TASK: Create a Design Contest to engage the fan base, encourage creativity, develop new fan-generated merchandise pieces for the upcoming album cycle, and spark online interest in “new happenings” as part of the early album setup online marketing campaign.

SOLUTION: Created a custom “Design Contest ’08″ Microsite and “Backstage” Content Management System [archived here] based around the existing Official Website design and aesthetic. The microsite supplied the fan base with the call to action and all details on the contest and submission process. Contestants used this microsite to submit their entries, which were placed into a database and immediately posted to the “Backstage” Content Management System. The “Backstage” was a password protected CMS which allowed Jason and his management to login and vote on each individual entry. Entries were sorted based on an average of all votes to easily determine the winning entries.

OUTCOME: Over 650 unique submissions were received, and because of the easy to use “Backstage” CMS system, winners were selected in a matter of days and instantly posted to the site. Winning submissions were instantly taken into production and under our watchful eye have been produced and are currently being rolled out on tour and the Jason Mraz Webstore.

Design by Design Contest Winner Aaron Grieve

Design by Design Contest Winner Aaron Grieve

Design by Design Contest Winner Scott Richmond

Design by Design Contest Winner Brent Burdick

Design by Design Contest Winner Stacey Walker