Today, Idea Bounty, a community site that allows brands to tap the collective intelligence of creatives all over the world, goes live with a brief from publishing giant Financial Times (UK). While "crowdsourcing" advertising ideas is not a new concept, Idea Bounty is the first to award prize money for an idea alone - no finished materials are required!
The brief from Financial Times asks creative minds from within the Idea Bounty community to submit their best digital marketing Ideas to increase the number of new subscriptions to the Financial Times online offering FT.com. The Financial Times is a leading global newspaper specialising in financial and business news. The newspaper is facing the same difficulties as the rest of the traditional media in trying to monetise their online offering, and turn offline readers into online subscribers. This, in an age of unparalleled consumer choice, made possible by a growing mass of (mostly free) content on the Internet.
Another problem, of course, is that when newspapers began to put their content online in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they allowed readers to access it for free. That decision has created a major dilemma, because consumers now feel that they have a right to free news content, yet online advertising does not currently generate enough revenue to support the free content model.
Financial Times UK is determined to find a way out of this impasse, one that ensures the survival of the newspaper and offers readers the high standards of quality editorial that they have come to expect. Financial Times has been seen to be an authority on the business world with a long-established credibility - the result of consistently accurate and timely reporting, solid international journalism, daily news, commentary and multimedia content. The best idea will help to convert FT.com traffic and offline Financial Times readers into paid subscriptions for FT.com.
To participate, simply register on www.ideabounty.com, read more about the brief, and send in your most original idea. The winner will receive $5,000 and the top 10 shortlisted Ideas will also be awarded a full annual subscription to the Financial Times.
Currently, Idea Bounty has over 11,500 registered participants and has hosted ten successful briefs since it launched in November 2008. First National Bank, Levi's® and BMW have all worked with Idea Bounty to solicit marketing and advertising ideas from a diverse group of thinkers based in over 20 different countries. More than 6000 ideas have been submitted, with eleven lucky winners so far. Idea Bounty has a 100% success rate with all brands rewarding a winning idea:
"Idea Bounty is the antithesis of the traditional agency models," says Rob Stokes, CEO of Quirk eMarketing, who built the Idea Bounty concept and website. "We believe in the concept of an open ideas economy driven by incentive. Simply put, the better the reward, the better the quality of contributions."
Brands benefit from Idea Bounty because they are able to actively engage with the global creative community. For a comparatively small sum, these companies can mobilise a virtual team of thousands to brainstorm creative ideas and choose the one they like best. "Idea Bounty is a new way to think about the traditional model for purchasing creative output," said Daniel Neville, MD at Idea Bounty. "We are able to bring together companies that are looking for disruptive, new ideas and some of the brightest minds in the creative world. It's a great way for a brand to get value for money by engaging a connected audience to solve communication and brand problems with big ideas, and for individuals to be rewarded for their creative thinking."
Clients also leverage the brief itself as a branding opportunity and way to directly connect with a highly motivated, influential, creative community. Clients are finding valuable PR return has been an unexpected benefit, with crowdsourcing being an innovative way of engaging with customers. Add to this the fact that the Idea Bounty model carries no financial risk for clients (they only pay to use the service if they purchase an idea), and Idea Bounty represents a financially smart communication asset.
MORE ABOUT Idea Bounty Idea Bounty (www.ideabounty.com) was founded by Quirk eMarketing in 2008 with the purpose of offering a platform for brands to gather the best creative ideas for their most challenging brie?ngs, rewarding only the best idea. At the same time Idea Bounty offers an opportunity for creative people to come up with creative ideas for inspirational brands and get a financial reward if they win. Idea Bounty has more than 11,000 registered creatives and has worked with brands such as FNB, Levi's®, BMW, Red Bull, The World Wild Life Fund and Castle Lager.
Idea Bounty was created by eMarketing, an award-winning online marketing agency.
For more information, contact:
Daniel Neville, Idea Bounty Managing Director +27 (21) 462 7353
The brief from Financial Times asks creative minds from within the Idea Bounty community to submit their best digital marketing Ideas to increase the number of new subscriptions to the Financial Times online offering 
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