Creative crowdsourcing
07 Jul 2010
When we hear the word "crowdsourcing", we most often think of Wikipedia, or fundraising websites
Written by
sy social media consultancy
By Simon Young
New Zealand's arts community has a proud history of making something out of nothing. Often out of necessity.
And while it's great to see much-needed government funding for the arts, it's also inspiring to see something come together when a well-connected individual just decides it's got to happen.
That's the case with Wade Jackson's play Eulogy. It's a religious satire, supported with a hilarious and well-annotated website (someone obviously knows their Bible - even the terms and conditions are riddled with Bible verses!).
Eulogy has no government funding, but has received a great deal of in-kind support from across the spectrum. It's a great example of sponsorship in practice. Here's the run-down of supporters/suppliers:
- Half a dozen mac operators and a video operator are inserting the lead actor into famous moments in history
- The Orange Group are providing all props and set at no cost
- Image Centre are covering printing expenses
- Kurt from Cut Collective has created the art direction
- Ruban from the Mint Chicks has produced a "haunting soundscape"
- Misery is creating animation for the audio-visual material
And the marketing is being crowdsourced too. Jackson has approached his network with an email flyer, asking people:
"Send this attached email flyer out to their work & personal databases/networks with a special offer. What we can offer in return for your support is a cheaper ticket price for the people in your networks. All they have to do when they book a ticket is say Network Ticket and they can get tickets for $23 instead of $28. They'll see a great show and you get to be a hero by giving them the bargain! And yes, you yourself can also take advantage of this offer."
Why does this work so well? Here are a couple of reasons:
- There is tangible passion in this project, as seen by the amount of effort expanded, not just by Wade but by all the other supporters/suppliers
- There is personal connection. Although I'm sure Wade had some boilerplate copy about the play and about the network offer, his email was a personal email to me.
- The show is not the whole story, but rather the culmination of the story. It's what Sean D'Souza calls the bikini principle - the more you show, the more people are interested. It's not about just saying here's the show, it's really funny, pay up and show up. Instead, the website is crammed with detail - it creates a whole world that draws viewers in to the main event, the show itself.
Eulogy is on right now - it started on June 30th - and runs until July 16th. And while this isn't technically an email from me to you, try the Network Ticket offer and see if it works.
And while we're at it, Wade also asks, "if you know someone who has $5k / $10k or $15k burning a hole in their pocket and wants to be a patron and/or sponsor of an exciting play, we have a great sponsorship package!"