Crowdsourcing is becoming a popular trend in the field of marketing and branding. Kansas-based FreshlyBranded is a new Web 2.0 where small business owners can connect with creative people about graphic design, business slogans, advertising and other business needs. The minimum pay for the winning entry is $50 with a secondary award minimum—split among the other top nine—of USD 5.

The process is very simple:

• The buyer submits a brief on marketing needs and sets an award amount.
• Freshly Branded holds the award in escrow until a winner is chosen.
• Creatives submit their ideas, designs, or other work for consideration.
• The buyer picks a winner and Freshly Branded transfers the funds and any applicable files.