Today’s post is from Ali Driesman, Ypulse’s Director of Insights and Inspiration, who helps brands to make co-creation with young consumers a part of their process, and is sharing why it’s the future of products.
Operation Co-Creation
Have you ever sat in meeting with a group of enthused and eager people all pulsing with new and creative ideas of how to continuously improve, innovate and take risks? They are unburdened by pre-conceived notions of ‘why this might not work’ or thoughts of ‘but that would never get approved,’ and instead are working with a fresh perspective and untapped potential. Ideas are flowing—the people in the room know exactly what the consumer wants and have a significant motivation to see that they get it. They leave the room and return again and again over the next few weeks: they want to be there and are itching with excitement to see their creation come to life. Yeah, those situations might be few and far between when thinking of your typical corporate meeting, but these are the type of “meetings” I constantly see when conducting co-creation projects with our Millennial panelists.
Co-creation is certainly a buzzword that has been catching the attention of brands, agencies and even consumers alike—and rightfully so. It’s a powerful tool that taps into the power of the consumer and goes beyond simply asking questions, or soliciting feedback. It enables young consumers themselves to use collective creativity to re-think and re-design the products that target them. It also very well may be the future of products. Why? Here are three big reasons:
1. It’s what young consumers want.
At Ypulse we have been all over co-creation for quite some time now simply because we’ve been following Millennials’ lead as they gravitated to this new way of bringing their ideas and solutions to life. We’ve seen this in their desire for pre-dev engagement, a trend that allows Millennials to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the product creation process. Because they grew up in an open platform world with increased access to information and technology, they’ve been conditioned to want more: more options, more uniqueness, and more say in what they buy. This has created a desire to play an active role in the products they buy for the satisfaction of making it their own. They are eager to be a part of the creation process as it fosters a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. 81% of Millennials say that they would be interested in helping a brand or company design a new product, and 87% of Millennials say that they think brands should get consumers like them to give opinions before creating them. It is clear that co-creation is a valuable tool for brands that cannot be ignored.
2. It’s already how some of the most innovative products are being created.
Millennials are powering the shift to co-creation, and Quirky, founded by Millennial Ben Kaufman, saw the opportunity to leverage this crowd concepting trend. On the site, anyone can submit product ideas online and the Quirky community votes on which ideas will be designed, manufactured and sold. The products that populate Quirky are case studies in innovation and creativity—and thanks to co-creation the site is establishing a reputation as a birthplace of the products of the future. GE has provided $30 million in funding to Quirky to develop Internet of Things products ranging from fun to practical. The co-creation process is quickly being established as one that brings amazing and inspired ideas to life.
3. The results are things they actually want to buy.
69% of Millennials wish they could create a new product, and co-creation is the next best thing. It goes beyond just soliciting communication and feedback, and allows for collective creativity to help re-think and design an end product that is tailored to the consumers’ preferences. It also helps brands to gauge in advance which products would have the best shot at success before making big bets. Take Walmart’s ‘Get on the Shelf’ campaign. They ask consumers to submit ideas for new products, and the masses decide which ideas get put into production and ultimately land on Walmart’s shelves. It’s a win/win/win: the inventor/ideator and Walmart get a pre-dev indication of consumer appeal, the community of voters feel empowered to give their opinions and feel like creators themselves, and their early investment leads to a ready-made market.
We’ve worked with many companies to design communities that innovate on a range of different focus areas—from creating marketing campaigns, to brand new products for Millennial consumers, to websites and much more. Co-creation has proven to be an effective way to tap into Millennials’ desire to get involved and contribute to the improvement of the products they buy and use. It’s the best way to not only stay on-top of what Millennial consumers really want, but in fact stay ahead of it all and create what is desired and needed in a speedy (and cost effective) way.
ALI DRIESMAN, DIRECTOR OF INSIGHTS & INSPIRATION
Ever since her days as a Red Bull Student Brand Manager while attending Brown University, Ali gravitated towards the power and impact that the Millennial generation held at its fingertips. In her various Marketing roles at Microsoft, she quickly found her sweet-spot on the Student Marketing team with an expertise in youth marketing. She drove marketing campaigns, launched offers in market, and led Worldwide student competitions; always diligent to ground herself in the research for these initiatives. She sees Millennial marketing as an opportunity to be bold, innovative and saucy and this is what keeps her coming back for more. At Ypulse, her role continues to tap into the creative inspiration from youth culture to amplify your market research and insights in style.
