We know crowdsourcing in general is still unfamiliar territory for many out there, and we want to change that. We’re devoting a blog series over the next few weeks, each one focusing on a phase of the video campaign planning process. If you want the Strategic Guide to Crowdsourcing a Video Campaign in its entirety, visit www.geniusrocket.com/whitepaper to access the online and pdf version.

Whether you choose us or another agency, these pointers should help you execute your campaign with confidence. Ultimately, we want you to maximize the power of the crowd and nail your business objectives with an outstanding video campaign.

Today’s blog coverage: Concept Validation and Risk Management

4. Concept Validation and Risk Management
Once you’ve submitted your creative brief and have set a deadline, you’ll receive several written creative concepts from the agency’s crowd to consider for your campaign.

Evaluating the Concepts
Again, the number of concepts you’ll receive will depend on the crowdsourcing agency you use. In an open model, you can get an explosive number of concepts to evaluate. While it can take longer to process, you can potentially identify several concepts that you wish to take into production. The drawback is that if the community is not vetted, you’ll have to evaluate both the good AND bad ideas. Some agencies provide support and/or public voting functions to help sift out the stronger concepts.

Some open model agencies go as far as to skip the written concepts phase, and ask their community to create the end product- the actual video- to submit for public review. If you are looking to engage your customer base into the crowdsourcing process, then this type or process makes the most sense. If your objective is to create a high quality and professional video, however, this process will most likely be insufficient in meeting your needs.

In a closed model, you should typically expect around 15-30 concepts back from accomplished professionals. While this is not as high of a number as what an open model could provide, these professionals are vetted based on their experience developing the type of campaign you are looking for. The chances you’ll receive high-impact concepts that align with your vision are strong. Some agencies also guarantee that until you identify the concept(s) you want to move forward with, they’ll continue to vet the community for more high quality ideas.

Deciding on the Concept to Take Into Production
The amount of control you have over deciding which concept you want to take to production will differ based on the agency you choose. No matter what, as protector of your brand you need to inject yourself into the process so that you can identify the strongest concepts, and verify they match your business goals. Depending on the agency, an in-house Creative Director or Critic At Large may be available to help validate the strongest creative concepts.

In addition, as details including scripting and music selection are finalized, double check with the agency to make sure all property is legal and appropriate.

Below is a starting point on a checklist to create and use. To download a blank grid in .xlsx or .pdf format, visit www.geniusrocket.com/whitepaper.

In our next blog post, we’ll provide guidance on how to make sure the video production process stays in line with quality assurance standards. Stay tuned! (Or… just go to www.geniusrocket.com/whitepaper where you can access the entire guide at once)

Have any questions for GeniusRocket’s Critic At Large Bob Garfield (Featured AdWeek and MediaPost writer and advertising critic) on how to effectively evaluate advertisement campaign concepts? Ask them in the comment section below! 

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Read previous posts:

Crowdsourcing a Video Campaign Stage 1: Defining Business Objectives

Crowdsourcing a Video Campaign Stage 2: Choosing Your Creative Partner

Crowdsourcing a Video Campaign Stage 3: Concept Generation

Measure Success Factors That Matter in the Crowdsourcing Domain