SMART launches huge user design contest -- More than 10K designs submitted in first 10 days

After being rather inactive in the growing field of customer co-design and open innovation initiatives, Daimler AG, the automotive company, finally has launched a big bang: The Smart Design Contest.

10 days after its launch on Jan. 6, 2010, already more than 10,000 unique designs, 45,000 evaluations and 12,000 comments have been submitted.

The smart car always has been rather an expression of individuality ("than a car", some critics may add). And in its very original concept, one of the features was that drivers could exchange the body panels of the car easily during the usage stage and exchange them with others. While this option has been offered, I know no one who executed it. And also the colors which were available for the Smart are rather standard and not too innovative.

But now, at least in the virtual world, users can create really the Smart of their dream with regard to its exterior design. On a special site, smart-design-contest.com, participants have the possibility to either upload their own design(s) or use an on-line toolkit to virtually configure their designs. Participants can also actively contribute in the competition by voting for the best designs of other contestants and/or comment. It is a bit like a mashup of Threadless and Spreadshirt.

The contest has been programmed and is executed by HYVE AG in Munich, and hence has the typical features of the HYVE IdeaNet Software (Full Disclaimer: I am on the board of directors of HYVE AG, but have not been involved in this project), namely tools that make it users easy to contribute, Web2.0 functionality like commenting, further developing an other user's idea, community functionality, and an extensive evaluation function.

Daimler's motivation to run this project is, in my opinion, threefold:

1. This is a great (and rather cheap) tool for interactive marketing and brand building.
   
2. The contest submissions can provide input for the company's innovation process, i.e. which color combination people like, which themes are being addressed, which design languages used. This could be used for future internal planning and also a better targeted marketing campaign.
   
3. The user design contest could become the base of a Threadless-alike business models: User designers design, consumers vote, and the best designs are sold as tuning kits to Smart owners. In the small print, Daimler already has set a price in such a case: 1500 Euro is the honorarium a winning designer would become. Alternatively, the foils also could used in a Spreadshirt-alike-business model: User designers submit ideas, and Smart owners pick their own favorite, which is produced with print-on-demand technology individual.

This is what is stated on the site:

"The 'style your smart' design contest is an opportunity to graphically display ideas for creative exterior design(s) for the smart fortwo. These designs could some day be applied via foil. Thought starters for design themes can be but are not limited to ... environment, family, puzzles, animals, graffiti, art, urbanization, technology, sports ...  

The 'style your smart' design contest aims at helping to identify exterior graphic themes and motives that YOU and/or others like. The designs and themes could be used to inspire future smart fortwo exterior; instead of another color there might be gallery type graphic themes to choose from or even the possibility to have your own theme and graphics. ...

All submitted designs have the opportunity to win cash prizes amounting to a total of 5,000 Euros AND much, much more publicity and exposure."

But Smart also has prices just for participating by voting and commenting on the site, hence providing a great incentive for users to contribute -- and to generate traffic on the site. So in general, I would say the marketing aspect of the project dominates by far. But who knows: Once the company gets more experience and confidence, users may not just upload colorful drawings, but provide input to real innovation.

I am curious to see how many designs will come in overall. If the growth on the site increases as in the first ten days, at the end more than 100,000 design shall have been submitted.

Context:

• In 2007, BMW had a roof designer for its Mini (see my report here). While BMW's site was much more fancy and stylish, the concept itself was not so well executed and the incentive to participate rather small.
  
• For a comparison of companies like HYVE organizing innovation contests have a look in our Executive Report "The Market for Open Innovation"