Co-Creation: Working Together
In the market of 2015, there are so many ways to communicate with your consumers. The use of social media and technology has allowed brands to do this on a new level, with the ability to really understand your customers and their needs. Reiterating the importance of building a relationship, brands should seek to continually communicate and work closely with their clients.
Clients no longer expect to be told what they should be buying. They know what they want and they expect brands to accommodate. (See PixAngels latest blog on the trend of immediacy)
Why not use this opportunity to build a close relationship with your customers and co-create together and produce exactly what you both want.
Co-creation is much more than just personalisation (although this is an aspect of it). It also covers co-production, mass customisation, collaboration and crowdsourcing. The process of co-creation is working alongside the client, whether virtually or physically, to develop and produce a targeted product or service.
This is a growing trend with more and more brands choosing this as a method. Mass production and standardisation is starting to dwindle. Coca-Cola, a brand associated as single product decided to use co-creation in their “Share a Coke” campaign. The brand fully understood that its clients needed something personal and discovered what its clients would respond to best and worked with them to create the ultimate campaign.
“Do us a Flavour!” Walkers developed a campaign to involve their customers in the creative process, coming up with a new flavour and with a reward of up to £1million! The company experienced a staggering level of engagement with the brand, across all channels of communication. Receiving over 1 million entries, 27,000 new Facebook followers and 4.3 million new visits on their website, Walkers were able to build relationships and interact effectively with their customers.
From Anderson to MacDonald and 55 different tartans in between, Irn-Bru’s initiative “Bru’s Your Clan?” gives Scots a chance to celebrate their heritage and for those without Scottish roots there’s a specially made Irn-Bru tartan (Clan Bru) which consumers are invited to join. The bottles hit the stores just in time for Hogmanay, giving fans the chance to use their tartan-clad bottles to toast friends and family’s Scottish roots Irn-Bru style. A friend of mine is planning on using their Tartaned Irn-Bru for wedding guests to toast their speeches!
The key to an effective co-creation strategy is building relationships, creating a unique customer experience and learning from your clients to result in exceptional added value and inspiration around the brand. Remember co-creation is not just personalisation; you must work together.
References:
Humphreys, P., Samson, A., Roser, T., and Cruz-Valdivieso, E. (2009). Co-Creation: New Pathways to Value, An Overview. LSE Enterprise.
Marketing Society: https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-library/2011-walkers-creating-loyal-relationships-case-study
Talking Retail: http://www.talkingretail.com/products-news/crisps-snacks/walkers-unveils-us-flavour-competition-finalists/
Irn-Bru to launch unique tartan-clad bottles: http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/irn-bru-to-launch-unique-tartan-clad-bottles-1-364522
