Many customers ask us about the value of social networking technologies for enterprises, particularly seeking specific use cases. One of the recurring themes in such conversations is the socialization of legacy processes. But the applications of social networking technologies and principles need not be confined behind the firewall, useful as they may be. It's possible to go beyond and create new operating models by creatively leveraging social and collaboration technologies.

Moving away from marketing monologues

It is not just consumers who’re afflicted by the paradox of choice. Ironically, marketers too are in the same pickle these days – seemingly numerous ways to reach consumers but that much harder to make your brand connect with consumers. And a big reason is that consumers are wary of one-way marketing monologues.

Riding on the wisdom of crowds

In response, some savvy marketers are adding co-creation and crowdsourcing to their toolkits. Co-creation is getting the consumer to help you create better products and services because it’s beneficial for them too.  But more importantly because they like your brand and care enough to contribute. Crowdsourcing is similar, wherein you seek inputs not just from your internal teams but cast the net wider and reach out to your consumers to contribute ideas.

The Motor Cycle Diaries

Now, these techniques have certainly been around for some time. Prime exhibits being open source software and that port of first call for knowledge, Wikipedia. But to gather momentum and achieve mainstream adoption, there's nothing like the visible embrace of a popular brand.

Harley Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle maker, may just provide the tipping point for crowdsourcing in the creative circles. I am referring to their collaboration with the advertising agency Victors and Spoils.

Here comes everybody

Victors and Spoils is an agency based on “crowdsourcing principles.”  What it means is: to execute client projects the agency relies on creative talent that is not employed by them.  When they land new projects, they prepare a project brief and release it to their database of thousands of experts. Then they select the best ideas received from this crowd and present them to the client.  

If this sounds radical, it is. But to make it easier and more palatable to their clients, the client-interfacing team is the same as would be in a traditional agency - they have account directors and such like. 

Using this model, the agency and by extension the client are able to tap a wide pool of global talent rather than a limited set of internal talent pool.

"Judging from the data we gathered, they are no dillettantes"

When Harley Davidson let go of its ad agency of 30+ years, V&S got the crowd to start work on new marketing campaigns for Harley, even before they pitched Harley. Their ploy worked and the partnership has resulted in some high quality campaigns. 

In fact in a validation of this model, the big traditional agency Havas (formerly known as Euro RSCG) acquired V&S with an eye on applying similar principles to its own large talent pool of 15,000. To the victors, the spoils then.

Making it all happen - Collaboration and Social Software

Of course, an important enabler and (the unsung hero) of the V&S model is collaboration and social technology. A strong technology platform must enable a big chunk of this operating model, especially with regard to creating and nurturing a global community of experts, curating crowdsourced ideas and content, orchestrating client project workflows, and many other activities.

What's your mileage?

While V&S employed a custom-built platform, you’ll also find some off-the-shelf innovation management software in the marketplace. In fact, we're looking closely at some of the leading vendors in the space for an upcoming advisory paper for our subscribers.

Depending on your specific use case, some of the collaboration and social software vendors evaluated in our social software report may also fit the bill.