your brand. No idea what on earth I'm talking about? If not, it's time that you took a quick look at a new form of marketing that is empowering large numbers of enthusiasts who are proving themselves able to not only measure up to, but to actually outperform, seasoned marketing professionals.

The new trend is set to spread rapidly in 2007 and is an alternative to the much publicised practice of outsourcing. A lot of bosh? Well evidently not for The Economist Magazine Group which recently closed an open invitation for people to submit ideas for the development of the business. With nearly 300 suggestions on any topic you like, from the serious to the provocative, this was clearly no ordinary brainstorming session. Welcome to the world of crowdsourcing.

So, what need is crowdsourcing addressing exactly? We all know from personal experience that it's easy for brands using traditional techniques to get out of touch with their end user. Research and development is an expensive and elitist activity with large budgets and involving small numbers of people. At the end of the day many professionals claim that a project has been "researched to death", "killed by committee", or has taken so long to develop it's not applicable to the market anymore. So, some of the more open minded brands are taking the crowdsourcing route in search of genuinely creative, innovative and honest solutions. And the result is that ordinary people, the brand's consumers, are making their unique contribution to the look of a brand or the delivery of a service regardless of formal experience or qualifications.

A good idea? Well, the benefits for the brand are obvious. With a healthy return in consumer-centric suggestions, innovation, R&D, cut costs, and emotional connections with consumers it is certainly an attractive proposition. Also, and this is important, it is not a simply a one way street. Well thought out operations ensure that the "crowd" gets the opportunity to showcase their talent and at the end of the day the consumer actually gets the brand they want -- not a curate's egg "good in parts" sort of brand, but one that is good all the way through.

However, this is still very much uncharted territory and brands will have to learn how to handle crowdsourcing projects. Initiatives like these can become impractical and wasteful if not handled correctly. In order to avoid these pitfalls marketers need to define a clear vision and dialogue with rules of engagement to keep focussed and maintain the individuality of the contributors.

So how can crowdsourcing best be used? A great deal of investment has already been applied to the application of crowdsourcing in the commercial sphere. This has manifested itself in two ways: dialogues with the consumer as practiced by Dell with their Ideastorm website and videos created by supporters of presidential candidates; and open challenges to gather solutions to in-house problems -- L'Oreal commissioning consumer created ads, Netflix Prize to improve their film preference predictions, the most famous is perhaps Goldcorp who released their mining data for others to find gold.

There is also the exchange perspective with indirect benefits to all parties. Information sharing has been epitomised by Wikipedia and also pioneered successfully with podcasts integrated into iTunes. The alternative form of co-production is taking on grander projects like Swarm of Angels to create a feature film, and cafepress.com has grown into a multimillion-dollar business.

All the above shows that the consumer is more than willing to take charge of his/her own agenda, if they are given enough room to do so by the brand. Some brands are actively looking to enable consumers as a collective, allowing them to request the products and services on their own terms; expect here to see a revival of the letsbuyit.com genre. Both YouTube and forums have already been used as a platform for consumer activism - from videos of rats in fast food restaurants to a thorough deconstruction of a luxury chocolate manufacturer's offering with estimated mark-ups of up to 1,300%.

Wherever you look there are examples which point to future directions of crowdsourcing such as Crowdspirit.org, a Franco-Scot co-production effort with a twist, an art project called Superconsumers, and of particular note the Open Architecture Network that employs a hybrid of all three of the themes above.

So where is all this leading? Basically, to a fundamental change in aspects of the relationship with the consumer. Creating two tiers or levels of marketing communications -- an interactive dialogue with the participants, and real gloves off communications with consumers.

In a world where we are all given our own space to address the planet, even if only through blogs and chat rooms, a whole new generation of consumers has grown up feeling it is their birthright to have a voice and to make a difference and it's a savvy brand that realises this and incorporates it within its marketing strategy.

If you like what you hear and want to embark on a crowdsourcing approach for your brand there are some groundrules that you shouldn't forget.

• Firstly, the implications of undertaking a crowdsourcing initiative suggests the need for flexibility and in developing the brand.
• Secondly, there must be some reward system: Giving people a stake and endowing the brand with authenticity and ensuring relevance to the target group. It has now become standard practice for such pioneers as Cambrian House and Metacafe to profit share with their most popular contributors.
• Then there's the ticklish subject of intellectual properties: Don't overlook IP as a potential to create more opportunities -- Creative Commons can be the route to some innovative products or services; witness Danish beer brand 'Vores Øl' with its open source recipe. The rights that the consumer believes they are entitled to is at odds with the stringent definitions that are a reality today, accommodating the participatory nature of the consumer can reap benefits for both parties.
• Don't ignore the challenge of redesigning processes: Internal processes will need to be designed to incorporate ideas and demands that originate from outside the company boundaries; embodying the interactivity of the dialogue with the consumer.
• Make sure you rethink your company's capabilities: The emergence of the company as infrastructure at the disposal of the crowd. Branding and marketing may be driven by the consumer, publicising underground successes to other potential consumers outside the community. How can your company redesign its processes so that it can incorporate the ideas and demands originated form outside?
• Make sure you understand which 'brand tribe' your product belongs to: In the distant future there will be significant development of tribal brand ownership stimulated by the gathering appeal and adoption of certain brands within mass niches as group consumption patterns become entrenched and the groups themselves more clearly defined.

Get the above right and you can tap into a trend which signals a shift in the balance of the brand consumer relationship. Successfully utilised it has the potential to create levels of engagement and advocacy that have been unattainable in recent marketing history.

(Source: Media)