Hi, have you heard the term crowdsourcing? Maybe you have, or not. Derived from the word Outsourcing, It’s when companies use the Internet to gather huge crowds of people and have them solve a problem. Instead of outsourcing to a company, a task is left to the will of the people or a crowd. It’s pretty much like when a company has a contest to name it’s newest product, and the general public submits names and votes on the best one, in the end, deciding the brand name of the new product.
Well, that’s what Kraft did with a new, more spreadable version of it’s famous Vegemite. Boy, did things go wrong. I myself, have never had the pleasure of Vegemite on toast. Nor am I sure if I ever would want to. But if I were to ever find myself on a vacation in the friendly Australia, perhaps I would at least give it a try.
So here is what happened. They held this contest to name a new version of Vegemite. This new version of Vegemite is more spreadable as it is mixed with cream cheese. The contest happened. Can you guess what the winning name was? This was a name that was chosen by the fans and voted as the number one name.
The name was, “iSnack 2.0″
Wow, that name sure sucked. Mmmmm… Lets have some toast with iSnack two point-oh-on it. Yea, it bombed. The Australian media and press and blogosphere had a Field-day with it. Eventually Kraft rolled back the brand and started the whole process all over again, and rightfully so.
So what happened the second time around? The second time, I think they got it a bit better. After the epic fail, they finaly came up with a new name.
Vegemite Cheesybite
Now that, is a great name. You don’t get a more descriptive and easy to remember name than that. Well, OK, it’s better than iSnack 2.0.
what does a business owner need to learn from this?
Well for one, It’s not always a good idea to run a contest to get cheap creative work, while it may get you some publicity, you are trusting the fate or your business and brand in the hands of people who do not have a full scope if what is involved. This little adventure from Kraft, probably cost the company a few millions. I always recommend hiring a professional that is experienced in what you need, whether that’s naming a product or creating a poster or what-ever you may need.
Posted: January 25th, 2010 under Naming, Useful Links, logo identity, rebrand.
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