Welcome to Victors & Spoils

The news is out. Another adventure begins. I love the start of a new adventure. So much anticipation. So much excitement. It always comes down to the team. Standing at the beginning of this adventure, Victors & Spoils, is especially exciting with the amazing team that’s come together. My partners Evan Fry, Claudia Batten, Scott Beck, Chris Marks, Dana Vallely and you (That’s right, you. More on this later.) comprise a crew that I’ve always dreamed about having on a big adventure.

Victors & Spoils is the world’s first creative (ad) agency built on crowdsourcing principles. Our goal is to provide businesses with creative solutions to their marketing, advertising and product-design problems, by engaging the world’s most talented creatives.  

Brands need an alternative to current ad agencies and crowdsourcing platforms. One that offers the strategic direction, engagement and relationship management that agencies deliver today but one that also delivers engagement, connectivity, creativity, and ROI that crowdsourcing platforms have the potential to deliver.

It’s time for a new agency model. One built to address some of the biggest forces changing the face of business today. Radical transparency, the consumer’s demand to be more involved and a growing cost consciousness regarding clients’ budgets have all made crowdsourcing especially timely for today’s marketers. However, the crowdsourcing paradigm is a bit unruly for most clients. The number of possible solutions created and the effort to keep things on strategy for a brand can be overwhelming.

At the core of Victors & Spoils is our creative department. It’s not a typical creative department made up of art directors and copywriters but one in which everyone from art directors and copywriters to strategists and producers come together to solve a brand’s strategic problems. Our creative department is a global digital community where anyone who wants to participate can.  People will not only be rewarded by the solutions they develop both individually and as a group but also for participating in the community, itself, and helping others develop their skills and talent. In an effort to guide this participation, members of the creative department will earn a reputation ranking that will help determine a share of the revenue from each project.

As on any journey, things will change and develop new paths. I’ve been blown away already by how fast things are moving and the amazing excitement that clients have expressed. This is going to be a wild ride.

We look forward to figuring this new paradigm out with you.

Comments

[anibal casso]

The industry needs a revolution and you guys are doing your part. Congratulations for taking the lead with this initiative. Best.

http://www.accidentalthinking.com/2009/10/walking-talk.html

[Dan Sturges]

John -

Great to hear you are moving forward in this new (and needed) direction. You have either found the new way, or are certainly likely to find it.

As someone working to integrate smaller personal vehicles in the U.S. transportation mix, I have long been interested in working with the public in a city to co-design (crowdsource) these smaller (low-$-produce) cars and leverage the local partnerships to create"slow streets" and other corridor / infrastructure modifications to make travel safe.

John Thackara (Doors of Perception) has been a guiding light for me in this crowdsourcing area. I remember John writing in the 1998 timeframe about how the role of the future designer will change - and become more like a "FACILITATOR" of sorts, working with large (online) groups of stakeholders / communities to shape new products (and services).

Again, Congrats!!

Dan (Sturges)

[Lisa Golloher]

John,

Excited to see such inventive thinking coming out of Boulder. The environment here certainly pushes all boundaries, and the agency model has been in desperate need of a real shove for years.

One question I do have about this new way -- it seems like your company is focused on crowdsourcing from a creative perspective which will limit the number of participants. Will you also be looking at engaging consumers of all kinds to see how they are shaping their favorite brands? Whether you use an online listening platform or set up your own social media network, will you be looking for inspiration beyond those with skills in photoshop or illustrator?

I only ask because it seems to me that we are fundamentally at a point in time when traditional approaches to business need to change. We are no longer in a push the message out world, we need to instead invite consumers in to help craft innovation.

I'm interested to learn more about how V&S will fuel this change.

Regards,

Lisa Golloher

[James Cooper]

Good luck John. I really look forward to seeing what happens.

[Ally Polly]

Hey John,

What's in your hand in that pic?

[John Winsor]

there's a hint in the first post on the V&S blog.

[Pete T]

Way to pull the pin!

[Brent Hodgins]

John,

You've never been afraid to challenge the status quo... from your perspectives on spec work, to a fresh look at product concepting, to using crowdsourcing for input on your new book. Once again, you are several steps ahead of agency mainstream. I suspect many will not yet "get" this new concept - which is the first clue you're on the right track. I'm not surprised at all to see this new venture.

Now, the suit however... that I am surprised to see. ;-)

You'll have entirely new subject matter for our conference next spring. I'll be in touch over the next few weeks.

Best of luck,

Brent Hodgins

[Ally Polly]

AHAAAAA!!!!

lol

loveit

[Jimmy Hendricks]

I love the concept. We have been building white labeled contest software on this principal.

What elements are you looking for in platforms?

It would be interesting to see if there are opportunities to collaborate.