12 big brands & celebrities that crowdsourced in 2012

12 big brands & celebrities that crowdsourced in 2012

When people think of crowdsourcing, they often think of it as a tool for entrepreneurs and small businesses – and they’re right. Small business users have powered explosive growth of crowdsourcing services in the last 5 years (from stock photography to logo design crowdsourcing). What many don’t realise is crowdsourcing is being used more and more by the world’s biggest brands, governments, politicians and celebrities.

In 2012, many of the world’s top 100 brands and most influential people used crowdsourcing. From the world’s number one brand (Coca-Cola) to the world’s most powerful man (President Obama), crowdsourcing continued its rise from Main St to Hollywood Boulevard, Wall St and the halls of Washington.

However, big brands don’t always know what they’re doing (often choosing to run renegade crowdsourcing contests) and in 2012 the results were mixed – sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes hilarious.

In this article, we will look at 12 of the best, worst and weirdest crowdsourcing projects from big brands, politicians and celebrities in 2012.