Walking the Talk

My grandfather used to say that it is always healthy to rebel against everything and challenge all the rules at least once in a while. And when it comes to the ad business, I certainly believe that should be our motto.

Well, I am truly excited to see that there are still people out there with the guts - and the vision - to keep doing that, like the guys at Victors & Spoils, the "world’s first creative (ad) agency built on crowdsourcing principles."

"It’s time for a new agency model. One built to address some of the biggest forces changing the face of business today. Radical transparency, the consumer’s demand to be more involved and a growing cost consciousness regarding clients’ budgets have all made crowdsourcing especially timely for today’s marketers. However, the crowdsourcing paradigm is a bit unruly for most clients. The number of possible solutions created and the effort to keep things on strategy for a brand can be overwhelming.

At the core of Victors & Spoils is our creative department. It’s not a typical creative department made up of art directors and copywriters but one in which everyone from art directors and copywriters to strategists and producers come together to solve a brand’s strategic problems. Our creative department is a global digital community where anyone who wants to participate can. People will not only be rewarded by the solutions they develop both individually and as a group but also for participating in the community, itself, and helping others develop their skills and talent. In an effort to guide this participation, members of the creative department will earn a reputation ranking that will help determine a share of the revenue from each project."

It sounds pretty amazing now? Breaking down the silos and building a community of creative people that comes from a myriad of disciplines - think planners, copywriters, strategists, art Directors, designers... you name it - and from an equally diverse background – traditional, digital/interactive, broadcast, social media.

Definitely something a lot speak about, but just a few put in practice.

I had the chance to ask some questions to John Winsor, one of the brains behind this ingenious venture and current Chief Executive Officer, which I feel will help us better understand a bit more about their reasons and vision to launch the agency.


AC: A lot has been said both about crowdsourcing lately but I believe you guys are the first ones with the courage and the vision to actually do something serious about. Considering the current economic landscape, why now?

JW: It felt like the right time. There’s been a lot of momentum building from great pioneers: Crowdspring, Innocentive, BBH-Labs and CP+B. It’s time to take the next step in the evolution.

AC: With the rise of ideas built collaboratively, do you guys envision a future where the traditional model is death?

JW: All kinds of new models will emerge that will creatively solve different problems for different clients. You’ll see a very dense landscape of everything from hybrid traditional models to complete virtual ones. We’re really honored to be part of the evolution.


Bold. Yes. Clever. Hell yeah. And pay attention, these guys are serious about it - they are even crowdsourcing their logo.

My best wishes to John and his partners for walking the talk and embracing such an amazing venture. Let's join them in changing the industry!

Here is an pretty cool piece the NYT wrote about them. Cheers!