1. Lazer Team
Creator(s): Rooster Teeth
Category: Film
Goal: $650,000
Funded: $1,762,456
Status: 9 days left, 271% funded
This project is great for a few reasons; this team has gained a popular following through several previous projects – such as their web series Red vs Blue, RWBY, and The RT Podcast – which makes their use of crowdfunding for their first feature-length film seem like a natural choice. Their page is well set up, and focuses on their dedicated fans and gives examples of their past work for those who are less familiar with them.
2. The Real Life Photo Filter
Creator(s): Tens
Category: Fashion
Goal: £9,400
Funded: £333,421
Status: 8 days left – 3,547% funded
This project is one that aims to bring people the beauty of filtered images to people’s everyday lives. They have a well-constructed video (for more on this check out this previous CrowdfundingPR post which includes some general video guidelines), and testimonials from satisfied users – which is helpful when trying to convince people who are slower to adopt new innovations that the product they are considering is useful and will be a good fit with their current lifestyle.
They also have straighforward reward categories which can greatly simplify reward fulfillment, but I did feel that they could have been a little more creative with what they offered to backers. Take a look at this CrowdCrux.com article for more advice on running a successful fashion project.
3. TrackR bravo – The Thinnest Item-Tracking Device. Ever.
Creator(s): TrackR
Category: Technology
Goal: $20,000
Funded: $353,569
Status: 27 days left – 1,768% funded
This project page had a good video and well thought out and set up rewards. The TrackR bravo makes similar use of an interactive app feature that I have seen with other tracking-related crowdfunding projects (such as the popular Toronto-based Vanhawks Valour, a bike that includes several innovative features including a tracking device that interacts with other bikes in the network). This project works well for Indiegogo because its creators are taking a very customer-centered approach to this campaign.
4. Proton Mail
Creator(s): CERN & MIT
Category: Technology
Goal: $100,000
Funded: $252,484
Status: 20 days left – 252% funded
This “Swiss based encrypted mail service” is a successful project partly due to the fact that privacy is such a hot topic these days. The reality of surveillance is often on people’s minds and a project affiliated with MIT, a renowned institution, shows that the people behind this project possess the expertise to deliver on their promises.
Their video is also well-constructed and uses themes of fear as well as opinion leaders to help convince their audience of the benefits of backing their project. The video also features a quick demonstration of what the product looks like. The team offers backers good rewards and states the feeling of obligation they have towards their fans to provide good service.
5. Solar Roadways
Creator(s): Scott and Julie Brusaw
Category: Technology
Goal: $1,000,000
Funded: $2,200,886
Status: Campaign ended – 220% funded
“Solar panels that you can drive, park, and walk on. They melt snow and … cut greenhouse gases by 75-percent?!!!” A previous article on CrowdfundingPR.org that gives some simple ways to help people tell whether their idea or project is right for crowdfunding mentions that projects should try to solve a problem that many people have experienced; this can help to ensure high demand, and therefore higher chances of success.
While the video lacks the professional and polished look of some of its competitors, the idea makes up for it and clearly has brought in a lot of support. The creators convey a sense of honesty in their explanation of where they are (showing a prototype and plans). This team is asking for help from their audience, offers good rewards, makes people feel environmentally responsible and also forward-thinking, as part of this project includes building a communication system to pave the way for driverless cars.
6. Geek Wave: It’s Not a Next-gen iPod. It’s a No-compromise Portable Music Player
Creator(s): LH Labs
Category: Technology
Goal: $38,000
Funded: $522,264
Status: 15 days left – 1,374% funded
The video for this project included many of the important components already mentioned above: reviews from people who have used the product, media attention the campaign has received, and reassurance of the expertise behind the campaign.
The creators stress the importance of interactivity and receiving feedback from backers as their motivation for choosing crowdfunding. They also included bloopers at the end that gave the audience the impression of lightness and approachability without going too off-topic in a way that would lose people’s interest.
7. Anywhere Fridge: Portable, Collapsible, Solar powered Fridge-Freezer and Warmer
Creator(s): Spencer Trotter
Category: Technology
Goal: $1,000
Funded: $60,659
Status: 21 days left – 6,066% funded
This product is a compact, solar-powered fridge that charges all day in the sun so that it can run all night. While this project has a few short-comings, including a video that has a kind of infomercial feel to it, overall this is a good idea and another innovation that is environmentally friendly and sure to get the attention of many individuals who like to support such initiatives. As with most of the projects mentioned here, and the majority of campaigns that do well on crowdfunding sites, they also offer their backers good rewards.
Conclusion
As we go down this list there are several common themes and characteristics that can be
drawn from these projects to help explain their success. One thing that stands out is the prominence of projects in the technology category being highly-funded, and trending.
Some of the things these projects have in common are that they solve problems that many people have experienced, tend to have great videos, and have a strong sense of why they chose crowdfunding as an option for their projects which they communicate clearly with their audience. Many of these projects offer their fans great rewards, and include testimonials from happy customers and fans as well as a list of media coverage they have received.
What do you think – are there any other patterns or trends that stand out here? Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!
