There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? Well, if you’ve ever bailed on a bill at an exclusive eatery you may disagree. But as a general rule, whilst grub gratis is something you would appreciate, you understand that money should normally exchange hands before you’re entitled to a good old nosh-up.

Why we’re talking to you about free food on a Crowdsourcing company’s blog will soon become apparent. But it’s first necessary to establish that most ‘free’ things come with some sort of cost attached – you just might not realise it at first.

Now, here’s why this may concern you. If you’re used to working with creative agencies, you may have grown used to some of the perks that sometimes come your way – this could be something as simple as savouring the scenery from a swish Shoreditch meeting space. Or, indeed, it could be the odd luncheon here and there to catch up on any new projects you may (or may not…) have brewing.

Whilst our aim here isn’t to be killjoys, perks almost always come at a cost – either directly or indirectly.

When you have a creative brief that needs fulfilled, you want the best people working on it, regardless of whether they’re in Louisiana or London. And you want them to understand exactly what it is you’re looking for. Anything more than that is nice…but do you really need it?

Crowdsourcing helps strip the creative process to its bare bones. To quote Ronseal, crowdsourcing does exactly what it says on the tin: it sources the best creative minds from the global village – hereafter referred to as ‘the crowd’.

Now, the crowd won’t club together to buy you a lavish lunch, but don’t take it personally, it’s just that their minds are on other things such as getting creative with your brief. The crowd offer you an artery into the very heart of creativity, whether that’s web designers, copywriters or any other creative discipline.

The whole creative and technological landscape has changed since Madison Avenue emerged as the advertising industry’s main thoroughfare more than 150 years ago.

The humble horse and cart has been steamrollered by everything from bikes and buses, to hovercrafts and helicopters.  Whilst telegrams and Morse code are now consigned to the history books too, with faxes, telephones, mobile phones, emails and VoIP all doing their bit to drag communications out of the dark ages and into the light.

So, getting back to the main point. A lot may have changed over the past century or so, but many businesses have yet to catch-on to the latent possibilities of connecting with the hundreds of thousands of creatives around the world.

Crowdsourcing cuts right into the middle of these possibilities. Sure, you might not get a free lunch out of it, but you will get some great minds working for you. That is, ultimately, what you’re looking for…isn’t it?