketing tactics:
Executive Recruiting – When Best Buy decided to hire an “emerging media marketing expert,” he posted a blog and a Twitter message inviting readers to “help us write the job description.” Getting the audience involved spurred a flurry of activity on Twitter, helping the company reach hundreds of thousands of candidates.
Auto Design – For the last five years Peugeot Citroen has held design contests, awarding 10,000 euros ($14,120) and a small model to winners. The submissions are often striking and one design last year had an innovative safety feature: air bags separating an egg-shaped passenger compartment from “wings” holding the wheels. The contests generate online awareness of Peugot among auto enthusiasts.
Sports Management – British soccer fans are known for their passion. In 2007, the web site ‘MyFootBallClub.co.uk‘ tapped into that by inviting fans to buy and run a soccer club in 2007. The promotion attracted more than 20,000 people and 300,000 pounds ($489,840) to purchase the Ebbsfleet United soccer team of Kent, England. Today, fans run the team, deciding which players make the roster and which companies sponsor its uniforms.
Music - Market researcher Peter Sorgenfrei recently founded Crowdbands.com to let fans provide input on decisions such as what venue an artist should play. The Web sites Sellaband.com and Slicethepie.com offer similar crowd control of music acts.
When enlisting crowds for help, it’s important to balance guidelines with freedom. The truth is, people are only willing to put their name to a campaign because they can tell their own story. An ideal approach is for organizations to set a premise, then let consumers “fill in the blanks”.
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, but everyone in the process can have an interest in getting the future right.
2. How do you like your steak cooked? – i dont like steak
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? – err…duplicity (BORING!)
4. What is your favorite TV show? – Man Vs Wild, Animal cops in South Africa, Breaking the Magician code, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Prison Break, Megastructure, etc
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? – Hmm, im not sure.
6. What did you have for breakfast? – GA LI POK (curry puff) & a cup of less sugar coffee with milk
7. What is your favorite cuisine? – Chinese cuisine esp Majestic Restaurant
8. What foods do you dislike? – bloody,fishy, raw stuff.
9. Favorite Place to Eat? – where the good food is. YUM!
10. Favorite dressing? – no idea
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? – bus 11
12. What are your favorite clothes? – something tts me
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? – Israel
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? – 1/2 full
15. Where would you want to retire? – Maybe Australia?
16. Favorite time of day? – Anytime tts fruitful and happy
17. Where were you born? – We are s’pore, singaporean x2 …laaa…(NDP coming, gotta sing a song)
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? – hmm i dont really watch.
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? – it doesnt matter.
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? – it doesnt matter.
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? – it doesnt matter.
22. Are you satisfied with your life? – No. It can be improved.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? – Neither. haa…afternoon person. haa
24. Do you have any pets? – YES! Mini Minnie!! My darling darling…Woof Woof
25. If you only had one day to live, who would you spend it with? – Minnie,family
26. What did you want to be when you were little? – Dancer
27. What is your best childhood memory? – Uncle bought Xmas gifts for me and siblings
28. Are you a cat or dog person? – DOG! Woof Woof!!!
29. Are you married? – yes, to Jesus. haaa
30. Always wear your seat belt? – yeah
31. Been in a car accident? – nope..heng ah…haa
32. Any pet peeves? – nope
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? – no idea
34. Favorite Flower? – Rose
35. Favorite ice cream? – Chocolate
Related posts:
Posted in 
Loading ...