Jennifer Rice
Andy Lark
Johnnie Moore
John Winsor
Johnnie Moore is a marketing consultant and facilitator based in London. As well as 20 years of marketing experience he's trained in psychotherapy, NLP and Improv. Find out more at his blog.
Andrew Lark's more than 18 years experience of all facets of marketing, branding, sales and communications spans technology, Internet, telecommunications and consumer sectors. There he has led award-winning programs and teams for brands such as Dell, Sony, SBC, IDSoftware, Nortel, Microsoft and Sun. He is a thought leader and innovator on the convergence of brands, communications and social networking technologies. Find out more at his blog.
Jennifer Rice is a strategist and evangelist for relationship-centric brands. She brings 15 years experience in brand strategy, customer insight and marketing communications, and has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Verizon, Alcatel and Corning. Her current passion is exploring how brands are being impacted by blogs and other social technologies. Her company blog is What's Your Brand Mantra?
John Winsor is the author of Beyond the Brand: Why Listening to the Right Customers is Essential to Winning in Business and the Founder/CEO of Radar Communications, a consumer-centric consultancy. You can find out more about him at Beyond the Brand.
Check out IdeaFlow by Renee Hopkins Callahan for the latest on innovation trends and practices. On her radar screen: the creativity of bipolar children, Democrats' call for an "Innovation Agenda", grocery store innovations, creating a culture of business experimentation, and more.
I feel like I'm a bit late to the party! Sorry. First, I'd like to say it's an honor to get to have a dialogue with Jennifer, Johnnie and Andy. I'm really looking forward to this journey of co-creation. That's what I love about blogs, and I think this plays into Pig Lipstick. I've been riffing a lot about The End of Branding as We Know it on my blog. It seems that many companies forget that their products and brands aren't owned by themselves, alone. Hence, if you're customers think you're selling a pig, it's still a pig, no matter what color the lipstick is or what brand attributes the lipstick provides! Companies have to get out from behind the shield that they preceive their brands provide and start being more transparent, willing to co-create their products with their customers.
I hope BrandShift can help energize this co-creation, creating a vibrant dialogue around deepening the connection between companies, customers and communities for the benefit of all.
Am very interested in this theory of transparency and co-creation. But my guess is that one of the hottest brands (Apple) with one of the hottest products (iPod) probably won't have anything to do with it. And then there is the old story about the biggest hit in office decor (Herman Miller) and the Aeron chair where if they listened or co-created with their customers, it would never have made it to the marketplace.
http://www.geise.com/index.php/GD-Linksville/Items/human_nature
How do the concept and reality jibe?
Transparency in creating brands??? That's what companies do when they don't know what they're doing. The previous comment had it right - good products are good products, they don't need transparency or co-creation. Co-creation is what people on the outside want when they want to associate themselves with cool products. You don't let the slimy masses in to medocritate the product, you keep them striving to be a part of the clique.
Permalink to CommentPXLated: Fair comment, there's always a gap between theory and practice. I think creativity often involves conflict and always involves some kind of risk. I'd think of co-creativity being about a spirit of engagement with customers, but not just doing what they ask for automatically. The Herman Miller is a great story for that.
Too smart: For every product that pulls off a stunning surprise and creates buzz, there are probably dozens of damp squibs that no-one, not even the slimy masses you mention, want to be part of.
Permalink to CommentJohnnie: Uuuuh, you changed the terms of the deal though. Co-creation vs co-Creativity. :-)
Permalink to CommentAh, PXLated, you say deal change, I say a form of co-creation. And I'm not being serious either :0)
Permalink to Comment;-)
Permalink to CommentAll great thoughts. While Hermann Miller had a runaway hit with the Aeron Chair they have certainly had a change of fortune and are struggling gain a deeper understading of how to connect with their customers in a way that allows their customers to feel like they have the opportunity to co-create or be more co-creative with the company. Johnnie, I like the change to co-creativity.
Permalink to Comment
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