36KNOWLEDGE BANKwww.thedrum.com 12.APR.13 THE DRUMFinding great ideas using crowdsIf you are asked to innovate in any form, have ideasand implement them then gathering feedback onyour ideas is critical. And, yes, doing it all efficientlyis essential.Undoubtedly you use brainstorming to get new ideasor evaluate current strategies. But, how often have youcome away thinking that you nailed it? More likely, youhave nagging doubts. Are these the best ideas? Did I getenough feedback? This is normal. After all brainstormingis over 60 years old.Instead of 10 people in a room, why not use a crowd of1,000 online? We call this crowdstorming, the intersectionof crowdsourcing and brainstorming. <strong>The</strong> benefits: moreideas and more feedback, more quickly. Ultimately you canmore efficiently gather and test ideas. Countless people inbusiness are building crowdstorming into their strategy foreverything from product designs to picking the bestpricing strategies.Over the last few years, we have studied hundreds ofcrowdstorm projects. Here are a couple of takeaways thatwe think lead to success.More than online contestsCrowdstorming is evolving quickly from simple contestsearches for ideas to more complex interactions wherecrowds take on multiple specialized tasks.We think contests fall into crowdstorming patterns.<strong>The</strong> search pattern focuses a challenge on finding thebest ideas (or candidates, partners, etc.). Often the searchprocess is desirable because it yields results that can betested: think of the Netflix challenge to find a prototypefor better search algorithms.Other crowdstorms are more collaborative. This is mostuseful when we want help to decide which conceptsare worthy of additional time and investment. When wecrowdstorm using this pattern we are not only sourcingideas, we are evaluating and building on ideas. Think ofthe LifeEdited architectural challenge that delivered 300ideas for low-footprint housing, but 7,300 comments toevolve those ideas.Ask the right questionsFinding new ideas only or looking for feedback on ideaswill help shape what you ask crowds to solve and howyou want them to participate.In the search pattern, you are asking for a fully bakedresponse; a prototype that you can test. In the collaborativepattern, a napkin sketch may be fine; after all, you may beasking for feedback on an existing product or design oradvertising idea. In the first case you are looking for ideacontributors; in the second, you are looking for a communityto engage with you as evaluators and potential advocates.In either case, providing the right level of detail isimportant: providing too much detail may prescribe theoutcome; too little and solutions and feedback may missthe mark or be squishy.It is useful to think in terms of “what ifs”. What if wecould have our customers to dictate pricing terms asgiffgaff did? And, all calls to action should be woven intoa story – your story and start-up vision – in order to inspireexternal talent to participate and deliver great responses.Efficient motivationInspiration is also about incenting articipation. Financialincentives are important but this may not be feasible formany startups. <strong>The</strong>re are alternatives.Triple8 used a revenue-share model for the design of askateboard helmet creating a win/win for both themselvesand the participants. LifeEdited worked with mediapartners that used the participant’s entries as contentfor press coverage. Celebrating winning participants byputting their name on the product (as Gap does) providesthem with exposure.<strong>The</strong> point here is that startups can take advantage ofnon-financial incentives to motivate participants:• Doing good: Participants are motivated by theopportunity to work on something that contributes tosocial good.• Getting attention: <strong>The</strong> ability to get exposure andrecognition beyond the participant’s current network.• Experience: Working on a challenging problem for anin order to build out a portfolio provides incentive. <strong>The</strong>chance to learn and hone skills is an important intrinsicmotivator.(Wiley, £18.99). Out nowin print and ebook format,from all good bookshops.Selecting the best ideaMany more participants, means many, many moreideas. This is a good problem.In the search pattern, we can use testing to help uswith our evaluation. We can also use experts, but with100x participants come 100x ideas. A small team ofdeciders may be quickly overwhelmed.Asking the crowd to help with the evaluation (usingvoting or ratings) provides an alternative. For startups,there is another reason to use the collaborative patternto help select ideas. It provides a way to build acommunity. Giving people an important role to help anorganization make decisions can build a communityof advocates.<strong>The</strong>re are implications to asking feedback to selectideas. Think about it this way, if you have 100 peoplesubmitting ideas, you can expect 10x that number totake on smaller roles like voting or offering feedback.Working with a partner who offers an online space anda Community Manager can help you crowdstorm ata low cost.Is it worth it?<strong>The</strong> bottom line is that crowdstorming offers lotsof ideas and feedback efficiently. It is more complexthan brainstorming with 10 people in a room. But thepayoff is there. It not only helps with getting andselecting ideas but provides an efficient way to builda community of advocates who can help you promoteyour business, too.WileyShaun Abrahamson, Peter Ryder andBastian Unterberg are co-authors ofCrowdstorm: <strong>The</strong> Future of Innovation,Ideas, and Problem Solving
THE DRUM 12.APR.13 www.thedrum.com RECRUITMENT37NEW JOBS UPLOADED DAILY AT WWW.THEDRUM.COM/JOBSBUSINESS DIRECTOREast of England | £46,000 to £53,000DIGITAL ACCOUNT MANAGERCentral Scotland | £25,000 DOENorwich University of the Arts is looking to recruit a talented andambitious individual with recent and relevant commercial successgained in business or the university sector. http://bit.ly/Yehv0EFantastic opportunity to join an small but innovative full servicedigital agency based in Glasgow city centre. A digital accountmanager is required with minimum 2-3 years’ experience workingin a similar environment. http://bit.ly/YzKbALACCOUNT DIRECTORLondon | £45,000 - £55,000CREATIVE TECHNOLOGISTNorth West | £DOECandidates should be strategic, experienced in teammanagement, have the ability to build and grow clientrelationships as well as have a track record of deliveringabove expectation. http://bit.ly/11NqLJkYou will help broaden the digital offering of the agency, sharingyour knowledge across departments and helping to positionTBWA\Manchester as an agency leader for the digital age.http://bit.ly/ZjSv3eSALES EXECUTIVE - ONLINE SOFTWARENorth East | £23,000 - £28,000ONLINE CAMPAIGN MANAGERYorkshire & <strong>The</strong> Humber | £22,000 - £27,000An award winning Newcastle based digital agency is lookingto expand its existing team by recruiting an experienced salesexecutive - online software. http://bit.ly/10JaEtyA leading fashion retailer based in West Yorkshire is currentlylooking for an online campaign manager to cover a period ofmaternity leave. You will manage the predict categories andshops on the website. http://bit.ly/YIbw3MSENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGERLondon | £30,000 -35,000 plus benefi tsASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - B2B AGENCYSouth East | £60,000 – £75,000 + bonusGreat role within a leading DM and digital environment for asenior account manager to join the team on this fl agship client.Ideal if you are looking to move from AM to SAM role.http://bit.ly/WTfQMkB2B agency south of Oxford is looking for an associatedirector to join their growing team. You should have experienceof leading successful marketing projects and programmes.http://bit.ly/Z5naoQSENIOR DESIGNER / CREATIVE MANAGERSouth West | £35,000 - £40,000GLOBAL DIGITAL DIRECTORLondon | £95,000In your creative hat you will be a conceptual thinker able to getunder the skin of a client brand. Someone who can consistentlydeliver innovative creative ideas and execute these acrossmultiple touch points. http://bit.ly/Z5neoqAn international eCommerce organisation, leaders in their market,are looking for a highly entrepreneurial digital professional to takeownership of their global digital strategy. http://bit.ly/16LPgG0Over 650 live jobs on <strong>The</strong> <strong>Drum</strong>, visit:www.thedrum.com/jobsTo fi nd out more call Tehmeena on 0141 559 6064
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