Sara Lee's Pickwick tea 'Dutch Blend' was developed through co-creation with 25 members of the ' Pickwick Gardens ' Hyves. The collaboration took place both online and offline and aimed to develop a new tea flavour, a matching packaging and a marketing message. In the advertising campaign of Pickwick Dutch Blend the co-creation aspect is clearly named and emphasised.
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addition to this intensive form of co-creation, there are also other possibilities for 'joint value-creation'. Consumers can also fulfill their role as Cocreator in a more independent way. A number of examples of this can be found in (1) co-creation in design, (2) co-creation in use, and (3) co-creation in experience.
Figure 2: Co-creation in design, use and experience
Co-creation in ' design ' can be seen as 'the next step' in customization, with more freedom and possibilities for the consumer. Threadless' t-shirts and IKEA's 3D kitchen planner tool are good examples of this. Customers can design their own products with a lot of freedom, without being in direct dialogue with the company.
Co-creation in 'use ' is related to the concept of 'usability' and is focused on ease of use, functionality and efficiency. ' Appie ' by Albert Heijn is an example of a smartphone app where usability and personalization lead to value co-creation in use.
Co-creation in ' experience ' could be considered the ultimate level of co-creation: every time a consumer uses a product, he or she co-creates the consumption experience. Nike+ is a good example of this and links different applications with a focus on usability, performance and social interaction.
5. The role of 'creator' means that consumers themselves are the driving force behind innovation. They play an independent role as value creators and their ideas can strongly influence the speed and direction of innovations.
Examples of consumer-initiated communities include niketalk.com for sneaker fans peru phone number list and Lugnet.com for Lego fanatics.
In the roles discussed in this article, the 'cocreator' is one of the biggest challenges for companies. On the other hand, cocreation can also yield many benefits in terms of, among other things, the chance of success of new products, the WOM effect, brand value, and consumer involvement. In order to implement cocreation effectively, full integration into the business process is required: internal structures, budgets and management mindsets will have to be adjusted. It is important that the entire company is open to cocreation and is prepared to let go of the 'not invented here' attitude.
In addition, it is important to prepare the co-creation process well, including by listening to and observing the target group, setting clear objectives and methods, selecting the right co-creation partners, and continuously managing and stimulating the conversation. In the co-creation collaboration, a natural balance should arise between freedom, authenticity and openness on the one hand, and supervision and management on the other. Collaboration should be continuously stimulated, so that an open discussion arises in which ideas can grow and evolve. Figure 3 provides an overview of both the benefits and challenges that co-creation entails.
Figure 3: Benefits and challenges of co-creation
This article is a summary of my literature research on co-creation. It was conducted in preparation for my MSc thesis on the influence of co-creation on product and brand perceptions. More information can be found on my weblog , reactions and comments are welcome!