UC Berkeley to Host the First Executive Program Solely Dedicated to Teaching Major Corporations How to Tap Into Crowdsourcing and the $90 Billion Crowdfunding Marketplace

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Berkely, CA (PRWEB) July 10, 2014

While most people only know about the benefits of crowdfunding for startups and small businesses, today, the University of California at Berkeley announced that it will be hosting the first executive program solely dedicated to training major corporations on the benefits of crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, and crowd intelligence as a way to strengthen their brand and consumer experience and drive innovation. The course, entitled "The Crowd Empowered Organization," will introduce strategies on how corporations can become “empowered by the crowd” through engaging customers, social media networks and suppliers for launching innovative solutions, enhancing consumer initiatives, improving corporate responsibility programming, and deepening their brand positioning in the marketplace.    

“Most people think of crowdfunding only as a Kickstarter campaign for startups,” said Richard Swart, the director of research at the University of California, Berkeley. “But now, leading corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, are using a variety of crowd techniques—like crowd-voting, crowd-intelligence, and crowdfunding—to launch new products, facilitate social impact initiatives, or to even win new customers. Startups may use the crowd as a way to quickly raise capital in order to stay in business; however, corporations are using the crowd to drive innovation, increase sales, and even strengthen ROI for investors.”    

OVERVIEW

The Crowd Empowered Organization program will be held October 1-2, 2014 on the campus of UC Berkeley. In this unique program, some of the world’s leading experts in crowd empowerment will share their insights, as well as demonstrate strategic approaches and best practices on how to use the power of the crowd at the enterprise level. The course will be taught through observation of current and historic trends, data analysis, and case studies of major brands that have already launched successful crowdfunding campaigns—including Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, American Express, IBM, Condé Nast, and Dodge. Now, major corporations are taking advantage of crowdfunding, which is estimated to become a $90 billion market in 20 years.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Leading corporate executives who already oversee marketing strategies, innovation, consumer engagement, branding, and social responsibility initiatives—such as chief marketing officers, corporate responsibility officers, and chief innovation officers—are being exclusively invited to sign up for this very limited seating, one-of-a-kind training experience. To register for this event or to see the full conference agenda, visit the program website.

MEDIA RSVP/INQUIRIES:

Credentialed members of the press are also invited to participate in this training event, however seating is limited. Media representatives wanting to attend the “live” event will need to RSVP to register for an official press badge by emailing kimberley(at)leverage-pr(dot)com.

About Richard Swart, Director of Research at UC Berkeley:

Dr. Richard Swart is the Director of Research at the University of California, Berkeley, overseeing policies and best practices in innovative social financing models, including effective practices in crowdfunding. Swart is one of the top thought leaders in crowdfunding globally, with particular interest in crowdfunding methodologies and in crowdfunding practices for corporations who can now leverage crowdfunding as an essential business tool for driving innovation. Swart was the lead author of a major white paper for the World Bank on the potential impact of crowdfunding around the globe. Additionally, he was the co-author of the UK Alternative Finance Market Study release with Nesta, UC Berkeley, and the University of Cambridge.

Contact: Kimberley Brown
Senior Account Manager for Leverage PR
mobile. (404) 314-2900
email: kimberley(at)leverage-pr(dot)com

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