Co-creation is Contagious

It appears co-creation just keeps getting hotter as our whitepaper The Spirit of Co-creation has been gathering momentum apace this week with requests for the document coming in left and right. It's great to see that word's spreading, most recently in Contagious last night. If you've not heard of Contagious do click through and have a look at the site - it's a fantastic magazine dedicated to covering the cutting edge of marketing, design and technology. Read the opening of my article below or click through to see the full article:

Co-creation - the word of the hour in the business world. We’re all familiar with it and many have strong opinions on the subject as well as at least a few stories both good and bad. If forced to define co-creation you might say that it is to the practice of looking outside an organisation to collaboratively create ideas, products and services with clued-in consumers, creative individuals or people with particularly relevant skills.

But what does that really mean for us? Well it basically means acknowledging the great ideas outside of your walls and finding a way to harness those ideas for business benefit. Those of us who advocate co-creation argue that this sort of practice is key to moving forward and innovating in today’s competitive marketplace.

Continue reading on the Contagious site.

Co-creation: A key component in the master planner’s toolkit

Co-creation seems to be flavour of the month now, whether it’s consumers literally choosing flavours for potato crisps via Twitter or Focus Groups on steroids. As Master Planners, we’ve always considered co-creation not just a useful tool, but an essential one – it’s a way of working that gets stakeholders from across a business involved in the creative process from day one together with consumers and experts.

We haven’t made a habit of publishing our opinions in the past, preferring to get on with things, but lately there’s been a lot of talk on the subject.  Some wonder whether co-creation can really deliver business benefit, if it’s just a focus group in disguise or a load of hype. So we thought it was about time we put our stake in the ground.

Today we’re launching our whitepaper The Spirit of Co-creation: Risk-managed creativity for business. Have a read and join the conversation on our dedicated blog at www.thespiritofcocreation.com where you can also download the whitepaper.

Lost in translation

I recently read that GM have announced a partnership with Ebay to sell their vehicles complete with the ability to haggle, bid and grab a bargain. They have also recently launched GM Labs, a place where you can "get to know the designers, check out some of their projects, and help them get to know you. Like a consumer feedback event without the one-way glass."

Both these initiatives are clearly a response to the dire straights GM (and the wider American car manufacturing sector) are currently in. However, it also reflects a general trend to 'cosy up' to customers by sharing or co-creating design and/or marketing ideas and also to find alternative avenues for brand conversations or retail experiences. The latter of these trends also includes brand use of social media tools such as Twitter, on which much has been written including  the recently maligned exploits by @habitatUK.

Debates around the direct benefits of 'co-creation' or branded social media will continue and rightly so. However what these discussions do not highlight is that even if a particular exercise is successful in its own right, it still needs to integrate into a much bigger picture. More channels and opportunities for communication, product development and marketing or retail experiences means an ever more complicated landscape to carve the right path through.

Experts in design, marketing and retail all talk very different languages and often compete for board attention and funding. Bringing a designer closer to the user through collaboration should empower both parties and illicit ideas that shoving a marketing report under their nose will not. This, although tricky to do, is not the real trick though. The real trick is to forge an approach that involves a variety stakeholders at various stages of a project to ensure that the right idea doesn't get lost in translation on its way up corporate ladder. Again, the challenge of Master Planning.

Resourcefulness through collaboration

I came across an interesting report by Emily Campbell at the RSA recently that resonated strongly with the idea of Master Planning. In the piece, ‘You know more than you think you do: design as resourcefulness and self-reliance’, Campbell asks whether it is possible for designers to 'redefine themselves…not merely as making more beautiful resources, but as making people more resourceful.’ To achieve this, Campbell cites the need to create a situation whereby designers are more effectively creating products that not only respond to the needs and behaviours of users, but that also influence them. She asks the question:

'Many designers study human factors and user-centred research; if they collaborated more with social scientists – psychologists, behavioural economists, ethnographers – would it enlarge their understanding of human decision making and would they design differently?'

This is a leading question and it's also the point in the article where the essence of Master Planning really comes to the fore. In our experience, it is through exactly this type of interdisciplinary collaboration and alignment that designers can most effectively create better products and more relevant services. Master planning seeks to make this way of working universal.

When we approach a project at Sense Worldwide we try to look at the challenge in the way that Campbell describes. Our process takes several different snapshots of the area - first from 35,000 feet, then from 10,000 feet and finally from 5 feet. The thinking behind this is that at 35,000ft we're taking a broad view and our picture will include a range of different perspectives - this is where sociologists and ethnographers might come in. Next we go down to 10,000ft and look a the problem from an expert's perspective - this could be anyone from an industry expert to an academic whose work touches the field we're exploring. Finally we get up close and personal with our users, watching their experience at 5ft. This is just part of the Master Planning process and it helps us to ensure that we're being truly 'resourceful' by enlarging our understanding while also focusing closely on the end user.

Desperately seeking simplicity

I was browsing the APG website the other day when I came across a document entitled 'What Is Account Planning'. Curious to know how they described the discipline I read on and was particulary intrigued by their discussion of New Product Development.

'Being in at the birth of a product through to its positioning, naming, testing and (rarer than hen’s teeth) successful advertising launch, can be one of the most interesting and formative experiences for a planner. Don’t forget that it was Stephen King who invented pretty much every aspect of Mr Kipling, right from when RHM came to the agency and said our flour mills are producing a surplus, what shall we do with it?'

Why did this resonate so much with me? Frankly, it was the simplicity illustrated by the Kipling example. One agency in charge of a brand - not even just one agency, one man for god's sake. That was a time when there were no internal marketing departments; a time before the multitude of media channels we have today. Back then it was one voice coming down from on high... 'Mr Kipling does make exceedingly good cakes'. Simple.

Today this kind of simplicity is nigh on impossible to find. On top of the ongoing fragmentation of media happening all around us, this recession has created a further fragmentation of the agencies themselves. The ongoing slew of redundancies in the creative, design and advertising sectors is creating a hot melting pot of opportunity for individuals with all the right skills to go out and make it on their own. They're getting together and forming their own small creative shops to undercut the big boys.

But a word of caution: while brands may rub their hands together at the thought of saving money, further fragmentation of agencies makes the need for a Master Plan even more crucial. More than ever, planning needs to focus on marshaling different stakeholders as much as on strategy. As more and more agencies, internal stakeholders, external consultants etc become involved, it's starting to look like a full time job to get everyone to play nice in the brand playground. I think this is where Master Planning can help.

No I Don’t Want A Bag With That

Until last month I’d never used online grocery shopping, my expectations were low based on a few occasions maybe 10 years ago when we ended up with some unexpected oversized bags of muesli and industrial tins of tuna. However, after coming back from holiday recently and having a huge grocery list, a friend recommended Sainsbury’s so I thought I’d give it a go.

First time was successful, navigation was logical and I even chose one or two new products after seeing them on the premium list – so far the system was a success for both me and Sainsbury’s. My shopping was then delivered by two friendly people who, because it was my first time, explained a bit more about how it all worked with regards to substituted products and the returns policy. The brand experience was seamless and again I felt more secure and looked after than if I’d actually gone into one of their stores.

However, a disconnect occurred at the point at which I received the actual shopping. With ‘remember to recycle me’ printed on most of Sainsbury’s shopping and their no free carrier bags at the checkout policy, I was entirely surprised and disappointed to receive my shopping in a plethora of plastic bags. There is the option to return the bags on your next delivery but that reopens the bottom drawer in your kitchen as a permanent breeding ground for bags.

Surely Sainsbury’s can think of a better way to store and transport groceries that’s better for the environment? It is incongruous that a brand which promises such environmental awareness, and often delivers it, would force upon you a wodge of landfill waiting to happen. Unfortunately in my case it led me to wonder whether their green concern was purely for show and not underpinned by any real integrity. I’m sure this isn’t true but the point is that I thought it as a result of a small part of this otherwise excellent service. Sometimes it’s the details that let you down.

I’ll have a bag of compost and some Ketchup please

I read the other day in the FT that Heinz has started actively selling its products in locations outside of the supermarket. It aims to boost ailing sales by grabbing consumers’ attention (and pounds) in environments related to the products, but where there are no competitors around.

For example, it is going to sell barbeque sauces in garden centres and petrol station forecourts, places where consumers might be thinking about barbeques or planning to pick up other barbeque-related items such as charcoal. It’s also planning to sell baby food in Mothercare, a move that probably doesn’t need as much explaining.

This is a perfect example of Master Planning in action and a tactic we have recommended to many a client. Not only are new POS locations touching consumers’ lives in new ways, but they are also strengthening the brand by reinforcing its connection to key lifestyle factors.

Distribution channels are a vital consideration – they are where the moment of truth occurs and consumers decide to put brand x in their trolley rather than brand y. You could create the most amazing marketing campaign that resonates perfectly with consumers, but if your distribution doesn't link up properly then its likely to be another brand who’ll be taking their money at the till.

You Swine

Working in people-centred consumer insight demands reflection on your own everyday experiences. It is this introspection that fuels the passion to change things around you and make a difference.

This week's kick for me came in the guise of a sore throat. Normally this means 48 hours of Lemsip, but then the words 'Swine Flu' popped into my mind, and the whole thing took on a new light. Despite the hype, I realised I didn't know what I was meant to do; I wasn’t incapacitated but should I be hiding away least I infect and harm others more vulnerable than me?

I turned to the internet and was for once deeply impressed with the NHS. Having typed ‘swine flu’ into google the relevant NHS page came up top, and I was directed through a series of clear hyperlinks to an 'Online Self Assessment' page where I discovered I didn't have the symptoms and, put in a clear, trustworthy language, simply told to Keep Calm And Carry On.

What this simple, Google-led bit of service design had achieved was to quickly and cheaply stream out the 'worried well' (i.e. me) from the system to free up resource to meet the needs of, well, the needy. It was a holistic bit of thinking which took into account everybody’s mindsets and motivations, understanding that the organizational challenge lay as much in dealing with the healthy as the sick.

Understanding people’s shifting mindsets and needs lie at the heart of Master Planning’s strategic thinking and right now there can be few more important things to deal with than the pandemic. I wonder how the NHS is ensuring it is getting under the skin (sic) of people? The speed of turning insight into action would need to be faster than the public sector is often used to working if it is to catch up with changing public opinion and fears.  A challenge indeed - but no different in essence, to one that any business or brand faces to stay ahead of the game.

How time flies!

Is it really August already? We’ve had our noses to the grindstone over the past few months and when free we were enjoying the sunny weather (now sadly departed).

The Master Planning approach got a fantastic reception at the Insight Show in June. We had a lot of great conversations with people about the future of marketing and planning so hello and thanks to everyone who stopped by our stall. While there was a lot of debate there was also definitely a consensus on the idea that things needed to change, and an appetite to deliver that change.

We’re also very excited because we’ve recently been able to view the final fruits of our Master Planning in action. One of our clients has just launched a global marketing campaign that we helped position in the early stages of its conception. The use of rich consumer insight successfully aligned the different teams and ensured that they did what they did best while pulling in the same direction.

It was an exciting taste of what can be achieved in the future and we want to use this forum to highlight and discuss other examples of both joined-up and disjointed brand thinking. The tougher it gets out there, the more success will be dependent on which route you take.

Welcome to Master Planning.

This is the start of a conversation to understand if there is an appetite within the global marketing community to challenge some of the things we do.

This idea is not necessarily a new one, but recently I've been sat in too many client-agency meetings where I continue to be surprised by the myopia of agency planners. Now I’m probably going to put a few backs up by saying this but like I said this conversation is about challenging some conventions.

Before the flame mail arrives, to reference this assertion there are already many marketers who clearly understand that things do need to change. Check out Michael Harvey’s October article in Admap. As Global Consumer Planning Director of Diageo he states that agency planners can’t do what he needs planners to do for his business.

Couple this perspective with Rory Sutherland’s augural IPA speech and you’ll start to get an idea of the collaboration and shift in focus we should talk about.

To balance these views there are a few others from client and agency side that have already been approached to join this conversation whose experience and disciplines cover the full range from research, design, advertising and innovation.

Not sure where this collaboration may take us, or even whether Master Planning gets thrown into the dustbin of marketing jargon. But for now it feels like it might be a conversation worth having.

So do, please chip in with your thoughts. 

And take a look at the article from Marketing that kicked all this off here.