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LEGO Takes Crowdsourcing up a Notch
June 20, 2011
Cannes, France-- LEGO is preparing a global pilot of a crowdsourced product and
marketing effort first tested in Japan.
Under LEGO Cuusoo or Cuusco, fans are asked to make a wish for a LEGO set of
their own design and then have people vote or pledge their support for the idea.
When the number of online pledges for a product reaches 10,000, LEGO will send
it to production. Cuusoo, translated from the Japanese, means “wish.”
The initiative was presented Sunday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in
a session hosted by Naked Communication, a consultant to LEGO.
Previous examples of LEGO collaboration with fans include “MadeByMe,” which lets
fans order custom LEGO sets using software built specifically for the purpose,
and “Mindstorms,” which allows technically inclined fans to build and program
LEGO robots. Cuusoo represents a step up, since it suggests LEGO intends to
produce consumer-designed products for a mass market.
But the effort is still nascent. The first set released through the Japanese
pilot is the 21100 Shinkai 6500 (pictured), a submarine design that only went on
sale in February with 10,000 units available.
LEGO crowdsourcing efforts have been helped along by a naturally engaged and
creative customer base. According to Willer, fans have uploaded more than
700,000 videos of their creations to YouTube and have attended 180 LEGO fan
events in 30 countries.
A LEGO spokesperson said the company has not decided how many Cuusoo models it
will produce globally, but it expects to produce at least two a year. Since
numerous ideas could garner the required 10,000 votes, every qualifying product
will be evaluated by a jury of LEGO employees for design, production, and
commercial considerations.
“LEGO has opened the business so much that it truly can grasp all the inputs
from the community,” said Casper Willer, executive creative director at Naked.
As with the Japanese pilot, LEGO will share revenue for Cuusoo-created products,
paying designers 1 percent of revenue for products. The sets will be sold in the
LEGO online shop and through LEGO brand retail outlets.
Naked also presented other examples of brands co-creating products with
consumers, including a “Push Snowboarding” app from Nokia sponsored by Burton.
Reminiscent of Nike-Plus, the app used sensors installed on a pro snowboarder’s
body and gear to visualize his heart rate, speed, orientation, and “rush.” The
concepted by Nokia and Naked was executed in large part by amateur snowboarding
enthusiasts and developers worldwide.
Also breaking ground in community-driven product development is automaker Fiat’s
Mio crowdsourced concept car in Brazil. According to Fiat and its Brazilian
agency AgenciaClick Isobar, the Mio effort involved 17,000 people in 160
countries.
In a session here on Tuesday, executives from the client and agency will talk
about the initiative in more detail. In all likelihood the Mio, unveiled
previously at the São Paulo Motor Show, will have an on-stage moment. Today in
the Cannes exhibit hall, a large white-cloaked object was parked at a Fiat
kiosk.
Clickz.com
-end of report-
Note: Mention at Brickworld 2011, LEGO CUUSOO is going international in English
in October 2011. Make a LEGO wish, gather 10,000 followers to be considered for
production, get 1% of revenue.
The LEGO® CUUSOO ‘Beta’ link for the new international in English is open.
LEGO CUUSOO
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