For a global company dedicated to the collaborative process of finding and developing innovative health and well-being solutions, what better way to realize this vision than online crowd-sourcing?

This was the idea behind Netherlands-based Philips, as it defined its business and brand reputation for Asia-Pacific audiences. Rooted in dialog with individuals, the Philips ‘+’ campaign was created to showcase the company’s extraordinary commitment to health and well-being innovation.

The past 6 years saw Philips coalesce its various lines of business – healthcare, lighting and consumer products - around innovations that improved lives. But in Asia-Pacific, there remained low awareness of the Philips brand, contributing to sub-optimal business development, sales and partnerships.

Through ‘+’, starting in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, individuals were asked to submit ideas to improve health and well-being in their communities. Submissions were aligned with Philips’ three key business focus areas: Livable Cities, Healthy Living and Access to Healthcare.

Leveraging social PR and transcending geographical boundaries, the project sought to create organic conversations and crowd-source ideas that Philips could channel into improving lives.

Today, Philips is implementing the top-voted ideas: in Indonesia, a school lunch program that engages top chefs to design healthy meals; in Thailand, a solar lighting program in public parks; in Singapore, a collaboration with schools to reduce myopia and aid sleeping patterns.

Reaching more than 50 million people worldwide, the campaign drew more than 1,000 ideas and over 100,000 votes across the three countries, with double-digit growth in sales, brand association, and purchase intent.

Philips ‘+’ Campaign Platform. ‘+’ was shorthand for Philips’ commitment to collaborating with local stakeholders in developing solutions to community-specific problems.

Outside-In ‘Listening’ Approach. Besides collating country-specific survey data on health and well-being, Philips ‘+’ acknowledged people as the ultimate experts on local problems, and listened for possible solutions.

Crowd-sourcing Asia’s Most Pressing Human Problems. Through social media, launch events, blogger and influencer outreach programs, Philips crowd-sourced ideas to solve the biggest problems raised by each community.

Keeping Discussions Fresh. Along with popular influencers, Philips created new discussion topics on Twitter and Facebook every week to pique interest.

Groundbreaking Solutions. Philips worked hand-in-hand with communities to practically implement their ideas . The winning idea for each theme was chosen through online votes, external key opinion leaders and Philips executives who were engaged from the outset.

Because of its popularity, the campaign lasted well beyond its original timeline of 10 weeks.

The Project reached over 50 million people in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

The ‘+’ Project was ranked No.1 throughout Thai social media, according to hashtag #PlusThailand – a ‘first’ for Philips. The websites registered over 500,000 page views.

More than 1,000 ideas were “crowd-sourced” in Indonesia and Thailand. 100,000 people submitted and voted for ideas; over 6,800 people in Singapore submitted votes and survey data.

Key projects that emerged and are being implemented by Philips ‘+’ include:

• In Indonesia, engaging chefs to help school cafeterias prepare healthier food for students.

• In Thailand, transforming public parks through solar lighting.

• In Singapore, transforming 3 schools into more healthy learning environments.

Total sales revenue in Indonesia and Thailand increased by 10 and 15 percentage points.

Brand preference grew by 11%. 9% and 9% in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Purchase intent in these countries rose by 11 and 13 percent, respectively.