Clothing brand Plain Lazy are turning to social media, specifically the Twitterverse, to crowdsource slogans for their new t-shirt range.

The competition is simple enough to enter – simply send a tweet saying “This is my #plnlzy t-shirt slogan: “your witty slogan here” The competition is running for 8 days and the winner gets paid £150 and a free tshirt with their slogan.

Crowdsourcing for businesses is an increasingly popular phenomenon – there are entire sites dedicated to it. Namethis (who are currently ‘on a break’ – interpret that how you will) was set up for people looking to source names for their new business/product/service. The cost for businesses to participate is $99 and the winner receives $40.

Crowdsourcing your business branding is about as social media friendly as it gets – power is handed over to the people who may well be your consumers, to shape your brand and image. If you’re interested in the power of crowd-sourcing for your business, E-Consultancy have produced a guide to 10 kickass crowdsourcing sites for your business.

While accessing the wisdom of the crowd is an innovative use of social media and the ultimate example in relinquishing control of your identity, it brings up two interesting points.

Professional branding companies can charge in the thousands to devise slogans, logos or names. In the case of Plain Lazy, is £150 and one freebie sufficient compensation or payment for a product that they are going to sell all over the country? Obviously, the effort put in by one individual in submitting a name or slogan is significantly less than a professional would put together but the consumer should still be justly rewarded. There are currently no standards in place to determine what is a sufficient payment, though 99 designs does set a minimum of $150 to be rewarded to the winner.

Crowdsourcing for your business throws up interesting issues – on one side it gives a chance to those designers etc.. who would not normally be able to submit their design ideas through the traditional channels, yet they still need to be adequately rewarded and there are no benchmarks in place to set this.

The issue of branding and corporate identity is, in my opinion, central to success in social media. As a brand opens up their presence online and begins to engage with people in social media, it is easy to become vulnerable to what everyone has to say. While you should certainly be listening to the whole conversation, it is the responsibility of the company to attribute meaning to this and determine what has a place in your business. A company needs to have their own house in order before they open up online. A logo or company name is central to a brand and you have to question how solid this brand is when you are turning to the masses to shape this for you.

Crowdsourcing has its place and is a fascinating phenomenon of social media, but it should be treated carefully and it may not necessarily provide the answers you’re looking for.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The internet has become a big popularity contest
• Online Privacy In Social Media – It Doesn’t Exist
• Social media analytics – 2 new tools
• Would anyone notice if you left Twitter?
• Free Social Media Badges, Widgets And Icons For Your Blog Or Website