CROWDFUNDING: AN INNOVATION IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL MARKETING

Entrepreneurs today establish the startups based on their own value chain using digital technology. Digital Marketing helps startups to focus attention of crowd through innovation and new marketing techniques. Crowdfunding is the collection of funds from people by marketing product / idea / startup online through internet platforms using digital technology. Crowdfunding is emerging as a billion dollar industry with funding opportunities available across platforms to entrepreneurs, organizations, and companies like Honda, Coca-Cola etc. Crowdfunding allows customers to fund for a product or cause themselves. Dell used this to fund the purchase of a laptop for college students. Honda used the platform of Indiegogo.com to raise funds for a project (social cause). KimberlyClark used this on moms to develop innovative products for children (FMCG product). The most famous crowdfunded product ‘Pebble Watch’ started pushing hard on the founders to make the watch waterproof (by the crowd) that the company had to add this feature before it closed the campaign. Smart brands have realized that crowdfunding provides focus groups online which help elevate the value n existence of their product. If any firms / organization or company wants to be at the forefront of digital cutting-edge integrated marketing tool it has to ‘innovate’. The paper tries to analyze crowdfunding as an opportunity for innovation in the digital age. It uses questionnaire to gather data from platform providers and startups to judge how important is digital technology for crowdfunding. It also lists certain pros and cons for crowdfunding in the age of digital marketing.