The Happy Encounter Between Mass Media and Crowdfunding

"Social Sourcing" is a mechanism for co-creating with society by obtaining necessary resources from it. In the first and second installments of this series, we explained "crowdfunding" – a system for broadly gathering financial support from individuals via the internet – along with examples. This time, we introduce two happy encounters between mass media and crowdfunding and summarize their significance.

 

◆Hiroshima TV "Television Funding" Funding Hiroshima" Launch

On June 11, Hiroshima TV launched Japan's first crowdfunding platform linked to terrestrial television broadcasting. This challenging initiative unites viewers and Hiroshima TV to create content together, starting as an exhibition within the mall-style crowdfunding site "GREEN FUNDING." Its name: "Television de Funding Hiroshima." Projects planned by Hiroshima TV are listed on the TV de Funding Hiroshima webpage. Only if the required funding is raised within the campaign period will the project be realized, and backers will receive rewards for their support. As people's lifestyles change, the importance of discerning the true value consumers desire has grown. Hiroshima TV took the lead nationwide in launching this platform to co-create new content and projects together with local residents.

June 11, 2014 "Television de Funding Hiroshima" Press Release

 

As its first initiative, the project "Creating 'Heartbeat Symphony' Lullabies: Soothing Babies with Mothers' Heartbeats" is currently seeking support (until August 8). Since 2003, Hiroshima Television has been involved in the "Child-Rearing Support Group," aiming to build a healthy, smiling society where childbirth and childcare can be undertaken with peace of mind. "Heartbeat Symphony" is part of this effort, aiming to support mothers and fathers in their child-rearing journey. For those who fund the project, we will create a one-of-a-kind "Heartbeat Symphony" by layering live music over the mother's heartbeat. As a new dad myself, I find this project personally very intriguing. Dentsu Inc. is primarily contributing in the creative field.

"Television de Funding Hiroshima" First Project: "Heartbeat Symphony"

 

The second installment of "TV Funding Hiroshima" is scheduled to launch on August 28th. It will be the "Support the Peace Night Game in Red T-Shirts! Project," where participants wear red T-shirts to cheer on the Hiroshima Toyo Carp vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows game.

 

◆ We want to create a radio program to promote Kawasaki vegetables!

The second crowdfunding campaign has finally begun for J-WAVE's " LISTENERS' POWER PROGRAM," which we've been introducing since the first installment. For the first campaign, we selected program ideas from the many submitted and raised funds to create one special program. The second campaign is a regular program aiming to adopt as many ideas as possible. The first idea is "I want to create a radio program to promote Kawasaki vegetables 'Kawasaki Sodachi'!"

"I want to create a radio program to promote Kawasaki vegetables 'Kawasaki Sodachi'!"

 

While Kawasaki is currently known as an "industrial zone," it was historically a producer of delicious, high-quality vegetables right at the heart of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It's also said to be the origin of "norabou greens," a rare traditional vegetable that saved people from famine during the Edo period. This project was started by Mr. Tamura, a Kawasaki resident involved in the vegetable business, driven by his passion to widely share the charm of these little-known "Kawasaki-grown" vegetables! As a new dad, I'm also interested in food safety and am keeping a close eye on this. Funding for the many program ideas that continue to pour in is expected to start rolling out one after another.

 

◆Crowdfunding isn't about raising "money," it's about gathering "supporters"

Besides Hiroshima TV and J-WAVE, newspapers and broadcasters are also entering crowdfunding, and I believe this trend will only grow.

On May 23rd, the revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act enabling equity crowdfunding was enacted, receiving significant coverage in newspapers and elsewhere. I believe the term "crowdfunding" has also become quite familiar to the general public.

Because crowdfunding includes the word "funding," it's often perceived as a means or method for raising money. Of course, that's not incorrect. However, in the mindset required to achieve crowdfunding, raising money is merely a function. Essentially, what you should be gathering is "support and empathy" and "supporters (allies)." It's more accurate to view crowdfunding as a movement: when support and empathy gather and the movement expands, the "money" will naturally follow.

Typically, crowdfunding is spearheaded by an initiator who promotes the project on social media. Empathy breeds empathy, and as information spreads, investments grow.

If the initiator shares information with 100 connected individuals, and those 100 resonate and share it with their own 100 connected individuals, and each of those then shares it with their 100 connected individuals, the resonance could reach 100 x 100 x 100 = 1 million people. This is the power of the social media era. However, this remains a theoretical construct; in reality, it rarely unfolds so smoothly.

This is where mass media like television and radio become powerful weapons. Their involvement means the initial announcement has the potential to reach one million people. It also allows the initiators to reach a large, unspecified audience not directly connected to them in one leap.

After broadcasting through mass media, if the fund members, centered around the initiator, passionately share their story on social media, and that passion spreads across SNS, the circle of empathy and support expands. This can move the hearts of the many people reached by mass media, creating allies. Ultimately, I believe this funding can yield tremendous results.

Of course, when using mass media's power to contact a large, unspecified audience at once—rather than relying on the spread of empathy—the message reaches people with diverse values and ethics indiscriminately. This means some may be critical, making it a double-edged sword. However, from the perspective of social sourcing based on CSV (Creating Shared Value) as advocated in this series, I believe that projects which earn empathy even after passing through the filtering of a society with widely diverse values are the ones that should achieve great success.

While this field is still full of trial and error, the convergence of crowdfunding and mass media might just be a happy meeting point—a space for co-creation between mass media and social media.