Social Collaboration Success
Many corporations have gotten a taste of the sweet success that comes from using social platforms to allow the “crowd” to help them innovate. Here are a few of the more compelling case studies, compiled by Innovationedge (www.innovationedge.com), which works with clients to identify appropriate groups and collaboration spaces to direct messages and achieve results.
Sony’s “Open Planet Ideas”
Sony, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and IDEO, launched a competition called “Open Planet Ideas” that crowdsourced proposals to find green technology ideas that would re-imagine how existing technologies could be re-used to help solve environmental problems. From September 2010 to September 2011, Sony gathered ideas from students, designers and technology fans alike. The winning individual or team would then be selected to work with Sony designers and engineers on a prototype. More than 325 participants delivered 400 concepts. The top idea: “+U”, an online magazine for the green-minded community. It attracts new audiences of creative modern users with a system that multiplies small chunks of time to generate a big environmental impact. Sony managed to marry the creative genius of experts and “lay people” (the rest of us) to bring in a wide range of ideas that would probably not have been tapped from within Sony’s creative team.
Fiat’s Collaborative Car
Last year, Fiat invited customers and car enthusiasts to help design the new Fiat Mio. Rather than honing the fine details behind closed doors, Fiat exposed the design process for the entire world to see online in real time. Fiat Mio falls under the Creative Commons License, allowing participants to own their contributions, but for the community to distribute, modify and share ideas. Submissions included an idea to have wheels that rotate 90 degrees for easier parallel parking; cameras instead of rear-view mirrors and inter-vehicle communication to avoid collision. Since the project began 18 months ago, more than 2.5 million unique visitors logged in, and nearly 20,000 comments and idea submissions poured in. The presentation of the Fiat Mio was the conceptual highlight of last year’s motor show, where 750,000 people saw the world’s first collaborative car.
Coke’s Flavor Creator
When Coca-Cola-owned Glaceau Vitaminwater launched its Facebook Page, its loyal fanbase quickly liked the page and began chatting and interacting about the brand. That’s when Coca-Cola took notice and tapped the crowd for inspiration. The company created a “flavor creator lab” on its page to come up with a brand new variety of drink. Fans could vote for their favorite flavor, play games, answer quizzes to help determine“functional benefits” of the beverage, and even help the design of the label. The winning flavor, named “Connect”, hit shop shelves in 2010 after 40,000 Facebook users had created unique label designs via the lab. Participants spent an average of approximately seven minutes engaging with the application. Vitaminwater was among the first brand to use social networking to give fans such level of control over product innovation.
Starbucks’ Karma Cup
When Starbucks customers learned that 58 billion paper cups are thrown away every year, they wanted to become part of a solution. So, Starbucks launched a contest to see who could come up with a workable green answer. Starbucks partnered with jovoto.com, Core 77, Denuo and Good Day Monsters to create the Betacup Challenge. More than 5,000 participants came up with ideas, and five winners were selected, each receiving $2,000 of the overall $20,000 put forward by Starbucks. “Karma Cup” received the $10,000 prize. The Karma plan: A chalkboard at the coffee shop will chart each person who uses a reusable mug. The 10th person to order a drink with a reusable cup will receive his or her drink free. By turning a freebie program into a communal challenge, Karma Cup would create incentives for everyone to bring reusable mugs. The more people participate, the more free items are given away.
Dell’s IdeaStorm
Dell launched IdeaStorm in February 2007 to enable customers to tell Dell what new products or services they’d like to see the computer giant develop. Within 10 days, people swamped the site, demanding a Dell pre-loaded computer with the open source Linux operating system, which Dell then created through an open innovation partnership. But IdeaStorm didn’t stop there. Great suggestions continue to roll in. Last year, Dell rolled out nine new laptops, which incorporated design elements proposed, promoted and debated by the IdeaStorm community. IdeaStorm has grown to include “Storm Sessions,” where customers weigh in on a targeted or relevant topic for a limited time. Since its launch, IdeaStorm has generated tens of thousands of ideas, many of which Dell has implemented.
Sony’s “Open Planet Ideas”
Sony, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and IDEO, launched a competition called “Open Planet Ideas” that crowdsourced proposals to find green technology ideas that would re-imagine how existing technologies could be re-used to help solve environmental problems. From September 2010 to September 2011, Sony gathered ideas from students, designers and technology fans alike. The winning individual or team would then be selected to work with Sony designers and engineers on a prototype. More than 325 participants delivered 400 concepts. The top idea: “+U”, an online magazine for the green-minded community. It attracts new audiences of creative modern users with a system that multiplies small chunks of time to generate a big environmental impact. Sony managed to marry the creative genius of experts and “lay people” (the rest of us) to bring in a wide range of ideas that would probably not have been tapped from within Sony’s creative team.
Fiat’s Collaborative Car
Last year, Fiat invited customers and car enthusiasts to help design the new Fiat Mio. Rather than honing the fine details behind closed doors, Fiat exposed the design process for the entire world to see online in real time. Fiat Mio falls under the Creative Commons License, allowing participants to own their contributions, but for the community to distribute, modify and share ideas. Submissions included an idea to have wheels that rotate 90 degrees for easier parallel parking; cameras instead of rear-view mirrors and inter-vehicle communication to avoid collision. Since the project began 18 months ago, more than 2.5 million unique visitors logged in, and nearly 20,000 comments and idea submissions poured in. The presentation of the Fiat Mio was the conceptual highlight of last year’s motor show, where 750,000 people saw the world’s first collaborative car.
Coke’s Flavor Creator
When Coca-Cola-owned Glaceau Vitaminwater launched its Facebook Page, its loyal fanbase quickly liked the page and began chatting and interacting about the brand. That’s when Coca-Cola took notice and tapped the crowd for inspiration. The company created a “flavor creator lab” on its page to come up with a brand new variety of drink. Fans could vote for their favorite flavor, play games, answer quizzes to help determine“functional benefits” of the beverage, and even help the design of the label. The winning flavor, named “Connect”, hit shop shelves in 2010 after 40,000 Facebook users had created unique label designs via the lab. Participants spent an average of approximately seven minutes engaging with the application. Vitaminwater was among the first brand to use social networking to give fans such level of control over product innovation.
Starbucks’ Karma Cup
When Starbucks customers learned that 58 billion paper cups are thrown away every year, they wanted to become part of a solution. So, Starbucks launched a contest to see who could come up with a workable green answer. Starbucks partnered with jovoto.com, Core 77, Denuo and Good Day Monsters to create the Betacup Challenge. More than 5,000 participants came up with ideas, and five winners were selected, each receiving $2,000 of the overall $20,000 put forward by Starbucks. “Karma Cup” received the $10,000 prize. The Karma plan: A chalkboard at the coffee shop will chart each person who uses a reusable mug. The 10th person to order a drink with a reusable cup will receive his or her drink free. By turning a freebie program into a communal challenge, Karma Cup would create incentives for everyone to bring reusable mugs. The more people participate, the more free items are given away.
Dell’s IdeaStorm
Dell launched IdeaStorm in February 2007 to enable customers to tell Dell what new products or services they’d like to see the computer giant develop. Within 10 days, people swamped the site, demanding a Dell pre-loaded computer with the open source Linux operating system, which Dell then created through an open innovation partnership. But IdeaStorm didn’t stop there. Great suggestions continue to roll in. Last year, Dell rolled out nine new laptops, which incorporated design elements proposed, promoted and debated by the IdeaStorm community. IdeaStorm has grown to include “Storm Sessions,” where customers weigh in on a targeted or relevant topic for a limited time. Since its launch, IdeaStorm has generated tens of thousands of ideas, many of which Dell has implemented.