Crowdsourcing Vehicle Design

The current economic downturn has forced a number of the major OEM's to rethink their marketing efforts, and in some cases, the business models that define them. At the same time, there are a number of new startups that are challenging the market with innovative new thinking, processes and technologies. Still, it doesn't appear that anyone has the perfect answer.
 
Here's a new one to consider: Crowdsourcing vehicle design. Massachusetts-based startup Local Motors has a business model that is unlike anything I have ever seen in the automotive world, and I think it has the potential to change the way car design, development and yes, marketing will work in the future.
 

 
For those that aren't familiar with crowdsourcing, Wikipedia defines it as the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to a group of people or community in the form of an open call. With Local Motors, users can register on the site to upload their own vehicle designs or vote on the designs of others. Once one design is chosen as a base, Local Motors develops the vehicle from top to bottom with the support of the community at large. For the physical assembly, the company invites owners out to their micro-factory (oh yeah, you get to help choose where that is as well) to help build it over the course of two weekends.
 

 
This concept has massive potential to succeed for a couple key reasons. For one, the emotional connection between car and owner is massive. Anything you've contributed to on this level is something you're bound to be proud of. That pride translates to tons of word-of-mouth about the experience that will likely bring in new customers. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, I think this concept eliminates something that has plagued many American automakers (GM, Chrysler) lately: producing products that nobody wants to buy. Here you have a built in mechanism that pushes through only the concepts and ideas that appeal to the public, ensuring that the end product is something that leaves nothing to be desired. Marketing these vehicles should be no sweat!
 
If you haven't heard of Local Motors, you will soon. The budding company is actively involved in social media and interactive media, although their efforts to brand them are a little disjointed at this point. As a startup, I imagine their efforts have largely been focused on product development and operations, and not as much on marketing, although it should be said that they've been deploying contests and giveaways as an effort to increase the wingspan of the brand. It will be interesting to see how this company grows and if their marketing efforts gel over time. For now, follow them on Twitter, become a fan of theirs on Facebook and check out their blog.

by Garret Ohm

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