CNN Proudly Works with Fans to Promote MSNBC

Tapping into your customers and your community to co-create content can be an excellent strategy for building engagement with your brand.

Let me emphasize the important word in that phrase: can.

Because sometimes, it just seems to go all wrong.

Like when Chevy invited customers to create their own Tahoe commercial, and people responded with taglines like, "$70 to fill up the tank, which will last less than 400 miles. Chevy Tahoe."

Unfortunately, CNN missed the lesson on how to appropriately work with communities to generate content with their new T-shirt generator that let's fans create custom T-shirts out of real CNN headlines, or upload their "headline." CNN can now rest assured knowing that there are T-shirts in the wild proudly displaying the iconic CNN logo above the headline: "I prefer MSNBC."

Bonus points for the first person to submit a Viget headline to a CNN T-shirt.

[Update]

While there are plenty of great examples of excellent co-creation and customizing content, one of the newer entries to the field is Moleskine, who is offering customers an opportunity to upload their own design and have it laser engraved on their book. Perhaps altering the historic design of the Moleskine is an abomination to some, but others will no doubt find the personalization a wonderful enhancement to an already storied product. Great way to blend a strong brand with a personal touch.