Crowd-Sourcing Creative Tongal contest platform cuts out agencies

paidcontent reporting:
Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, made famous by its quirky Sasquatch ads, wants something different. Despite the success of “Messin’ With Sasquatch,” a series of TV spots created by Carmichael Lynch, the company feels it needs a new hit to continue engaging with a young, media-savvy audience. So Jack Link's called on an under-the-radar crowd-sourcing platform called Tongal and its network of some 15,000 creative members.

Since its official launch 18 months ago, Tongal has asked its members—who range from brand enthusiasts to aspiring creative talent to video production professionals—to submit ideas for short video ads to hundreds of campaigns in partnership with brand

advertisers. Their motivation for submitting ideas? Prize money of $15,000 to $25,000, provided by the brand to users who have contributed to a winning idea. The ideas are typically filtered by social media managers at the brand, then go through a “suggestion” phase. Eventually the brand chooses a Tongal member to make the commercial.

It’s a twist on the Doritos and Pepsi Max “Crash the Superbowl” campaign, which offered prize money to brand enthusiasts who wrote and produced award-winning ads. Tongal facilitates collaboration, said CEO James DeJulio. The idea people get to work with execution people and eventually, with the brand. The prize money is typically distributed to 10 to 15 different members, and more importantly, “The people who are really good almost always get paid,” he said. More than 100 campaigns have come to fruition via Tongal.
Jack Link’s is one such brand. Its campaign on Tongal launched at the end of last week with a prize of $20,000 and deadline of June 30. Tongal expects around 500 ideas by the contest’s close. The “creative brief,” available on Tongal’s website, includes an all-caps, bolded Sasquatch caveat: Make ideas off-the-wall, but forget the Sasquatch. No more Sasquatch.
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/crowd-sourcing-creative-132858
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/crowd-sourcing-creative-132858