Advertisers have wasted no time tapping into the potential of online activities and consequently, a plethora of consumer generated content has emerged, creating positive experiences for consumers and becoming a boon to businesses across the world. Threadless.com is one such company. Here different designers submit designs for prospective t-shirts, the community at large votes on the best design, the shirt is printed and sold to those who are ready and willing to make the purchase.
In my opinion this is a fantastic business model because it taps directly into the preferences of the consumers. Certainly, their choices are limited by the number of different designs submitted however, considering that virtually anyone is free to submit a design, vocal consumers get to choose exactly what they love by being a vital part of the research and development stage.
When looking at how this model can be translated to the Non-profit world the possibilities are very interesting. The internet is already a fantastic tool for mobilization – bulletins, petitions, blogs, message-boards, and the like. These are all powerful tools that non-profits use on a daily basis. If more organizations choose to use these options strategically the potential benefits could be great. There are already a few non-profits that have seen the potential of involving their target audiences in the process of ideation and mandate development and have harnessed people’s willingness to contribute to their favorite causes through voluntary participation in online initiatives. Hopefully this continues to grow.
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