New World has launched a competition for a member of the public to become its social media custodian. As part of the home appliance brand’s image overhaul, the competition winner will attend trade shows and write about their experiences on various social platforms.

Jon Brennan, Commercial Manager, at New World explains: “Our new look is bold, stylish, young and fashionable and we are looking for someone who embodies these characteristics with a keen interest in food, interiors and new trends to represent the brand. It’s not just about having a physical ‘face’ we want a real person to embody New World and represent our brand through social media and in public.”

The winner of the competition, orchestrated by social media agency, Umpf, will attend interiors exhibitions, design shows, fashion and foodie events then blog and tweet about their experiences. Entrants are required to upload a photo and a 100 word bio before July 14^th, when Umpf will investigate their social credentials and draw up a shortlist of 10 candidates before the winner is eventually decided upon.

“[The custodian] will also play a role in new product development, attending meetings with our marketing and design teams to advise on product, fashion and food trends they’ve spotted,” says Brennan. “This is a really exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys food, fashion and interiors, who is social media savvy and who can write passionately about the New World brand.”

From a business perspective the competition is a shrewd move. New World builds a social media presence without investing much financially – the winner will be unpaid; the event tickets and free New World appliances given to the custodian will have minimal impact on the company’s bottom line. In effect the competition appears to be crowdsourcing an autonomous social media intern, and no doubt there will be large response.

Rather than financial resources, New World is putting its reputation at stake, arguably a braver thing to do. Handing over total control of social media output means the custodian should be free to post both positive and negative comments about the company. Therefore New World will have to constantly ensure the custodian is aligned with and passionate about its brand, as there will be no financial or contractual loyalty to fall back on.

No doubt this is the thinking behind the custodian being closely involved with the marketing and design processes, to create a sense of involvement and affinity with the brand. However, there is a possible conflict of interests here. The more involved the custodian becomes and the more tasks they take on, the more full-time the role appears and one wonders about the long-term viability of offering positions such as this on an unpaid basis.

Tags: hugh jordan, New World, social media custodian, Umpf