Frontiering Talk

Sony has turned Grouper which is bought last year for $65 million into a breeding ground for premium Consumer Generated Content.

The site is called Crackle, and it aims to be a place where new talent is discovered. Submissions for contests will be judged both by other consumers and by a team of editors. There are over 1000 submissions in place, and Sony has even created it’s own department called Crackle Studios to create segments for the site.

According to the site, they also have advertising opportunities.

Perspective: I think this is a good initiative by Sony. As the online video space starts to broaden, I can see niches developing, and the way in which advertisers connect with content providers will change.

Would you like fries with that .. just got bigger.

McDonalds are offering Australian consumers the change to name their next burger with a very clever promotion.

The campaign will be advertised heavily on TV .. and will show a fictitious burger naming legend, known as “Ken Thomas”, retiring as Chief Burger namer . and handing the responsibilities to a younger generation.

Perspective: I think it’s great to involve consumers in marketing, whether it be for innovation, research or diffusion of the message. This promotion will work, in part because of the TV investment. Watch for future campaigns of this nature to ignite using social networks such as Myspace and Facebook.

Update: .. as at Wednesday 18th July this promotion has had 24,100 entries

Tags: Social Network