Financial newspaper crowdsources ad campaign

To build buzz for next year’s ad campaign, The Australian Financial Review recently used a competition to crowdsource ad copy from readers. Dubbed Write Our Next Ad, the brief was for a short, sharp, clever ad that would resonate with the audience and promote the benefits of regular readership, while reflecting the brand’s focus on leadership, strength and inspiration. Over 13,000 entries were submitted. Visitors’ votes determined the winner of a people’s choice award, and first and second place were selected by the organizers. Each winner received a Mont Blanc pen, but only the first place entry will be used in the campaign. While a valuable publicity tool in itself, a creative competition could have the added bonus of producing material that resonates with the target market—after all, it’s their own creation! Spotted by: Edward Baral