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CrowdINK [SMART 100, 2017]

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This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

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1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation initially came to life when…

I realised there is really no platform connecting brands, community and consumers in one marketplace. Consumers want to be informed, inspired and influenced by brands. Brands want to connect with consumers on a deeper level in real time. The CrowdINK platform allows consumers to follow a 360 view of their favourite brand with exclusive access to vip events, promotional materials, research, giveaways. We also believe that consumers are co-producers of content so the app allows them to submit “news worthy” stories to the news room, giving you content a potential to reach millions for which you get paid.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

…essentially connect consumers, community and brands in one marketplace.

It does this by…

Consumers get to follow brands. Brands get to target consumers using geo targeting and invite them to exclusive events, promos, giveaways. Consumers share content on brands through the influencer network. Consumers also get to submit “news” content. When the content is published and it’s read by other “citizens” they get paid a small fee.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

…currently consumers post content on social media for which they are not credited or paid for by news platforms. Our platform allows consumers to earn money by submitting stories. They also can connect with brands through following geo targeting, and community news is updated on their phone depending on their location (fire, flood, emergency).

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

…Consumers – are co-producers of content that get paid for the content once approved by the news room. Also getting a close affinity with brands they love, by being invited to events, promos via geo targeting. Brands – get to understand/gain insights about their consumers.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Essentially, journalists are secondary sources to information. They go to social media to find the primary source. The primary source rarely gets recognised or awarded. So the issue isn’t really solved. Our platform allows journalists to work with consumers to gain first hand insights. The information can also be accessed by brands if it’s relevant to them.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Other news platforms include – fairfax, newslimited. However, our approach is more “citizen journalism”. The consumers have the power to shape news. Not the journalist. So we provide the platform for this to take place.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

…consumers worldwide. However, the last 12 months have been more Australia based. The primary target audience is millennials aged between 20-40 years old. Currently the site covers newsworthy content across Lifestyle, Wellbeing, Business, Travel, Food, Entertainment and Design/Property. The site is currently getting 380K+ unique visitors a month and 4.2M+ page views. We’re also an Apple News partner which give us access to potentially another 70M+ readers world wide.

Our next phase is to roll out into different locations and have very specific location based news/content.

It is available for sale through…

…our primary website – www.crowdink.com
this is where we have over 1000+ journalist, writers, contributors, bloggers. We have collaborated with over 600+ brands including the likes of Montblanc, Rayband, Dominos, Philadelphia, Dulux, GE, LG, Miele, Contiki, etc.

Our marketing strategy is to…

We have been quite successful in marketing this product across the different industry brands we collaborate with. We currently do editorials, advertorials and naive brand collaborations. Marketing has been a mix of strategic partnerships, joint ventures, online, social media and event promotions.

FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

Maven Judge Vote: CrowdINK – Smart 100 2017
(Please note – The form below is for judging purposes only and is restricted to the public)