Crowdsourced copywriting

by 17 replies
24
This should be fun:

Help us craft our copy!

- Rick Duris
#copywriting #copywriting #crowdsourced
  • Is that where you got the idea for bullet points for your Walmart on Black Friday report? I think it has merit, interesting idea... I don't drink, so I don't fit in with their target market, but oh well.
    • [1] reply
    • No, I actually got watching prelim videos for the upcoming Titans event. It seems Gene Schwartz used to pay someone to write bullets for him. Paid a buck a piece. So I decided to try it.

      - Rick Duris


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  • Here's a guy who's pretty pissed off by it:

    Why crowdsourcing is wrong

    Should lump this guy in with:

    Why Fiverr is NOT killing the design industry | Copywriting is Art
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    • Hi Rick,

      Thanks for posting my article! I've been lurking around Warrior Forum for a little while ago and your nudge has led me to (finally!) sign up.

      Actually, I'm not against Brewdog's campaign. I've even submitted an entry myself! Here's why:

      I think crowdsourcing the content for their labels is potentially going to result in a haphazard mishmash of ideas that don't come together in any meaningful way. BUT in my experience, beer labels rarely do that anyway.

      Microcopy like that is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't. If it talks about the oaky notes and raspberry hints in the beer, people will say it's pretentious. If it talks about abstract concepts and metaphors, people will complain it doesn't tell you anything about the beer.

      While I am against cheap copy, I'm not necessarily against crowdsourcing 30 words here and there for a little campaign that I don't truly believe is taking a job away from a qualified copywriter.

      Just my two cents

      Thanks again for linking and I'll hopefully see you all around the boards!
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  • Somedays I feel like it's crowdsourced anyway.

    After I turn it in, the copy chief has a go.

    Then the editor and the publisher.

    I think sometimes they grab the janitor too to get his input if he's nearby.

    Oh..and don't forget about the publisher's spouse...
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    • What about Bob?

      Who's Bob?

      "He thinks it's too salesy. He thinks it should just say blah blah blah. I think he might be right"

      "Really? Is Bob in advertising?"

      "No, he's just a friend."

      "Oh, okay. Has Bob helped you out before?"

      "Yeah, he helped us with our last labels."

      "Interesting. But didn't those fail?"

      "Yeah, but we all liked them. They were simple. We dig that look and feel."

      "I see. But didn't you hire me because Bob's advice didn't work last time?"

      "Well... yeah... but he's got a good eye for this stuff."

      "Hmmm.... got it."

      On the beer labels...

      I like them. Didn't really look long enough to see what I'd change. But they're different enough from the bottles on my fridge and would stand out.

      Maybe they just need to get better distribution. So more people see these labels first? Just saying.

      Are they as good as Speakeasy's Beers out of SF? No.

      Mark
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    • I once had a client whose daughter was an English teacher. He said he would have her review my copy.
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  • I'm Canadian. We have 2 kinds of beer - warm and cold.

    We don't collect the bottles on the fridge.

    We have a mantra about that which you can hear in a Nickelback song...

    "If we take 'em all back, we can buy some more..."
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  • Here's another guy who doesn't like crowdsourced creative work:

    http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecac...ion-2014_0.png
    • [1] reply
    • Yea, I think it can definitely be good... especially in other markets. Trada for example (crowdsourced PPC) was doing very well last time I checked (Google invested in them).

      It probably won't beat just hiring one Copywriter to do everything if they're at your caliber though.

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